Severe Sneezing - No discharge?

[TweedBunny]

My Brody-boy has had a sneezing problem thatstarted a few months ago but has gotten worse recently. Since there isNO rabbit-savvy vet in my area, (the closest I guess would be 2 hoursaway), good advice from you would be the most helpful!

A few times a day (especially in the morning), he will sneezerepeatedly very violently 20-30 times. While he is sneezing, he rubshis nose with his paws violently, almost like a bee has gotten into hisnose. I've never seen any discharge from his nose or eyes.

At first I ignored it because everything I've read on the internet saysany infection is accompanied by runny eyes or nose, and he doesn't havethat. But it's getting worse. I read on the internet that sometimessomething can get INTO their nose and irritate it. I've looked up hisnose with a flashlight but cant see anything. I also read they might beallergic to something but this really doesn't seem like that. He doesntsneeze when he's around anything specifically or after he's eaten, itskinda just at random times and places.

Thanks for anything you can tell us!

Misty and Brody :brown-bunny

 

[TweedBunny]

I found this on the internet too. Wonder if its true...

"If there is no discharge from the nose or if the discharge is clear, it is likely the cause is allergic."

 

[TweedBunny]

And another website says "Sneezing may or maynot be a sign of trouble. If sneezing is accompanied by a runny noseand/or runny eyes, a vet should be seen immediately, especially ifthere is also a loss of appetite. If the rabbit is sneezing but has noother symptoms and is eating well, it may be allergies or even nothingat all, but keep a close eye out for the development of any othersymptoms and keep in touch with your rabbit vet. "

True or False?

 

[JimD]

TweedBunny wrote:

And another website says "Sneezing may or may not be a signof trouble. If sneezing is accompanied by a runny nose and/or runnyeyes, a vet should be seen immediately, especially if there is also aloss of appetite. If the rabbit is sneezing but has no other symptomsand is eating well, it may be allergies or even nothing at all, butkeep a close eye out for the development of any other symptoms and keepin touch with your rabbit vet. "

True or False?

That would be pretty accurate from my experiences.

If Brody hasn't seen the vet, you may want to think about planning a visit just to be on the safe side.

I have a bun with allergies....dust especially. Benji gets runny eyes, but the discharge is always clear.
Initially I took him to the vet to rule out anything serious.....and I highly recommend this.

I sift dusts and fines from his pellets and hay. I also lightly mist his hay with water.
When I change his wood pellet litter, I mist it lightly with water.
I also have to be careful about opening the window over his cage.

I have a HEPA filter in the bunnie room that helps a lot.
And just recently I bought an air purifier and put it in their room.

And much to my dismay...Benji has developed yet another bout of runny eye as of this morning.

~Jim

 

[naturestee]

I wonder if he actually has something stuck uphis nose, like a piece of hay? I've heard of that happeningbefore. You could try using one of those suction bulbs forbabies to see if you can get something out, or see if a local vet cansee anything in there. He wouldn't necessarily need to bebunny savvy, but go in prepared with printouts on rabbit health just incase you need to check something like an antibiotic.

Jim gave some great advice! My boy Loki gets a runny eye fromdusty pellets or hay, so I do what I can to prevent it.Thankfully it's been a while since he's had a problem.

Hopefully Brody and Benji both feel better soon (Jim, have you tried putting a warm compress of chamomile tea on his eye?).

 

[JimD]

naturestee wrote:

(Jim, have you tried putting a warm compress ofchamomile tea on his eye?).

Sometimes, I think Benji gets a runny eye just so he can have a warm compress.

He LOVES them. He leans into it and won't move until it starts to get cooled down.

Usually a couple of saline eye flushes and it clears up after a day or two.
His tears ducts only have to get the least bit irritated and his eyes over-produce tears.
Then he starts to overgroom the eye if I don't catch it in time.
The vet doesn't want to flush the ducts for fear of creating scar tissue.
She says they're in good shape and it's just a condition that we have to monitor and maintain.

I'm out of saline and tea. I've got to pick up pet supplies later so I'll pick them up, too.

~Jim

 

[HoneyPot]

I sift my pellets and dust out my hay because my girl Misty sneezes a lot too, but doesn't get the runny nose.

She also sneezes and gets clear discharge is she spends a lot oftime on carpet (I don't know what it is about carpet - if it's dust orthe carpet glue...).

_________
Nadia

 

[TweedBunny]

Okay -Im going to try sifting hispellets because they ARE dusty and he does stick his nose all the waydown into his dish to nose around. My other rabbit doesn't sneezethough and he gets the saaaame food in the saaaame dish.

If that doesn't work, I'll try changing the type of litter I use.

Vet option is out at this time unless I start seeing other symptoms (like discharge)

Thanks for your help! :elephant:

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

I went to the vet because my rabbit wasdiagnosed with having allergies. I was told to use CHILDREN'SBenadryl. 1 ML per pound of rabbit. Will let youknow how it works.

Sharon

 

[canela_2004]

1 mL per pound of rabbit seems like alot. For my 7 pound rabbit i'd have to give 7mL..... maybe they meant 1 mg/pound?

 

[Haley]

Is he doing this, perhaps, right after he eats?Or drinks? Some bunnies who have bowls get water in their noses whenthey drink. Just thought I'd ask.

Also, try shaking out the hay as well. And what kind of bedding do youuse? Trying something less dusty like Yesterday's News may be worth ashot.

 

[TweedBunny]

He drinks from a water bottleanddoesn't seem to do it at any specific time orafter anycertain event. Sometimes he sneezes in the morningbeforefood, sometimes after laying on the tile in the kitchenfor an hour, sometimes outside on the patio, sometimeswhileexploring the garage....

He roams the house freely half the time and is out back the other halfof the time. Heonly uses his litter box in the laundryroom(which is filled with wood shavings, i know, shame onme)when he's inside and needs to go, MAYBE twice aday.He doesn't really seem to sneeze after he uses his boxthough. Like I said, its just kind of at random times and places.

 

[Haley]

How'sBrody doing? Is he still sneezing??

 

[TweedBunny]

Yeah he is.... :tears2:Its not gettingworse though - It's the same. Just a couple of episodes a day, and hesneezes 20-30 times. Maybe Im just overly paranoid? He and Camo play inthe garage together, maybe he's inhaling dust from in there. Siftingpellets didn't change much.

Thanks!

:brownbunny

 

[Haley]

yeah, it could just be a dust allergy orsomething. Have you tried switching his litter to something less dusty?Those wood shavings can be bad on their respiratory systems.

Yesterdays News works really great and you can buy the cat size at mostpet stores. A wood pellet would even be less dusty and is still verycheap.

 

[TweedBunny]

Yeah, you're right, I probably better try switching his litter next....

I just need to make time to go out and do some shopping around for the right stuff, thats always the 'not fun' part.

 

[monklover]

:threadhijacked: Sorry to add ontothis post but I was wondering if CareFresh was like Yesterday's Newscause I have noticed that my rabbit has been sneezing. So what do youthink is better? Yesterday's News or Carefresh?

 

[Haley]

monklover wrote:

:threadhijacked: Sorry to add onto this post butI was wondering if CareFresh was like Yesterday's News cause I havenoticed that my rabbit has been sneezing. So what do you think isbetter? Yesterday's News or Carefresh?

Im so sorry I missed your question! Carefresh and Yesterdays News areboth good litters. Carefresh is usually overpriced though and doesntabsorb odor as well as YN. I would buy a big bag of YN to tryout- you can buy the cat litter and its the same thing, but cheaperthan the rabbit litter bags.

TweedBunny, how is your Brody doing? Is he any better?

 

[TweedBunny]

No - He's still sneezing. Not any better orworse, still the same. I haven't switched his litter yet though. Needto make a trip to Walmart and see if they have the (is it paperlitter?). We have a Petco but seems like everything there is twice theprice. Hopefully they have what I'm looking for at Walmart.