# Gypsy has a wet nose...Is this normal?



## Jordan (Jun 4, 2010)

Hello,

I have a six month old holland lop rabbit named Gypsy. She has had a wet nose since I got her in January. I kind of just assumed rabbits were supposed to have wet noses. I have only had one rabbit before her and she was constantly sick and was on antibiotics for most of her life so I guess I'm not really all that sure what is normal for a rabbit. I didn't really think anything of it until just recently when I noticed that my new rabbit's nose wasn't wet.

Gypsy doesn't sneeze excessively and she isn't lethargic. She is always the first to come out of the cage every day when I let them out to play and is always first to the food bowl. I haven't really noticed anything out of the ordinary that would make me think there is anything wrong. My first rabbit ended up dying when she was only 7 months old from being so sick so I guess I am just very paranoid about health issues now lol. Is this normal for some rabbits to have wet noses or should I take her to the vet?

Thanks soooooo much for any advice


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## jamesedwardwaller (Jun 4, 2010)

*Jordan wrote: *


> Hello,
> 
> I have a six month old holland lop rabbit named Gypsy. She has had a wet nose since I got her in January. I kind of just assumed rabbits were supposed to have wet noses. I have only had one rabbit before her and she was constantly sick and was on antibiotics for most of her life so I guess I'm not really all that sure what is normal for a rabbit. I didn't really think anything of it until just recently when I noticed that my new rabbit's nose wasn't wet.
> 
> ...


wet nose rabbit,,no,,no normal,..may have uri,,need exam by an exotic specialst,,james waller


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## Pipp (Jun 4, 2010)

Have you ever noticed any mucus or 'snot'? If so, what color was it? 

Have you ever seen any matting/mucus on her feet that might have come from wiping mucus from her nose? 

Does she sneeze at all? Any wheezing? Runny eyes? Does she ever sit with her head/nose pointing up rather than down? 

What do you feed her? What bedding/litter you you use? What kind of hay? 

You can't count on the traditional 'sick' signs with rabbits. By the time they're lethargic, they're appetites drop off and/or they don't come out of their cage as usual, they're REALLY sick. 

She could have a mild (or chronic) upper respiratory infection kept in check by her immune system that may not get worse until her system is stressed, e.g., her regular routine is disturbed, she doesn't eat well for a few days, eats something that disagrees with her, gets dehydrated, starts molting, gets an injury or picks up another 'bug' or just gets run down... that sort of thing. 

Or she could have a sensitivity to something in her environment like hay dust, bedding, etc, although seeing as she came with a wet nose, that's less likely. 

Its probably a good idea to keep track of when her nose seems to be the wettest, or when she sneezes, ie: when the pellets or hay are getting to the bottom of the bag or when the litter is fresh, or when she's stressed. 

If she doesn't have snot, matted paws, wheezing, runny eyes or any of the other signs mentioned, you can probably wait and make these observations, but if she does have them, best to schedule a vet appointment sooner than later. 

What kind of problems did your first bunny have? 


sas :clover:


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## Jordan (Jun 4, 2010)

She doesn't sneeze very often, I mean she will from time to time but no more than a couple times a day at most and it's never more than once at a time. I've never noticed any mucus. As for the wheezing, I don't know. I can hear her breathing when she puts her nose right in my face, but I don't know if I would call it wheezing really. I haven't noticed her sitting with her nose in the air, but that wasn't ever something I thought to look for so I might have missed it, I will watch more closely for that today when I let them out.

Everything I feed is Oxbow. She gets the Bunny Basics 15/23, timothy hay, orchard grass, and I've been starting to introduce greens (mostly just romaine lettuce so far). Oh and every now and then I give them both one of those papaya tablets oxbow makes. Their litter is also made by oxbow, it's called Eco-Straw.

I have noticed a few eye crusties before, but they weren't bad at all. I found something online that said that was normal every once in a while as long as it didn't happen a lot so I didn't really worry about it too much, but if I see it again I will take her in right away.

My first bunny had an upper respiratory infection that we just couldn't get under control. She was sneezing a lot so I took her in and they gave me antibiotics which would help, but then as soon as she was off them she would get sick again. I tried everything...different antibiotics, different vets, different food, absolutely everything I could think of but she just kept getting sick. I had a vet give me azithromycin and she seemed completely better after she was done with that, but then she ended up dying a week later so I don't know what happened.


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## Maureen Las (Jun 4, 2010)

I would have her checked over by a vet; it is not normal to hear them breathing even if you are on the ground with your ear to their bodies.


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## Yield (Jun 4, 2010)

My boy, Sabriel is the same as your bun.
Wet nose, but no mucus as long as I've had him (my vet said it was cause he was stressed). No matted fur on paws.
Doesn't sneeze too much. No wheezing.
Only little random eye crusties (everyone gets eye crusties though?)
I've had him for a while and he seems fine. I'm bonding him with my other bun as well, and she seems fine... She hasn't started to get a runny nose or anything after being around him so much (They're both 8 months)

This is weird.. o.o


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## kirbyultra (Jun 4, 2010)

My buns have a moist nose, which I think is normal, Yield, but it's not "wet". If I put my finger on their noses, I can feel that it is not dry. But when I swipe my finger across their nose, my finger doesn't have any liquid or anything else on it, hence not a runny nose.


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## Yield (Jun 4, 2010)

When I put my hand on Sabriel's nose, depending on what time, I get wet on my hand. Sometimes his nose will be drier than other times.


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## tonyshuman (Jun 4, 2010)

My Muffin's nose is often a bit wet--but never drippy. I know that all rabbits are different, and that could be what's going on. She sees the vet annually and I check her for other signs of a URI or tooth problems constantly, so I have come to accept that her slightly damp nose is normal. It is only wet around the nostrils themselves--not the whole nose.

If it is a more extensive area of wetness, or there are other breathing issues or tooth issues involved, it could be a real issue. In any case, it should at least be seen by a vet. There may be a broad range of what is "normal" for a bunny, but if your rabbit falls outside of the average in this normal range, it should be cleared by a vet. Does this make sense? The way I think about it is that there's a bell curve/Gaussian distribution of rabbits for most symptoms; your bunny could be far outside the average and still be normal, but in order to make sure that's what's going on and that there isn't an actual sickness involved, you need a vet to verify that.


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## Jordan (Jun 5, 2010)

Gypsy is never drippy either. Thank you all so much for all of the advice! I think I will just watch her more carefully for the next few days and if anything else doesn't seem right I will take her in to see a vet. I live about an hour away from the closest rabbit savvy vet and both of my bunnies hate car rides so I don't like to stress them out unless I need to lol. 
Thanks again!


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