Hi today Lissa and I were at the shelter and Lissa noticed that when she picked Spunky up that he sort of"squeaked"He is a young adult male rabbit that has been at the shelter for several months. After we listened to him a little more it seems that he is having a small amount of congestion when he breathes.Otherwise he is eating and pooping etc. The shelter reliesa lot on us to detect the problems with the bunnies. I feel that we should probably take him to the vet right away before this gets worse.Does anyone know (or have experience with these symptoms). He has no discharge at all but his nose is a little wet. Could this be the beginning of snuffles? He has had a change recently in his environment in that his cage has been moved to a room with kitty cages in it.
Shelter rabbit with beginning respiratory problem
- Thread starter Maureen Las
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SAS
Well-Known Member
sounds like a vet call is in order, but one thing my vet mentioned to me when mine started having a wet nose was to use some of her eye drops in her eyes -- she had I think polysporin drops or ointment for an injury.
its something that you might have on hand and won't hurt to try. if there is infection, it can help keep it down until a proper diagnosis.
of course the change in environment is always a red flag for allergies or something similar, which seem pretty common. it would be a bit of a hoot if he was allergic to cats.
:sunshine:
sas
its something that you might have on hand and won't hurt to try. if there is infection, it can help keep it down until a proper diagnosis.
of course the change in environment is always a red flag for allergies or something similar, which seem pretty common. it would be a bit of a hoot if he was allergic to cats.
:sunshine:
sas
TinysMom
Well-Known Member
I don't know how true this is - BUT - it worked for us. We were told if we had a rabbit that had a tiny bitof wetness at the nose or perhaps a bit of clear discharge - to use abit of Children's Benadryl. I think I used 1 ml/cc - I gotthe dosage off of
http://www.petmeds.com - I looked up benadryl and looked up the dosage for cats (per pound).
It took our rabbit 2 doses - one in the evening and I gave the 2nd dose the next day about noon even though I wasn't sure he needed it.
He's fine now....but once again - he didn't have the white discharge stuff...
Peg
http://www.petmeds.com - I looked up benadryl and looked up the dosage for cats (per pound).
It took our rabbit 2 doses - one in the evening and I gave the 2nd dose the next day about noon even though I wasn't sure he needed it.
He's fine now....but once again - he didn't have the white discharge stuff...
Peg
Never ever thought of an allergy to cats....thanks a lot we can try Benadryl first Thanks Angie
SAS
Well-Known Member
here's another bit of info on Benadryl for bunnies... (good call, Peg).
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/benadryl.html
Still won't hurt to use the eyedrops, too, if you have them.
PS:This is mostly aimed at other people reading this thread,but I still have to, as always,express concern at treating the symptoms without a true diagnosis. These things will do in a pinch, but it's notgood to mask those symptoms if its something more complicated. May well do more harm than good.Always best to see the vet.
SAS
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/benadryl.html
Still won't hurt to use the eyedrops, too, if you have them.
PS:This is mostly aimed at other people reading this thread,but I still have to, as always,express concern at treating the symptoms without a true diagnosis. These things will do in a pinch, but it's notgood to mask those symptoms if its something more complicated. May well do more harm than good.Always best to see the vet.
SAS
That's right SAS....I don't have any eyedrops available anyway and I believe also I shouldn't treat anything unless I know what the diagnosis is. We'll take him to the vet early this week.
Lissa...I listened to Spunky with a stethoscope today without touching him . I couldn't hear anything....then I picked him up and he was excited and I could hear it without the stethoscope.It seems really mild but there is something different. I am going to tell Heather I will pay for the vet even if she wants a staff member to take him instead of me as I think this could probably be cleared up quickly in this stage,probably with an antibiotic. I doubt he is allergic to cats because when I was working in cat adopt I used to have"cat" all over my clothing when I cared for the rabbits.
aurora369
Well-Known Member
I know with Wildfire, she gets all sqeaky when I pick her up, or pet her sometimes. It's just noises she makes, and she only really does it for me.
Your bun there might just be a talker, like my bun.
Can you listen with a stethoscope when your holding him? I would think you'd be able to hear it when he was sitting and calm if it was a congestion thing.
I know with Wildfire it's not a congestion thing, she just starts to make weird noises when excited and some of them sound like a wheeze,and some of them sound like a chicken.
--Dawn
Your bun there might just be a talker, like my bun.
Can you listen with a stethoscope when your holding him? I would think you'd be able to hear it when he was sitting and calm if it was a congestion thing.
I know with Wildfire it's not a congestion thing, she just starts to make weird noises when excited and some of them sound like a wheeze,and some of them sound like a chicken.
--Dawn
Hi Aurora..I know what you mean about how they all make different sounds. Maybe its nothing but he has been at the shelter for months and I've handled him a lot and something just seems a little bit different. ...
aurora369
Well-Known Member
Well it's good to go with your instincts, they are normally right.
No harm could come of a vet check up...
--Dawn
No harm could come of a vet check up...
--Dawn
m.e.
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Lissa wrote:
At the shelter where I volunteered, one of the workers had a rabbit that was allergic to cats. After doing cultures, treating him with antibiotics, etc., he just wouldn't stop sniffling. She put him in isolation (away from the cats), and he instantly got better. Now he gets set play times with the kitties (the little bun loves them), and other times he his own room away from them. Didn't mean to take the thread off-topic, just thought that might be an interesting anecdote.
Hope the little guy feels better soon!
~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~
At the shelter where I volunteered, one of the workers had a rabbit that was allergic to cats. After doing cultures, treating him with antibiotics, etc., he just wouldn't stop sniffling. She put him in isolation (away from the cats), and he instantly got better. Now he gets set play times with the kitties (the little bun loves them), and other times he his own room away from them. Didn't mean to take the thread off-topic, just thought that might be an interesting anecdote.
Hope the little guy feels better soon!
~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~
