Snuffles

[jleo3]

My poor rabbit has had the snuffles for 3 months now! Heis a nearly 8 month old un-neutered lionhead rabbit. I've posted about this same problem before with him and followed all of the advice I've been given, but my poor guy is still sick!

He's been to the vet 4 times now. The first time, he was given a pink liquid labled "Sulfa" and did not respond to it. The next visit, he recieved Baytril injectible, which was actually an expensiveclear liquid to be given orally. He responded to that, but was only on it for 10 days and began to sneeze again shortly after the prescription ran out. I went back to the vet and (to keep costs down) the vet created a solution that consisted of ground up Baytril pills mixed with water and Karo syrup and after 21 days of this mixture, he was still sick. Now, he is in the middle of a Doxycycline solution regimen and sneezing his poor little butt off!

I'm truly in tears right now because we've put so much effort into this and he's still very sick. I have not had a job this entire time and it's been financially and emotionally taxing.It'sgetting to the point that I may have to find a new home for him, because we can't afford thismuch longer.Even as I type this, he is having a sneezing fit that I can hear from across the house.

I clean his cage every other day. He eats lots of timothy hay and Oxbow alfalfa based pellets in addition to lots of fresh veggies and a couple of papaya treats daily. I wipe his boogers off of his nose multiple times daily and he gets a lot of free roam time. He has great energy and always plays with the dogs and also drinks plenty of water.

Are there any supplements I can give him? Is there something I'm missing? Please help. He's such an awesome rabbit and I hate this for him! I'll do whatever I can!

 

[jcottonl02]

Wow I really wish I could help with this.

Is it possible that it is NOT snuffles? Perhaps he is allergic to his bedding? What about any air fresheners? Anything at all? Did the vet do cultures? Test for the bacteria?

Perhaps he has a resistant strain of the pasturella bacteria (which causes snuffles). Have you tried putting him on a different antibiotic? Seeing which one works?

I am sure the vet will have checked this, but he doesn't have anything up his nose does he?

Jen

 

[tonyshuman]

I think at this point a culture and sensitivity test could be really helpful. Your vet has only scratched the surface of the possible antibiotics that can be given to rabbits, and has also only used the old, crappy ones that most bacteria are resistant to. Also, it's very strange that you gave an injectible form of Baytril orally, and that the doctor made that very sugary suspension of baytril pills to be given orally. It sounds like your vet doesn't normally treat exotics. The baytril pills are liver-flavored, which is probably why they put them in the syrup, but that amount of sugar is just not right for a bunny's sensitive GI. There are liquid forms available that your vet can buy if they routinely treat rabbits so as to avoid the liver-flavored pills and covering up their taste.

Other antibiotic options to discuss with your vet include bicillin (penicillin G procaine/penicillin G benzathine, only to be given via injection), Convenia (also only to be given via injection), and zithromax (azithromycin). Zithromax has a lot of success it seems in treating difficult upper respiratory infections.

I personallly would look for a new vet.

Are the boogers clear or colored?

 

[jcottonl02]

Tonyshuman- if I ever have an antibiotic/medicine type problem, expect a PM from me

Jen

 

[jcottonl02]

And I can't believe a vet wouldn't have done a culture test, after 4 visits!! I would definately suggest a new vet, if this is the case....

Jen

 

[jleo3]

Thanks for your replies!

He doesn't have anything in his nose, both I and the vet have checked. He's on his 3rd antibiotic right now. I think a culture would be the next step.

I've changed his bedding twice in the past couple of months and, quite honestly, it never occured to me that an allergy could be a culprit. Right now, he actually uses two types of litter. He has Softsorbent with lavendar in his corner litterbox and a Yesterday's News in his big litterbox (the one he likes to sleep in) and the cage is lined with newspaper.

Do you have any ballpark estimate of what the culture would cost me? I'm thinking to make the next vet payment, I'll have to head down to a pawn shop with some of my grandmother's old jewelry and the laptop that I'm currently using. Of course, if it can be avoided, it will be, but I'm running out of options here.

tonyshuman wrote:

Are the boogers clear or colored?

His boogers are white, although they started off green.

 

[jcottonl02]

I have never had one done, but it's ultimately just taking a sample of nasal discharge, and smearing it on agar jelly (not that expensive). It depends how much profit your vet makes. Unless they send it off to a lab for analysis, rather than in the actual vets.


Hmm....it could possibly be an allergy. If there has been no test of the nasal discharge itself, then it could be anything really. As he is bright, and active, and the only thing wrong with him is sneezing, after 3 months (!), then an allergy could be a possiblity.

I'm sure many people here have had culture testing for their buns, so will be able to tell you.

Jen

 

[cirrustwi]

I have to agree with Tonyshuman here. Those are only scratching the surface of the antibiotics avaliable and just aren't the best for pasturella. I'm a little confused, did you give the injectable Baytril orally? I've seen the mix made from the pills, but never for rabbits. I do really Zithromax as an antibiotic in general and it seems to work well for rabbits with respiratory infections.

I'm thinking another vet is in order as well. Perhaps someone here can recommend someone in your area. Did you look at the vet listings by state? But if you want to continue to see the same one, I'd talk to them about different antibiotics and the possibility of doing a culture.

It could be an allergy, especially if your bun is still eating, drinking and acting normally. It could be any number of things causing the allergy. I know someone who has a horse who is very unfortunately allergic to dust and hay! And I've seen dogs who are basically allergic to anything and everything outside, but they have to go out...allergies are just so difficult!

Jen

 

[jleo3]

I'm quite familiar with allergies because of my dog. She has to eat a bison-based diet to deal with it. I worked briefly as a vet tech and saw 2 patients that were actually allergic to human dander. What a nightmare that would be!

I'm quite certain it was injectable Baytril and as far as I know, it's not unheard of to administer it orally. What confuses me is that this is the only treatment he really responded to. The fact that he responded to an antibiotic leads me to believe that it is not an allergy, although I could be mistaken.

I've found a couple of rabbit savvy vets that are a bit of a hike, but as long as he gets better, I'll do it! I have 3 phone numbers written down that I will be calling in the morning to check in on. This vet, in particular, is a friend of mine that I worked with for 3 years and has definately earned my trust with the dogs. I just have to find someone who knows rabbits a little better.

 

[ra7751]

Interesting....first, there is no such thing as "snuffles"....old school generic term that really means nothing. If it is an infection, the most likely pathogen is pasteruella. The correct way to diagnose is by culture. One tricky part of this one. Pasteurella is a faculative anaerobic and doesn't always grow in a petri dish. If we have clinical presentations of a bacterial infection without growth in a petri dish, we treat for pasteurella. Next, sulfa type drugs and/or Baytril are all but ineffective against this (and many other) pathogens. Doxycycline also isn't a really good choice of drugs. And Karo Syrup? That is a huge no-no.

If this is a bacterial infection and is caused by pasteurella, the most effective drug at this time is Zithromax. I also use Convenia and Penicillin ( both of these drugs are safe only when injected). There is a newer floroquinolone (same family as Baytril) that doesn't yet show resistanced issues. It's Zeniquin. I understand that it is quite expensive.

Might not be this type of infection. Dental issues can cause these symptoms. And something as simple as a piece of hay stuck in the nose can also cause this.

Randy

 

[jleo3]

"Snuffles" seems to be the common term used to describe it, so that's what I went with.

Sounds like we have a bunch of Zithromax fans on here, so I'll see if I can push for that. What form does the drug take (i.e. injectible, oral suspension)? Also, I was wondering if there is a supplement I can add in that would help him combat this...maybe vitamins in his water or Benebac?

Thanks, again for all of your help!

 

[tonyshuman]

In the future, we prefer the term "upper respiratory infection". I would give him BeneBac for sure to help with any possible GI side effects of azithromycin. The vitamins they sell to put in the water are pretty much useless.