Sick new Bunny

[stina3246]

I just gota young rabbit probably a fewweeks oldfrom a feed store this morning and she seemed fine but about 1/2 way home she started sneezing. (3x in about 1/2 hour)I checked her nose and it does look like she has had some discharge. I really can't tellif it was clear discharge or not.She also has crusties on her inside front paws that I didn't notice before. She is eating and drinking OK and she seems pretty bright eyed but I can hear now that her nose is stuffy. (She wasn't doing any of this when I picked her out of the cage. It seemed to come on suddenly) The store says they just got this batch in yesterday. I'm going to call them first thing in the morning to see what type of bedding they may have been on and let them know she is sick. I do NOT want to return her. I located a vet and am going to make an appointment for her ASAP but in the mean time can someone tell me if this is common in young bunnies or reason to panic? I'm the panicing type!:cry1:

Sorry, missed this:

Location:Clermont Florida

- Description (Breed, color., weight) (Dwarf, buff, no idea)

- Age (Young, a few weeks)

- spayed/neutered? No

- Notes on Fecal and Urinary Output
- are the bunny's poops and pees normal?
Yes pooping and peeing normal


- When did they last use their litterbox?
Not litter box trained yet but pooped about 20 min ago


- Any unusual behavior?
Don't know her well enough


- Medical History -- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before?
Unknown


- Diet - what does your bunny eat?
Rabbit pellets so far


- when and what did s/he eat last?
about an hour ago


- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally?
Haven't seen her hop. Had her a few hours but she's in a kennel now (it's bed time)


- are there any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach?
NO!


- has the rabbit been outdoors?
Only long enough to get her home

 

[ra7751]

Well....this could be a couple of things. Bedding certainly could be a concern. Could be an upper respiratory infection. And it's very possible it could be stress. I am concerned about the age....maybe a few weeks? Domestic rabbits don't fully wean until they are 8 weeks old....and in many states it's illegal to offer rabbits for sale if they are under 8 weeks old. I would certainly inquire as to the age status. Weaning is a dangerous time for rabbits.

Rabbits are quite prone to stress. This is a baby that has had it's world blown to bits. Pulled from it's mom (possibly too early), moved to a strange and noisy farm supply and been bounced around and now another relocation. I would suggest some "destressing"....something we do with incoming wildlife rescues. Put your little bunny in it's house, cover him with a towel, keep things quiet and leave him alone. Allow him time to acclimate.

Randy

 

[stina3246]

Thanks Randy. I could very well be wrong about the age. I was just guessing.
Her weezing is quite a bit better this morning and the discharge appears to be clear. Actually there is very little discharge it's just that you can hear that her little nose is stuffy and she sneezes periodically. She is eating like she hasn't had food in days and is extremely curious. She is the friendliest bunny I've ever met. We'll try to keep the handeling to a minimum. She seems to enjoy attention though. When we opened the door to give her breakfast she came right out of her kennel and climbed all over and licked me. Whoever had her before must have socialized her well. The vet that I spoke with told me to just return her and get a healthy one but I'm afraid if I do she won't get the care she needs. I called the store and they asked if we had her indoors. She said it could be the air conditioning because she was not used to being inside?

 

[stina3246]

OK....quick update. We moved our bunny our to our screened in porch and covered it with a light blanket to keep her quiet. We are in Florida so it's VERY humid out right now but not excessively hot. Her weezing seems to have stopped but she still has a tiny bit of clear discharge. I haven't heard her sneeze. So if it is the air conditioning how do I acclimate her to it. I really want her to be a house bunny.

 

[Flashy]

It could easily be stress. We had a Dopey arrive with copious snot everywhere, and we did take her back to the breeder who watched her for a week and saw nothing else, and so we brought her back and three years later we haven't had any problems with her.

For yours I would suggest letting her settle on the porch if it is cool enough for her to be outside. There are lots of things you can also do to help her cool down and that sounds quite important. I don't know your temps or humidity but hopefully someone from Florida will chime in (also if you could put your location in your profile that would be great thanks )

How great is the temperature change between aircon and outside?

 

[Flashy]

Here is a link about heat stress and off that there are links about cooling a bunny.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=27899&forum_id=10

I personally use frozen bricks, frozen water bottles, fans and damp towels with mine, but I don't think our temperatures are as hot as yours.

 

[stina3246]

The difference is quite a bit. The house is about 75-79 and outside it's about 90. She was outside in a rabbit hutch when we got her.

 

[Flashy]

Ideally she probably needs a transition, when settled, to bring her in, such as a small space of time inside, and then back outside and gradually increasing the length of time she is inside, however, with a temperature difference so great that's a lot of stress to put on a bunnies system.

Is is cooler in the evenings so the difference is less?

Do you have one room in the house which is warmer than the others? that could aid transitioning, potentially.

The other option is to let her settle outside and watch her, and when she is settled just bring her in for good and see how she goes. By that time you will know what is normal for her and be able to work out if she is any different inside.

Remember outside she will need to be in shade all the time (obviously the sun moves, so the shade moves) and need air moving, and also she will need to be fully protected from predators (raccoons, birds of prey, anything else you might have in your area), and wherever she is will need to be safe from her escaping too.

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree it could be from heat or bedding. However, if it continues after you transition her to the inside, she needs to be checked by a vet for an upper respiratory infection.

 

[Little Bay Poo]

Air conditioning is a possibility. When we first got Billy, he reacted to the air conditioning with sneezing fits. In our case the AC was blowing directly onto his cage, so we put a towel over the top to stop the draft. He was all fixed after that

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

tonyshuman wrote:

I agree it could be from heat or bedding. However, if it continues after you transition her to the inside, she needs to be checked by a vet for an upper respiratory infection.

new owner new bun/baby bun,,dial up a exotic specialist at least for an exam and ask alot of questions//.claire did you see my appology about the yellow pepper,,you forced my hand,,i felt evil,,:blushan:sincerely james waller

 

[stina3246]

I have her now inside in a warmer room where the air conditioning is not blowing on her. She seems to only sneeze when I let her out of the cage. I'm wondering if she is allergic to something in the house, on the carpet or one of my other pets. (Can bunnies be allergic to cats?

 

[Pipp]

It may be that she sneezes when she's breathing harder and not so much when she's confined. If that's the case I really would get her to a vet ASAP, it's more likely to be an upper respiratory infection or something else requiring antibiotics.

Can you find out exactly how old she is or post a pic?


sas :clover:

 

[stina3246]

There are pictures of her in the Rabbitry under "What is she" I have NO idea how old. I have to call and ask the store but I doubt that they know. I need to find a good bunny vet in my area. The one I found had good reviews but when I E-mailed him and explained what was going on and wanted an estimate and if I needed an apointment he responded by telling me to take her back and get a healthy bunny. I suppose that would be good advise but I know if I return her she couldend up snake food and I know they won't get her to the vet so I'm keeping her.

 

[tonyshuman]

She is pretty young. I can't tell exactly, but she does look old enough to be away from her mom, probably, but that depends of course on the breed. She might be pretty big by the time she grows up, by the way.

I agree from those pics that her wet nose is pretty severe and she should be seen by a vet. Since she's had a nose issue for about a week now with only minor improvement, a vet should try to culture that mucus and determine if there is bacteria in there and what antibiotic(s) it is susceptible to. Did you check our vet listings?