HELP! Rabbit is having sneezing fit with mucous

[Aspen’sbuns]

Hi Guys! I’m only literally brand new to this forum and website!! I really need some help, my 8 month old mini lop male keeps sneezing all the time. Literally five minutes ago, he had a huge sneezing fit in which a load of greenish mucous came out of his nose. We had just fed him dandelions. I really need help as I have no idea what this could be! Please please help me!! It’s all wet around his nose now and snotty

 

[Hermelin]

I would take him to the vet, he might have a respiratory infection and might need an antibiotic cure.

You can clean around the nose with spot cleaning. Using a towel and little water.

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

I would take him to the vet, he might have a respiratory infection and might need an antibiotic cure.

You can clean around the nose with spot cleaning. Using a towel and little water.

I’m no

I would take him to the vet, he might have a respiratory infection and might need an antibiotic cure.

You can clean around the nose with spot cleaning. Using a towel and little water.

im not sure when we will be able to take him to the vet, I think the earliest will be in a week, as I have school and the closest rabbit vet is an hour away! Do you think he will be okay in that time?? He is all clean now, he cleaned himself

 

[Hermelin]

I would prefer taking him sooner because bunnies only breath through the nose.

Think if you nose was clogged during a cold and you try to breath without using your mouth or try breathing through a straw only.

You will know the struggle. So it can get worse, obstructing his breathing. So this are not a situation to wait for long.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

This rabbit needs to go to the vet. I would clean his nose with a q-tip but very gently. Here is a link on runny noses in rabbits: https://rabbit.org/runny-eyes-runny-nose-what-do-they-mean/.

 

[JBun]

It actually sounds like he may have choked on the dandelions and that is why you saw the sneezing and green sputum coming out. Especially if now he seems back to normal. But he may still need to go to the vet right away. The reason being is that after a serious choking incident like this, they can aspirate some of the contents into their lungs, which will lead to aspiration pneumonia occurring, and if this isn't treated with the right antibiotic immediately, it can easily be fatal. If you see any signs of respiratory difficulty, wheezing or noisy breathing, or mouth breathing, get your rabbit to the vet immediately.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

It actually sounds like he may have choked on the dandelions and that is why you saw the sneezing and green sputum coming out. Especially if now he seems back to normal. But he may still need to go to the vet right away. The reason being is that after a serious choking incident like this, they can aspirate some of the contents into their lungs, which will lead to aspiration pneumonia occurring, and if this isn't treated with the right antibiotic immediately, it can easily be fatal. If you see any signs of respiratory difficulty, wheezing or noisy breathing, or mouth breathing, get your rabbit to the vet immediately.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Okay, thank you!! It has been 24hrs since it happened. He and his two little sisters are all booked in to be vaccinated in just over a week!

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

Hi all!! So the bunnies went to the vet, and my little boy was checked over. His breathing sounded normal and everything, so the vet concluded that, as unusual as it sounds, my Bunny is just allergic to dandelions!

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

So since I first posted this thread, my bunny has had the same thing multiple times since then, and it turns out that it is choking. We are not sure whats causing it, as it is not everytime he eats, only when he gets fresh hay. We think maybe he is just a bit of a piggy bunny.

 

[Mac189]

That may be the case... Have you considered using a way to feed him that slows him down?

 

[JBun]

So it's not when you feed dried hay that it happens, just the fresh grass? What kind of fresh grass are you feeding?

Did the vet check his teeth thoroughly last time you had him in? If he has a dental issue like overgrown molars, that could affect his ability to grind his hay down sufficiently and could be causing the choking to occur.

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

So it's not when you feed dried hay that it happens, just the fresh grass? What kind of fresh grass are you feeding?

Did the vet check his teeth thoroughly last time you had him in? If he has a dental issue like overgrown molars, that could affect his ability to grind his hay down sufficiently and could be causing the choking to occur.

Whenever he chokes, it’s always when he gets a fresh pile of hay ie litter box change. I’ve never seen him choke on grass, and he eats everything else normally. The hay we get him and our other buns is pasture hay, from our local rural supplies.

It doesn’t happen every time he gets fresh hay, but whenever it does happen it’s at the same time as getting fresh hay (if that makes sense))

I’m not sure if he’s had his teeth properly checked, however the very first time it happened (18 Jan) was just over two weeks after he was neutered. I’m wondering if maybe the breathing tube in his throat has possibly made him not be able to swallow properly?? That’s probably the only thing I can think of, as I would have thought they would have picked up on a teeth issue if there was one then.

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

That may be the case... Have you considered using a way to feed him that slows him down?

Hmmm, that’s where we are a bit stuck. I think we will try and get a hay feeder, so that he can’t just shove his head into the hay

 

[Catlyn]

Whenever he chokes, it’s always when he gets a fresh pile of hay ie litter box change. I’ve never seen him choke on grass, and he eats everything else normally. The hay we get him and our other buns is pasture hay, from our local rural supplies.

It doesn’t happen every time he gets fresh hay, but whenever it does happen it’s at the same time as getting fresh hay (if that makes sense))

I’m not sure if he’s had his teeth properly checked, however the very first time it happened (18 Jan) was just over two weeks after he was neutered. I’m wondering if maybe the breathing tube in his throat has possibly made him not be able to swallow properly?? That’s probably the only thing I can think of, as I would have thought they would have picked up on a teeth issue if there was one then.

What? Did the vet keep the breathing tube in after surgery or something? If not then there should be no problem in his throat caused by the tube itself. Did you describe the situation to the vet thoroughly or just said that he had mucousy sneeze? What did the vet say about the situation? Didn't they advise you on something to do/prevebt it from reoccurring?
Is your bun okay now?

 

[Aspen’sbuns]

What? Did the vet keep the breathing tube in after surgery or something? If not then there should be no problem in his throat caused by the tube itself. Did you describe the situation to the vet thoroughly or just said that he had mucousy sneeze? What did the vet say about the situation? Didn't they advise you on something to do/prevebt it from reoccurring?
Is your bun okay now?

I have no idea if the tube was in after surgery, however I don’t think it would have been, they are a very rabbit savvy vet. I only thought maybe the tube, as I had seen other things in threads of buns choking, where the flap that covers their lungs from the esophagus doesnt close properly, and that that was what caused these buns to choke.

When we told the vet, when they went for vaccinations, I described it as just a sneezing fit, which is why she said that it was most likely allergies, as my bun was checked over and completely healthy. That would be why we weren’t advised otherwise. However since then I discovered it was choking.

At the moment he is okay, he’s done one or two sneezes, however I am still watching him very closely.

 

[Momma Luvbun]

Please be very careful. My last bunny was my happy and she began doing that (sneezing) but without any mucus. This too was about 2 months after vaccine. She began to get slow and imobile in her front legs and held her nose way up in the air as if she couldn't breathe. This began and ended in 8days will the her dying in my hand at the vet waiting for next course of action.
I already had her there 2 days prior..

Ask the vet to do x-rays to see if anything is obstructing the airway, teeth growing the wrong way etc. check for blockages and gas.

I'd hate for you to go through what I did.. my girl was only 4 1/2 but she gave me the best bunny love ever and I miss her every day.
She passed 2 years ago and I'm still as heartbroken as the day she took her last breath with her head in my hand