Is the sneezing bad?

[kirbyultra]

Kirby has been known to sneeze once in a while. Maybe I'll catch him doing a couple quick ah-choos once in a couple of weeks.

Yesterday I caught him doing a lot of sneezes in a row! There was no mucus. Nothing to even cause Kirby to want to wipe his face with his paws. His eyes look normal. His poop and his intake of food is normal. Was this just some dust in his nose? Or should I be worried?

Video (about halfway in, he starts his bout of sneezing): Please turn volume way up to hear the sneezies.

[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/mkr2Y8WunfA&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]

 

[Maureen Las]

I ,unlike ,some other members am always supicious of sneezing if nothing has changed in the bun's environment ..like dusty hay or pellets
if he continues with it or it progresses I would take him to the vet.

Right now it isn't a major problems but if left untreated and itis an URI it will grow worse.

Just watch and listen for awhile

I had a sneezy bun ,(no discharge, but a total change from normal ) who was treated with antibiotics . The sneezing stopped which mades me aware that it was a beginning URI.

Some people say there has to be dscharge and it has to be yellow but I have not found that to be true.
of course it could be a bacteriaKirby's immune system will take care of himself so just give it a little time and see if anything else develops.

he's a cute boy when he sneezes although we don't want him to

 

[terrellflyer]

As a breeder I watch a sneezing rabbit very close,two days of heavy sneezing and I move the animal away from the herd and keep a close watch for any other signs,more problems then off to doc. ,no problems after 2 weeks then back to herd.

 

[mardigraskisses]

Bayou has had sneezing fits like that a lot the past few months.

When I took him to the vet though she said he was fine. :?

 

[Maureen Las]

Some vets do notwant to use antibiotics needlessly if the rabbit's immune system can take care of things itself. This is actually good practice.
We had a bun brought into our shelter recently who had been neglected and was very thin. he also had a runny nose. We isolated him , gave him a lot of TLC and within a few days the runny nose was gone. his own immune system became strong enough to fight off the infection himself.
i guess that when a bun is sneezing or has a runny nose that the owner should be in a heightened state of awaremness for a worseneing problem
hopefully the buns own immune system will take care of it

terrellflyer you sound like you are handling your buns problems correctly

 

[tonyshuman]

A few sneezes once in a while is fine. However, lots of sneezes, several days in a row, that might be something. Obviously discharge is a red flag for a URI, but nose issues can come from many different places. Maybe Kirby got some hay in his nose while he was sniffing around there. If it persists, I'd look into the dust content of the hay and pellets, or if the fabric softener or something is bothering him. I agree that sneezing without any change in the environment can be a sign of URI, but sometimes we don't notice the changes in the environment until they affect our bunnies.

 

[kirbyultra]

Hmmm. I haven't had as much time the last 2 days at night to watch Kirby. But as far as I know he hasn't sneezed anymore. Certainly not while I was in the room, anyway.

I was thinking about it and I think on Sunday, he actually ate a little less. I recall seeing quite a bit of vegetables left on his plate overnight and throughout the day which is abnormal. I thought maybe the hotter weather was making him uncomfortable (then I turned on the AC).

Maybe he was a bit under the weather? He seems ok now. He's definitely not sneezing more or else I would have noticed it. I will keep watching him as closely as I can. Thanks!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

My Holland Lop will have some sneezing attacks, like twice a monththat seriously scare me, but are nothing. I have noticed a few of them and it's like allergies with humans, the sneezing attacks. Still wondering though...onder:

According to the vid, it doesn't seem bad. Is there any discharge? If there is, then there may reason for concern. That may indicate a bacterial infection and a vet should be sought. If not, just wait it out. Keep us posted though!

 

[kirbyultra]

Been extremely busy at work all last week. This whole weekend nearly every moment I was sleeping... It was uncontrollable. If I had it my way I'd spend every waking moment with the bunners. What time I did spend with kirby I did not see any sneezing or nose running. No particular discharge. Nothing different in the litter box either. I guess it was a fluke. I'm glad it's nothing! It was a really good sneezing video though. It's a keeper! Makes me lauh whenever I see it! It was a totally random capture on camera.

:dutch

 

[Saudade]

Watching that video it looks like he might of just snuffled up a bit of dust when he was sniffing around. Be careful about rewarding sneezing with pats, I've seen quite a few buns who use it to gain affection.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I think it's great that you got the vid of the sneezing! Save that. We need to add it to our Library, it'd be great there!

Thanks for sharing. I think just watch the sneezing and definiately watch for any discharge. If you find any, head to the vet.

 

[kirbyultra]

Saudade wrote:

Watching that video it looks like he might of just snuffled up a bit of dust when he was sniffing around. Be careful about rewarding sneezing with pats, I've seen quite a few buns who use it to gain affection.

Yipes.

After the first 2-3 sneezes I was freaked out, but after the 5th or 6th sneeze I was just in shock, thinking about what I could do to stop it without scaring him (he is a very, very jumpy bunny). I decided to get him a pet and brush his nose while I was at it to see if that would help. It seems to have helped him stop the chain of sneezing, and he hasn't sneezes once since.

 

[kirbyultra]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

I think it's great that you got the vid of the sneezing! Save that. We need to add it to our Library, it'd be great there!

Thanks for sharing. I think just watch the sneezing and definiately watch for any discharge. If you find any, head to the vet.

Feel free to use the video for the library!

 

[kirbyultra]

ohh nooo! My husband says he saw kirby sneeze in multiples this morning I have been too busy to clean up his condo of hay pieces onthe floor but not sure if he sneezed due to hay dust inany case I made a vet appt for Saturday and have cleaned up the condo. Vacuumed up the dusty hay. Sigh. Sure hope kirby isn't sick. I syringe fed Toby before and it was a horrible experience. Not looking fwd to soon that with kirby who is 100x more skittish.

 

[kirbyultra]

the vet didn't seem too worried about kirby's sneezing but she said it would be ok to medicate because it is a change to the rabbit's normal behavior which is concerning. She gave him baytril .5ml twice a day. Kirby doesn't really like in because it's so sticky even though it smells sweet and fruity. I think instead of stressing him and syringe feeding (I did that just now. Did not have a good time) I'll hide it in some pumpkin. Maybe he'll eat that up .

I'll still be watching him for changes... Hope this takes care of it.

 

[Maureen Las]

Make sure you get it in him. Have youused baytril before? it probably will help if you haven't used it on him before but it has a reputation of not "Kicking bacteria butt" permanently. In other words it will clear up an infection temporarily but usuallymany times the infections reoccur. Zithromax is a better drug.

Do the best that you can and let us know how he is...

 

[kirbyultra]

I heard Kirby Sneeze again last night so I'm Glad we went to the vet. He didn't eat the pumpkin at first but mixed in more pumpkin per ml of baytril and he eventually ate it on his own. It's about a tablespoon with a dose. Twice a day. Is 2 tbspn of pumpkin a day too much for a 5.4lb bun? I ask because I consider pumpkin a treat. I normally don't give so much.

 

[kirbyultra]

I don't know if kirby has ever had baytril with his previous owner but he hasn't had any with me the last six months. Hope it clears up. I think Kirby is pretty healthy bun he'll fight the bacteria!

 

[Maureen Las]

kirbyultra wrote:

I heard Kirby Sneeze again last night so I'm Glad we went to the vet. He didn't eat the pumpkin at first but mixed in more pumpkin per ml of baytril and he eventually ate it on his own. It's about a tablespoon with a dose. Twice a day. Is 2 tbspn of pumpkin a day too much for a 5.4lb bun? I ask because I consider pumpkin a treat. I normally don't give so much.

I wouldn't give any more pumpkin than that but watch his poops and if they seem normal the pumpkin should be OK

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I don't really understand why he's on meds for sneezing, unless they did a culture that proved bacteria of some sortonder:.

It honestly doesn't sound like a big deal. Snuff has had sneezing attacks that have literally scared us, but they're really not a big deal. Best thing is to eliminate the dust in the pellets and hay that you give, that will help alot.

Otherwise, I have seen Snuff sneeze multiple times in sucession, it is scarey, but not deadly by any means. It is shedding/molting season too, this is why I know my Snuff is sneezing. Could this true for you as well? Are there clumps of hair trying to be missing? This is called Molting, and it's heavy.