Sick Holland Lop

[marissalb]

Hi Everyone,
My bunny Bailey is a 1yr old neutered Holland Lop. We took him to the vet on Monday because we noticed over the weekend he appeared to be wheezing and sneezing a lot. He would fall asleep and then suddenly wake up, shake his head, start sneezing, and then wheezing. He has no nasal discharge. The vet said it was most likely an upper respiratory infection and he was given nasal drops and Baytril mixed with banana. We had to call the vet again on Tuesday because it appeared as if the Baytril was giving him diarrhea. The vet wanted him 24 hours without diarrhea, and today we are getting a new antibiotic to put him on. He seems to not be eating as many pellets as before, but he ate his salad last night, and has been munching on hay. He's lethargic, but not to the point where he's not moving at all. He's also pooping somewhat normally, although it's smaller and darker. It seems that he starts wheezing more after we give him his nasal drops-- he gets so stressed out. The vet listened to his lungs and said they sounded great, and that he had no fever. She did mention, however, that he has a molar spur forming and we will have to bring him in in six months for a check up. Does this sound like an upper respiratory infection to you?? My husband and I have barely been sleeping because all we do is worry and make sure he's okay through the night. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? Once he's on his new antibiotic how long would you wait before you see any progress before you would consult another vet? Sorry this is SO long, we're just very worried about our little buddy!! :lookaround

 

[ra7751]

Well....first, an what appears to be an upper respiratory infection could be something else....and especially with a Holland, dental concerns are always a possibility. But let's assume at this point, with the limited info available, that it is a URI. Most any oral antibiotic will cause some GI upset with rabbits (and most any otherspecies for that matter). Baytril is old school and mostly ineffective these days. It has been so misused both by doctors and clients that many of the once sensitive bacteria are now resistant. Another old school drug that many vets still use is sulfa....comes by the name of SMZ, TMZ, Sulfatrim, Bactrim and others. This is also one of those drugs that cause GI issues (and with this drug sometimes serious GIupset) and is also very ineffective.

Again going with the idea that it is a URI, the pathogen most often identified is Pasteurella. My drug of choice in fighting this bacteria is Zithromax. While very effective, there may be some GI upset and loss of appetite for the first few days. In this case, the risk of GI upsetis negated by the very positive effects of the Zithromax. Another oral drug that I have used is Zeniquin. It is in the same family of drugs as Baytril and Cipro but hasn't yet developed resistance issues. Chloramphenicol is another oral drug I have used as it is very easy on the GI. However, this drug is difficult to find. It does carry some serious side effects in some humans...and this can happen just by handling this drug. Injectables are a good idea for those with sensitive GI tracts. Pen G (a combo of Procaine and Benzathine) or Convenia are good options. Keep in mind that penicillins and cephalosporins are safe only when injected.

The use of probiotics such as Bene Bac or Probios (no yogurt) can help stabilize the GI. Most antibiotics will take up to 72 hours to get to working levels.

Randy

 

[marissalb]

Thanks Randy. We've been giving Benebac too. We will give it 72 hours on current antibiotic, wait for any improvement, and then consult another vet if needed. I seem to think it's the spur. When he chews the noise he makes is different than it normally is, almost more of a grinding. The vet did say that it was something we would want to look into in 6 months, but I think it might need to be taken care of sooner.

 

[tonyshuman]

I would be pretty careful because the lethargy makes me worry a bit. Keep a close eye on him and challenge the vet if there isn't improvement soon, like Randy said. I always say that you should see improvement within 3-4 days of staring an antibiotic, and if you don't, then you need a reassessment or different antibiotic. Finally, as a personal recommendation, I would stop the nose drops. If it is a URI, a systemic antibiotic should help. Nose drops really aren't going to do much in my book, and it sounds like they may be bothering him.

A lot of the symptoms sound like they could be due to GI upset from the Baytril. Some bunnies' GI's just don't take it well, and that can cause a lot of discomfort.

 

[marissalb]

We actually brought him back to the vet today for a full body exam, xrays, a full dental exam, and an examination of his nasal passage. For some reason, I just don't believe it's a URI and really felt as if the vet was like well it's PROBABLY this, let's try this antibiotic and just see if it works, which I didn't like at all. Hopefully we will have some answers tonight. Thanks.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

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