My bunny struggle for air and sometimes breathing heavily (RIP)

[bettanip]

Sound bad! It is no good if the bunny reject hay and pellet. Giving a fruit and vegetables will only lead to diarrhea sooner. Maybe your bunny got caught by snuffle, a respiratory problem that can be fatal if left untreated.

I'd faced the same problems before, only 3 days she can endure it. And of course it was very pathetic to watch her struggling to get air:bawl:

 

[Maureen Las]

I am really really sorry about your dad

and I thoroughly realize that you are in a no win situation with Shiro being cared for by someone who is not usedto it.
If your bf could come on this forum we could attempt to help him care for her but maybe this isnot possible ...

Worst case scenario is that if Shiro is suffering ( not being able to breathe) the best thing may be that your BF have her PTS; you can only do what you can do ..

but if you read this attempt to get your bf on the forum... :feelbetter::hugsquish:

 

[the fluffies]

I rushed back to Penang this morning when my bf called and told me Shiro wasn't eating and not pooping at all since yesterday. Just a few hours before i reached Penang, my bf called to inform that Shiro has started using his litter box. There's a few poops in his litter box and their size are almost a size of marble ball!

Soon as he pooped, he looked for his pellets and fruits. I fed him with Critical Care soon as i reached home.

I'm trying to make him drinks more. But my bf said, since i left him to visit my family in Johore, Shiro only drinks if he adds some fruit juice in the water bowl. :nope:

My friend is coming back from UK for Christmas. Since i cant find simethicone in Malaysia (all gas meds in Malaysia contained peroxide), i hope my friend will manages to get it from UK. Any of u from UK?

 

[jcottonl02]

That's good news. I am soooo glad to hear Shiro is doing better.

Yes I am. I've never had to look for it myself but I'm sure she can find it in a pharmacy or online. You can get anything on the internet.

Jen

 

[Maureen Las]

adding fruit juice to the water is fine ; just not too much

Shiro seems to be a miracle bunny...

 

[the fluffies]

The 7 days of Baytril prescription doesn't seemed works on Shiro. I talked to my vet about having a culture test, but he sounded like the test is not necessary.

Shiro only sneeze once in a while, no runny nose, and only some continuous 'grunt-sound' when we try to pick him up.

But most of the time, he will put his head up to catch air. And most of the time, he will sit with his head up for the whole night. I don't know what to do. The vets here are not couraging at all. :sigh:

 

[jcottonl02]

Prayers for Shiro

Jen

 

[Maureen Las]

I am sort of concerned that she is having difficulty getting air
That is not good quality of life for her

Iknow that you have done everything possible for her under the circumstances.
:feelbetter:
Maureen

 

[the fluffies]

I have some questions..

1) What is the different between URI and LRI? How to confirm these two problems? Culture test? Stethoscope? X-ray?

2) What is the most effective treatment for this 2 problems?

3) As for antibiotics, what is the most effective oral antibiotics to solve this problems?

I'm going back to Johor tomorrow until Sunday. My bf will look after Shiro. He is really really skinny now. I can feel his ribs

I will take him to the vet KL as soon as i get home.. But the vet is really concern about Shiro poor mobility. The long journey and long-hour travel might lead Shiro to stress and the vet said stress can make the bacteria to produce more toxins

 

[Maureen Las]

Upper respiratory infection is in the upper part of the respiratory system which would be the throat, nasal passages, runny eyes, and facial areas. bun may have sneezing, and snot and sound congested

Lower respiratory infection is usually a URI that has advanced into the chest and lung area. it is more serious and can lead to pneumonia
A lower respiratory infection can be diagnosed by a chest x ray ; an upper could bediagnosed by symptoms and physical exam alone but by taking a culture of the discharge one can determine which drug wuld be most helpful ..most vets just start a med and see if it helps

because of your location I will just list drugs that are commonly used

Baytril oral may be effective temporarily but symptoms often reoccur because many bacteria have become resistant to baytril ; injectable baytril (given intramauscularly ) is usually more effective than oral .
I wouldn't suggest baytril unless the vets have nothing else.

Bicillin injectable is a really agreat drug. I gave subqutaneous injections every other daytomy bun Babette's (RIP) and her lower respiratory infection which was out of control and resistant to baytril disappeared


oral zithromax / azithromycin ( another good drug ) and when given in combination with bicillin injections packs a powerful punch (per Randy)

Chloramphenical (oral) is another older drug that is fairly powerful but it is important that the person administering the drug does not get it on their skin.I gave chloramphenical in eye meds and just wore gloves when giving it

Zeniquen oralis in the baytril family but according to Randy it is more efffective .;I have never given this drug

Iwill just give you the medi-rabbit list of acceptable and not acceptable antibiotics for rabbits and you can print it out and give it the vets.
I just mentioned the drugs that we most recommend on this forum.

These are the safe drugs

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm
enrofloxicin is the same as baytril . Zithromax is the same as azithromycin

These are the dangerous drugs
http://www.medirabbit.com/Unsafe_medication/dangerous_antibiotics.htm

some drugs are dangrous orally but fine if they are injected.
Amoxicillin is always dangerous

I am sorry that you need to leave again but you are doing the best that you can.

 

[the fluffies]

Is it the same method and drugs that has been use to treat abscess?

 

[Maureen Las]

I think that you mean the form of penicllin that your friend used on her rabbit..it contained another preservative..I will try to find that thread; we all had questions about using that penicillin without definitive answers.

WhenI get time later I will try to find the name of that drug ; just cannot recall it off the top of my head ..something like benacillin?

I do not think that you can get true bicillin in Malayasia
and yes it is the the type of meds to treat abscesses

 

[the fluffies]

Yes, the drug is Benacillin.
To treat respiratory problem, the dosage and the method/usage of the Benacillin is the same dosage/method to treat abscess?

To treat abscess, the vet advised to mix certain dosage of Benacillin with saline water, then directly jab it under the skin. Is this the same way to treat respiratory problem that caused by bacteria?

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.troylab.com.au/products.php?tid=1&iid=21&pid=112



This is it and yes it can be mixed and diluted with sterile saline or lactated ringers solution and given subqutaneously at the same dosage that you would give for abscesses

 

[the fluffies]

I read this article saying that nebulization can helps rabbit to breathe.

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/nebulization.html

Is this the other method to treat respiratory infection in rabbit?

What kind of antibiotic using for nebulization?

 

[Maureen Las]

This article mentions a few of the antibiotics

http://www.ontariorabbits.org/health/healthinfo14.html

I did aforum search on nebulizing

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/search.php?s=1&q=nebulizing

you probably can find some threads by previous members who have done this treatment; I have no personal experience with this other than to use a cool mister.

 

[the fluffies]

I'm not familiar with it.
What is cool mister?

 

[Maureen Las]

Randy suggested it instead of running a humdifier withwarm air for a bun with congestion.; it is like a humdifier but it sprays out acool mist which is easier to breathe in than heavier warm air.
They sell them cheap almost everywhere here. ..but you can't put meds into it like a nebulizer

 

[the fluffies]

I couldn't find handy cool mister in Malaysia

 

[the fluffies]

I rushed back to Penang this early morning when my bf told me Shiro is not eating and drinking when he checked on him 2 days ago.And he was left unattended for 2 days because my bf was out station.

I reached home and found:
- no poops in his litterbox
- pellets and water were left untouched
- pineapple juice was left untouched
- carrots were left untouched
- Shiro only fed on a few strands of cilantro and a small slice of papaya. :nerves1

I quickly gave him some pineapple juice, Critical Care and Benebac. He doesn't eat by his own, so i have to force feed him. But what worrying me is, he is having a distended tummy. But not hard. A soft tummy, except looks distended. Could it be a blockage??? :nerves1:nerves1:nerves1

I fed more pineapple juice. I've been monitoring him for more than 12 hours now (since i reached home this morning). But no poops. And he still doesn't touch anything yet. :sigh:

We just get home from the vet who prescribed him Baytril last 2 weeks. The vet checked on his lungs and said Shiro probably having lungs fibrosis. He cant confirmed since Shiro has no nose discharge. He said to take culture test, he needs some discharge.

He prescribed us Baytril, Prednisolone and Denxin (correct me if i have spelled it wrongly, but that was how the vet pronounced it. I couldn't find the correct spelling from the internet). But this time, he gave lower dosage compared to what he prescribed us 2 weeks ago. Maybe because Shiro has reduced some weight?? He was 1.7kg 2 weeks ago. Now he is 1.3kg. I have no choice, but trust this vet since he is the only vet i can reach at this moment :sigh:

The vet doesn't said anything about Shiro's stomach. For him it there's nothing wrong with his tummy. But i still feed him with pineapple juice (again.. i have no simethicone in hands) and hope he will poop soon :sigh:

ray:

ray: