Bunny newbie....Flemish Giant.....occasional sneezing and wet nose - should we worry?

[doodlebugger]

So, is a URI the same thing as snuffles? Our bun had a little bit of snorty sound again today, with a little more crusty nose, but it still looks clear. A little less active today, but still eating, drinking, and responding to us like normal. Worried about our bun....I hope it's not the snuffles, because my daughter will be devastated! The vet didn't seem concerned when she saw him yesterday....but now I am freaked out again.....

 

[mistyjr]

He's just a pet. Do what the vet says,and dont put him around other rabbits in case!

 

[plasticbunny]

mistyjr wrote:

He's just a pet. Do what the vet says,and dont put him around other rabbits in case!

Um... What does "he's just a pet" mean?

 

[doodlebugger]

I don't have any other rabbits. This is the only one we have. It was a gift from her grandmother who is moving away to another state. She wanted my daughter to have an FFA project (they call them SAE's) that she could put time into and now she has fallen in love with the bun. My daughter sees animals as part of her family. She has a very tender heart, and as her mother, I hurt when she hurts. I am doing everything the vet said to do. I am just worried since we are completely new to bunnies - we do not know what is normal and what is not normal. I have read all the info about snuffles, URI's, and other issues.

What I want to know is this - the vet said to wait 7 days to see if the bun is getting better or worse. Has anyone ever had a bun get worse while on the meds and then improve? Also, no one has answered the question - are snuffles and URI's the same thing? From what I am reading, they are not. The vet seemed very knowledgeable and she also does rabbit rescue, so I can't imagine she would let us go home without knowing that is what it is.....

 

[mistyjr]

plasticbunny wrote:

mistyjr wrote:

He's just a pet. Do what the vet says,and dont put him around other rabbits in case!

Um... What does "he's just a pet" mean?

I ment to say that hes a pet bunny. She said above (I think) hes the only bunny they have!



I was trying to find you an link that I was reading on for my rabbits, Since I am going threw the same thing right now... And i couldnt find it. It was for pet rabbits vs. show rabbits, But it can be transmitted to other rabbits, But hes the only one that you guys have! Just follow what the vet says!

 

[doodlebugger]

Well we do intend on showing him, but we can't because he is sick. He is not snorty sounding today, but very relaxed. It's a nice 65 degrees today, with no direct sun, so hopefully he will be able to rest well. He was laying so funny out there, that I got scared for a minute, but apparently it was like something called the dead bunny flop...he was just really comfortable and snoozing away! Still eating, drinking, interacting, and going to the bathroom normally.

 

[Must_Love_Pets]

Sounds good!!!

I think he will be just fine.

I am inlove with Pheonix and his hutch.

 

[mistyjr]

He could also have allergies to something, It's hard to say, But since you seen the vet!
But glad hes doing better!

 

[doodlebugger]

Phoenix is still occasionally sneezing, and the last two days he seemed a little less active. He has been doing this thing while he is resting that kind of worries me - he will plop down and then go into this dead stare (which makes me think he must be sleeping) and then he almost seems like he has the hiccups until I wake him up and move him. Then he has snorted one or two times today. His bowels seem fine, but I'm more worried about the URI stuff - no additional discharge, but still a wet nose. His eyes look so much better though! Tomorrow will be day seven on meds....should I call the vet to see if they are concerned?

 

[CCWelch]

Is Phoenix snotty enough that he has crusty stuff inside on his front paws? Snuffles and URI's are 2 different things, on curable one not. I had a Flemish that would do the same sneezing from time to time then have the runny nose, testing showed it was not snuffles. She had an allergy and we never figured out what she was allergic to.
I feel that there is a problem with the cedar planking, many bunnies have allergies to cedar, that is why it is suggested that you not use cedar shavings with rabbits.

 

[doodlebugger]

There is no crust...just clear discharge and it's very minor (not on his fur or anything). I am leaning towards an allergy as well - probably to the cedar. I read somewhere with the cedar flooring when they urinate and the heat/humidity can cause issues. We removed just about everything from the hutch that we could....I just can't afford to change out the flooring until next week. What kind of flooring should I put in? I know it has to be untreated and unpainted. *sigh* Who would have known a rabbit could be so complicated???

 

[mistyjr]

Well, I had a rabbit just sneezing and snotted just eating her feed. I was told by bad breeders that she had the snuffles and Put her down. She had no crusty face or and her snot was clear. She just sneezed and sneezed at eating food and water. Plus the cages arent in a good air ventilation where they are. But after talking with my aunt that raises 100+ rabbits and talking with a few more good breeders. They told me it sounded like allergies. And my aunt explained to me on Saturday what snuffles is since when her rabbits are sick she takes them to the vets. So she knows. And said that snuffles is crusty around nose, eyes, ect... But I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just found out about this on Saturday! :feelbetter::hug:

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

ugg... just because you have not had a culture done, do NOT show him. DO NOT!!!

because you can't be positive what it is without a culture, IF it is something like sniffles it can be passed on to other rabbits.

That means if you get her something else to show, I would not keep him.

You can't be 100% without a culture that it isn't snuffles. I had to go through it, and had bought rabbits off someone who were sick. I lost half my herd. If I see a sick rabbit at a show, ugg, it just makes my skin crawl. PLEASE refrain from showing that rabbit.


and you don't get crust around the eyes. It's a snotty face. Just like a child with a cold. It's a whitish discharge at the nose. usually they try to whip their face and its on the insides of the front legs. There is sneezing and as it gets worse you can hear it rumbling in the lungs.

and if you're showing rabbits, its mean, its cruel, and it sucks, but you're not bettering the breed by keeping sick rabbits and medicating.

 

[mistyjr]

But when a judge that's been doing rabbits for many of years and seen any kind of Illness they know what to look for. I have emails from this judge stated they dont have the Illness! So I trust the judge. But I am not plan on showing him until he get's taken to the vets first!

 

[doodlebugger]

Nope, not showing him because we are still new at this and I wouldn't want anyone else's bunny to get sick....what I meant by my previous post is that we intend on showing him **eventually**. The vet we went to did not do a culture - she said after the exam that she did not believe it was anything but a URI. She is an experienced and recommended bunny vet and has even done bunny rescue. He has never had anything more than a bit of a clear runny nose, but she could hear congestion in his lungs. He also has one eye that seems to have some drainage and I am supposed to call her back to get eye drops or a change in antibiotics if it doesn't clear up. He also has some weird scratches in his ear below his tattoo. If I can get him to sit still, I could show you his nose, but he is not a willing participant in having his pics taken right now. What do you think? Does it look okay to you?

 

[plasticbunny]

CCWelch wrote:

I feel that there is a problem with the cedar planking, many bunnies have allergies to cedar, that is why it is suggested that you not use cedar shavings with rabbits.

Actually, it's recommended that cedar shaving not be used due to the oils they contain. These oils are called phenols, and can cause severe liver complications over time.

Just wanted to clarify, in case anyone uses cedar and their bunnies don't show any allergic reaction, that does not mean it is safe.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

if she herd something in his lungs, I wouldn't go with she doesnt believe its snuffles.

I dunno... like I said I just lost over half my rabbits, sooo I'm extremely anal about their well being.


I'm not sure about the scratch in the ear... he could have done that accidentily by itching himself. them big ol' ears are foot traps lol

 

[plasticbunny]

The scratch looks OK to me. I'd check out this link in regards to the nose and eyes, and respiratory congestion:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/respira_main.htm

Sounds like maybe overexposure to ammonia? This is more common in summer months, and it may be wise to move him into the air conditioning for a short period of time to see if that helps.

 

[mistyjr]

But I have heard from people and read online that Cedar can be very harmful to rabbits, So I dont know.
But maybe you can replace the floor and put some strong fencing on the floor that you can get at your local farm store. And you can get a tile to put on the floor so he can rest on it!

 

[Djakarta]

I found an article that describes the respiratory toxicity of Cedar ( and pine):

http://www.trifl.org/cedar.shtml

Here is a quote from the article:

"The primary irritant in cedar is plicatic acid "

" Exposure to plicatic acid can cause or exacerbate asthma, rhinitis or conjunctivitis in humans and in animals, and the damage can be progressive. "

So it sounds like the runny nose (symptom of rhinitis) and the runny eye ( symptom of conjunctivitis) could both be caused by exposure to cedar.

Do you know anyone who has a puppy pen/ aka exercise pen/ aka X-pen that you could borrow? Could you possibly set up the x pen inside the house until you can have the hutch modified ? ( an x pen outdoors wouldn't be safe unless supervised- not possible all night).

A large wire dog crate would work also, if you could borrow one. ( a plastic crate wouldn't have adequate ventilation.)