Rabbit with pasturella

[bunnylovin1093]

Hello all. So one of my two bunnies Betty seems to have snuffles. We took her to the vet yesterday and the vet said it seems like paturella and they gave us baytril to give her ( 1 ML per day ). She has been sneezing and snorting and she has a lot of nose discharge and discharge from 1 eye. I have heard that baytril sometimes is not so effective. What do you think?

 

[JBun]

Baytril can sometimes be effective, depending on the bacteria involved. But many times it is not effective and a different antibiotic is needed. I've read of people having good results with zithromax, though it has been known to cause severe digestive problems for some rabbits, so that needs to be carefully considered. Sometimes you will need to try several different antibiotics or a combination, before you find the ones that are effective.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/Bacterial/URI.htm

Did the vet also prescribe metacam? It's an anti inflammatory pain reliever, which can be helpful with URI's. Bisolvon is also sometimes used to treat rabbits with URI's to help thin the mucous and make it easier to discharge. I believe you have it available to you there. If current treatments seem to be ineffective, sometimes nebulising can make a big difference. Check with your vet about whether it would be appropriate to add these to your rabbits treatment as well.

Did the vet check for blocked tear ducts, as well as a dental infection as possible causes for the discharge?

 

[bunnylovin1093]

yes she did check her tear ducts and teeth. She said it does not seem like her teeth are bad and that her tear ducts were not blocked. She said it was most likely a repistory tract infection.

 

[missyscove]

Baytril (enrofloxacin) can be very effective. Oftentimes we assume that upper respiratory infections are caused by pasteurella but this isn't always the case. If she doesn't seem to improve on the baytril, I'd ask about a culture and sensitivity to help choose another antibiotic. This can usually be done with a nasal swab (but the swab has to get pretty far into the nasal cavity so sometimes this requires sedation). You can also consider nebulization or even just bringing the bun in the bathroom when you shower. The steam can help loosen things up.