Possible Collapsing Trachea

[Lindsay Gunn]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 5.5 year old Holland lop. He has always been a bit of a noisy breather and we have had him checked out multiple times for it. He was treated in the past for a URI, then was told this sound could be due to his facial structure. In the last few months his breathing has gotten much louder and sometimes I can see his chest moving when he breathes. I took him to our very rabbit savvy vet, Dr Saver, from Catnip and Carrots. She suspected it could be due to a collapsing trachea. She did an X-ray and saw some clouding in the area so put him on Azithromyacin for 20 days in case it is an infection. She said the other cause may be a collapsing trachea and there is only one test to figure this out which costs a few thousand dollars (involves putting him under and the same as an endoscopy in humans). She said there really isn't a point to do this because financially it is INSANE and even if this is the case, there isn't a treatment. We are assessing after the 20 days, but so far his breathing has remained the same and we are at day 15. She suggested putting him on Diphenhydramine as a bronchodilator.

Has anyone ever used a bronchodilator? Has anyone experienced their bun having a collapsed trachea? Or has anyone had a very noisy breather and it turns out to be something else? Any feedback would be really helpful. Thank you!

 

[JBun]

I've had rabbits that snore, but this is something they started as babies and did their whole lives due to genetically contricted nasal passages, until they passed from other causes at 9 yrs. I did have a rabbit that developed somewhat labored breathing with increased respiratory rate at 7yrs, and this ended up being thymoma. So noisy breathing can have other causes not related directly to the trachea, like allergies, lung problems, thymoma, an external mass pressing on the trachea, or even heart problems can cause noisy and labored breathing.

I have used diphenhydramine(Benedryl) for a rabbit with possible allergies, but not for any length of time. So it is used for certain conditions with rabbits, like allergies and also head tilt.

It seems at this point with your rabbit, Benedryl would probably be a good option for you to try. The other med that could possibly be helpful is meloxicam, to reduce any inflammation, if your rabbit isn't currently on it already.

 

[Lindsay Gunn]

Thank you so much for getting back to me. For the thymoma, would this show up on a chest x ray? Ill also ask about Meloxicam. I just get so worried that he is hurting but I can't tell. For now he seems to be eating and responding normall. The only change in his behavior was about a year ago he started resting and sleeping with his head on his paws on the floor (as if he was a pancake) but I assumed this is normal.

 

[JBun]

An xray or ultrasound can identify the size of the mass, if it's present. A CT or MRI would provide more detailed info, but of course is much more expensive.

https://rabbit.org/thymomas-in-rabbits/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Thymoma

 

[Lindsay Gunn]

Thank you!

 

[rabbit_friend]

What was the result with your bunny? I have had two bunnies with thymomas and your description of him resting with head stretched out on paws does sound like he was stretching his neck to try to breathe better. The suspicion of thymoma came from xrays on mine, with confirmation from needle biopsy. One was treated with radiation, the other with prednisolone.