# Sneezing -- no discharge.



## Moro Ferret (Dec 7, 2010)

My bunny is a Belgian hare, 4 months old. He eats Purina blue bag.

I got him recently, from an excellent breeder in our area who breeds for health and temperament. 

He has been sneezing some. Sometimes more, sometimes less. His nose is wet, but 100% clear. There was one sneeze a few days ago where there was one tiny spot of white thicker stuff, but since then it was been 100% clear. I have looked waaayyyy up his nose and nothing looks congested. There is no goop on the paws, and he seems healthy. It's not constant sneezing, maybe once every 5 minutes or less. Sometimes he doesn't sneeze at all.

The breeder said if there is any issue (like blowing snot) to let her know -- she takes health very seriously. She said he was not sneezing when he was with her, and wonders if stress might be a factor as before coming to the show and home with me, he had never been out of her home. I wonder if he is allergic to something on me, like the detergent I use in my clothes.

What do you think? Should I be deeply concerned for my other rabbits and for this bunny? Should I take him to the vet and get him on Baytril? Does it sound like something terrible? How can I make this go away?

Honestly I am beyond spooked about Pasteurella. I am so terrified he has it and...I don't know. I am just freaking out.


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## Moro Ferret (Dec 7, 2010)

Someone help? No one has been answering my posts lately on here.


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## jwark (Dec 7, 2010)

I read it but don't really know. Maybe he's allergic to something?


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2010)

I think that you should take him to the vet if he is sneezing as frequently as you describe. 

Iknow of one case in which a bun sneezed constantly for a long time and the owner thought it was harmless as there was no discharge. The bun eventually developed a lower respiratory infection which would not have occured if he had been treated earlier.

Despite having heard that one need not worry if there is only clear discharge (and I am not a vet to say the least) I have treated rabbits with an antibiotic who were sneezing for weeks (with no discharge) andfound that they responded to the antibiotic and ceased all sneezing. 
If the bun responded to an antibiotic then I assume the origin was bacterial in nature. 

This could be a beginning respiratory infection caused by stress and oftentimes a rabbit can fight off the infection with his own immune system 

If the sneezing persists , however,I would want to have my bun treated. 
Don't freak out over the group of bacterial infections that often times are called 'pasturella" 

Thereare great treatment for these types of infections using meds like injectable Convenia ,
injectable bicillin, azithromycin/Zithromax oral, Zeniquen and other drugs other than Baytril ( many bacteria have grown resistant to the drug (baytril) due to its massive over use over the years.) 

It doesn't sound like something terrible but very treatable. 
If he has been sneezing around your other buns they have already been exposed to the infective agent anyway ...

if you want to separate him to make yourself feel more comfortable that is OK 

(I have done this myself although I knew my other buns were already exposed) 

keep us updated


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2010)

From the RO library



http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=16807&forum_id=10


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## Moro Ferret (Dec 7, 2010)

Hi. 

I actually called my vet today, and spoke to my favorite vet tech. He basically said to keep an eye on my bunny (Nabil) until Friday, and call if things get worse.

Nabil was scheduled to be fixed Friday morning. I can have him checked over and have medication prescribed.

Should I also treat my other rabbits, or only worry about them if they show symptoms of being ill?


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2010)

if he has a respiratory infecion you should wait to have him anesthesized for surgery and treat the infection first. 

No need to treat the other rabbits unless they show symptoms.


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## Maureen Las (Dec 7, 2010)

I am sorry that your posts are not being answered quickly 

There are just not a lot of mods available right now.


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## Moro Ferret (Dec 7, 2010)

Okay. I will do that.

Also -- people say pastuerella is something which cannot be cured -- only treated. People have told me that rabbits that have it will be disabled their entire lives, etc. 
I have heard many stories about people having to cull entire herds. It's just REALLY scary. Do you think people over react, or is it that serious that frequently?

He hasn't blown snot or shown any really bad signs. I am going to have him medicated and hopefully the sneezes will cease.


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## Moro Ferret (Dec 8, 2010)

It makes me terrified because my bunnies are my babies. I would be so heartbroken if they became terminally ill.


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## Maureen Las (Dec 8, 2010)

I believe that Many breeders (I am not a breeder) do not have access to really good prescription veterinary drugs nor can they go through the expense of treating an entire herd so because of that they don't feel that they can handle the extent of the problem,./ 

some breeders have learned about injectable bicillin which is readily available from farm stores. 

The term pasturella is used really to define any number of different bacteria that can cause respiratory problems in a rabbit. 
There are bacteria that can remain latent in a rabbit throughout life meaning that it can resurface when the immune system becomes weak but 
The drugs that I named are very often able to resolve the infection 


Many times oral baytril is a temporary fix but the infection will return later. injectable baytril is actually more effective than oral. 

With a drug like bicillin or Zithomax or even a combination of both drugs the infection can be eliminated. 

You need a really rabbit saavy vet who can think out of the box.; most vets feel baytril is the safest drug for a rabbit but it has been overused and many bacteria in rabbits have developed resistance to it. ( but not always) 


3 years agoI used injectable baytril on a doe who had been sneezing. i gave her meds for about 10 - 14 days . She has never had a problem since that time 

Ialso had a young resuce bun who often times looked like he had yellow snot right inside his nostrils.he actually had no other symptoms. the vet chose to allowthis rabbit's own immune system todo the job and this bun never really developed a respiratory infection and this was without meds. 


I had an older mini-lop with a serious lower respiratoy infection; baytril was totally ineffective and actually she did not do well on zithromax because my vet underdosed her.
when she was given injectable bicillin all of her symptoms disappeared. 


Don't panic over this problem 
have a good vet look at the bun.
your bunny is really young so therewould be some concern re. antibiotics affecting his GI tract. 

be sure that you have a really rabbit knowledgeable vet. 

let us know how it goes


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## AngelnSnuffy (Dec 8, 2010)

Denise, I just wanted to pipe in since there haven't been many responses. Pasturella CAN be cured and almost always sucessfully w/ the antibiotics Maureen has mentioned. Zithromax is a fav as the bacteria don'toften becomeimmune.

(The vet will test the discharge to determine an infection.)


Keep an eye on the bun and keep us posted. Don't freak out, it will be okay.


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## Moro Ferret (Dec 8, 2010)

I feel that my vet is really rabbit knowledgeable, as well as ferret knowledgeable. I really trust her.

The best thing about my vet is that she listens to me and my suggestions. That's a biggie with my ferrets, as I am highly knowledgeable about ferrets and their illnesses and together we always take the best course of action in a bad situation.

With bunnies, I am still learning.  But between what I do know, you guys, and my vet, I'm sure a solution will be found.

I feel 1000x better now. Thank you!


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## AngelnSnuffy (Dec 8, 2010)

*Moro Ferret wrote: *


> With bunnies, I am still learning.  But between what I do know, you guys, and my vet, I'm sure a solution will be found.
> 
> I feel 1000x better now. Thank you!



Having a great rabbit savvy vet is the best thing on your side. Just keep reading up on rabbits(our library here is a great resource), you'll learn alot and it's fun learning all about them.

Also want to mention, allergies could be a possibility as the bun's in a new environment. My bun sneezes sometimes, I call them fake sneezes now cuz he does it all the time and they're faint, lol. He's done it forever, but he's just fine, so if that is of further reasurrance.

You're very welcome, I'm glad you're feeling a bit better.


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## tonyshuman (Dec 10, 2010)

So sorry I among others have been so busy lately. I have a bunny with sneezing issues as well right now. Some factors in his sneezing have been the moisture content of the air (now that the heaters are on, we need a humidifier), dustiness of new hay, stress from car trips, and also I think a URI. Snuffles absolutely can be treated. Allergies too can occur but are rare. However, we've been treating our bunny for several weeks now on antibiotic with two steps forward and one step back, and last night he sneezed literally all night long. I got sick of being kept awake and worrying about the poor guy, so I gave him some benadryl as originally prescribed by the vet. We were told to give him children's benadryl liquid without xylitol, 0.7mL for a 1kg bunny. This didn't help him earlier on, which is why we started on antibiotic therapy. Last night, however, he stopped sneezing entirely after the benadryl and we finally got some sleep. So I want to mention it as a possibility. There are other more serious causes of sneezing in the absence of a URI, like tooth root infections pushing on the nasal cavities.


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