New bunny might be sick

[teric506]

Hello everyone, I just go my new bunny about an hour ago and I think it turned into a rescue. I got him of Craigslist and everything went fine, they even delivered him. He is a year and a half old lion head and they said they got him from a breeder when he was a baby. When he got here the cage he was in was disgusting and they have been feeding him ginuea pig food. I felt so bad I couldn't just send him back with them. They said he has a cold and his nose looks funny, when I asked about they said he was molting and that was why. I immediately went out and got a new cage and some real rabbit food from my local feed store. I have some Timothy hay that I put in his cage but I am not sure what to do and if his nose is crusted from the cold or if he really is molting. He lets me pet him and seems calm. Any help would be wonderful as I did not expect to get a sick bunny. Thank so much.

Teri

 

[LakeCondo]

Thank you for taking him in.

As you have suspected, molting doesn't cause a crusted nose. The loose hair should be removed as often as you can so the rabbit doesn't ingest it while licking it off, which can block the digestive system. Some rabbits are bothered by hay dust & the hay the previous owners had might have been dusty. So hopefully this is the problem, but I think you might want to find a rabbit-savvy vet in your area.

It could be a cold, or allergy, or something else.

 

[teric506]

Do I try and wash the crusty ness off of his nose. I am worried that I am going to traumatize him because he has only been with me for a few hours now. If I do clean it off what is the best way to do it? Thanks again.
I have attached a pic of his nose (I think I did anyway)
Teri

 

[JBun]

Your rabbit most likely has snuffles and will need to go to the vet and get some antibiotics. Here are some vet listing for good rabbit vets. This in not caused by molting, and the people most likely knew they were giving you a sick rabbit.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

If your rabbit is nervous being in a new place, I would leave him alone as much as possible for a few days, aside from seeing a vet, and not wipe his nose, it will be ok for now. You don't want to overly stress him as too much stress can make a rabbit sick. If he seems friendly and interested in you, you could try lightly wetting the nose(you don't want him breathing in any water), and let it sit for a few minutes, then try lightly wiping with a warm damp cloth.

Just a few things about having a new rabbit. Rabbits can get really sick with sudden diet changes. Hold off on the rabbit pellets for now and feed unlimited timothy hay. Rabbits need to be slowly transitioned onto new foods. You can start the rabbit pellets, but start with a very small amount like 1/2 teaspoon morning and night, then gradually increase that amount over 2 weeks time til you are up to a normal amount. Recommended amounts for pellets are 1/4-1/2 cup pellets each day per 6 lb body weight. It's best to split it up into a morning and night feeding. Also make sure he's drinking water and if he has a water bottle, make sure it is working ok. Make sure to also use a rabbit safe litter like pine pellets, newspaper pellets, aspen bedding, carefresh, or kaytee soft granule bedding. Don't use cat litter, pine shavings or cedar shavings. They are all bad for rabbits. I would recommend checking out the library section on this forum, to learn about the care of rabbits. It can help you avoid common mistakes often made with new rabbit owners. The house rabbit society website also has good info. Here are some veggie lists as well, and the proper way to introduce new veggies. You only want to introduce one new food at a time, including pellets, so that if the food causes a problem, you will know what caused it. Keep an eye out for any changes in the poops. There are normal sized round fecal poops and grape cluster like cecal poops. Extra small poops, irregular shaped poops, and soft mushy ones, are a sign of a digestive problem.

http://www.rabbit.org/care/veggies.html
http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm#greens

Good luck! I hope your poor little guy is going to be ok,

 

[tolstoibunny]

Is he sneezing? It could also be a fungal infection. I would get the poor guy to a vet asp. Good luck!

 

[Imbrium]

wow, poor little guy... I don't blame you for taking him in even though you were misled about his condition - I wouldn't have been able to send him back with those people, either!

I agree that a vet trip is in order... hopefully he'll bounce back in no time!

 

[teric506]

I am calling the vet first thing this morning. If this is snuffles or something fungal both can be cured right? I cant beleive someone would get rid of a sick pet. He sneezed all night long and sounds congested. I feel so bad for him.

 

[ladysown]

that type of crustiness doesn't look like pasturella (but see what the vet says). And rabbits don't get colds. They get illnesses such as pasturella and bordatella.

Hopefully he will be just fine. Do have the vet check him out thoroughly from head to toe.

Snuffles is more managed than it is curable. It can be knocked into hiding but generally never quite goes away.

 

[teric506]

He goes to the vet today at 2:15. It is strange he sounds like it is respiratory because he is sneezing all the time but his nose just looks really bad. The whole tip of his nose looks like it is missing the fur and it all white crustiness. I did notice him scratch at his ear this morning too, I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I really did not expect to take in a special needs bunny so i am hoping a round of antibiotics is going to work for this little guy.

 

[teric506]

Just got back from the vet, they are treating him for snuffles. They gave him a shot of an antibiotic and a steroid along with oral antibiotics. They cleaned most of the gunk off his nose and trimmed his nails and gave him some flea stuff because he had a couple of fleas on him. He did so well while he was there, I am very proud of him. I emailed the people that gave him to me and they said he has been like this for weeks and the breeder said it was just allergies. Hopefully he will start feeling better soon. Thanks for all of the advice, I really appreciate it. This was very scary.

Teri

 

[Imbrium]

*facepalm* what wonderful owners; rehoming instead of coughing up for a much-needed vet trip.

I'm glad things went well at the vet and you're getting him the treatment he needs!

 

[teric506]

I am very thankful i found a vet that knew what he was doing. The vet said he was a good weight at 4 lbs for a lion head and that he is young so the 1 1/2 years is most likely correct. Once he is healthy I am going to have him neutered. There is still some crustiness on his nose and it is raw and bloody from where the vet cleaned it up but he did not give me anything for it. Is that ok to leave alone or should i be putting ointment or something on it? I would love to ring the old owners neck though, i still cant believe they would leave him sick for so long and then just give him away instead of taking him to the vet. They named him cutie but he doesn't seem to respond to it. Should i keep the name or rename him?

 

[whitelop]

Rename him whatever you want to name him. To me, he looks like a Charles. lol

I don't know if you should put anything on his nose, someone else may have something to add to that.
But I just wanted to say that I'm really glad you got him from those people, even though he was sick. I'm glad he came to a loving home, and you took him to the vet. Sometimes people just suck and those people suck. Glad to have you here.
I hope you enjoy your new little boy! He's adorable and we love pictures here! Good luck getting him well!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:goodluck

 

[teric506]

oh i forgot to post what the vet put my new bun on as i wanted to make sure you guys thought it was good enough. i am going by my receipt so if i am looking at it the wrong way please let me know. Bunny is 4lbs. at the office he was given and injection of Dexamethasone 2mg/ml and an injection of Baytril 22.7 mg/ml. Then he sent me home with 7 tabs of Baytril 22.7mg/ml. I am supposed to give half a tab once daily for 14 days. How long does it normally take to see improvement? He still has discharge coming out of his nose and still sounds congested. The doctor did tell me if he is not better by the time the meds are done that i need to bring him back. Also he gave me tabs and said sometimes they will eat them like a treat and sometimes you have to crush them. What has been the easiest way for you guys to get your babies to take medicine. Also is there anything I can give him to help with this like vitamins or something? I want to get him as healthy as possible so he can fight this stuff off in the future. Poor thing was in filthy living conditions eating guinea pig food so i am sure that contributed to all of this somehow. I just dont want to make the same mistakes the previous people did. You guys have been so helpful I dont know how to express my thanks. This is an amazing community.

Teri

 

[missyscove]

I'm surprised they didn't compound the baytril into a solution for you. I haven't had luck getting my rabbits to just eat pills, especially if he's not used to taking treats from you anyway. You could try crushing them and mixing them with a little baby food or applesauce, or, if you have a syringe, crush them with water and syringe feed him the meds.
I'm glad you got him to the vet. He shouldn't need any sort of vitamins as long as he's on a good quality pellet with unlimited hay.

Feel free to change his name. If he knew it I'd say to at least pick something that rhymes, but if he doesn't know his name you're free to call him whatever you'd like.

 

[Imbrium]

I didn't even know baytril CAME in pill form - I thought it was always a liquid suspension.

as for the nose, if you're worried, you can put a *tiny* little dab of either neosporin *without* pain reliever or polysporin on it if it doesn't stress him out to have you lightly touch his nose (you want to use a tiny amount 'cause chances are much of it will end up ingested). make sure it doesn't get into his nostrils.

 

[teric506]

I am going to pick up a syringe from Walgreen's on my way home tonight. I am going to try to crush the pill and dissolve it in some juice and squirt it in his mouth. Is there a particular flavor of juice that bunnies seem to like more than others?

 

[Imbrium]

preservative free fruit-flavored baby food would probably work better - the crushed up bits of pill would blend in more. mine go nuts over apple-blueberry flavor. if you use juice, apple and pineapple are popular with bunnies (or really, any juice that corresponds to a fruit your bunny loves).

 

[teric506]

ok so i gave the crushed pills mixed with banana baby food as that was all i could find at the drugstore. I put it in a syringe and gave it to him that way. I think i may have gotten more on his fur than in his mouth. Is there an easier way that i could try this. He is breathing better today which i am so happy for. I got a little more of his nose cleaned off while I was holding him. I am trying not to handle him too much as i know he is not feeling well and i dont want to upset him, but really i just want to squeeze and hug and kiss him:hearts: i just love him so