Any ideas? Heavy breathing and a trance like state?

It's not a seizure that I can tell. But our little mini rex has been battling with a URI, and after the rabbit savvy vet changed from Baytril to Trimeth Sulfa something, he had an episode where he couldn't stop stress breathing, and then he was having tummy problems (suspected illeus?). She took him overnight and gave him sub q fluids, metacam, and they flushed his sinus with epi and saline mix and he was fine by the morning. We got him home and he started the same thing. She said to try infant saline, so we did, and it worked immediately. He did great the rest of the day, and then after he had his Baytril for the night, he started again. He acts like he is in a trance and just does the stress breathing. We did the saline, and it was fine again all night long. He was fine all day, and then I went to check on him and he has started it again. I have given the saline. When it happens, he just wants to lay down and he kind of goes into a trance and just does the stress breathing. The vet is unsure what it is - she just diagnosed him with sinusitis. She is gone for the night, but she gave me epi/saline in case of an emergency. I am hoping I don't have to use it.

I just want to know if anyone has any ideas what could be causing this and what can be done to prevent it??? Could this be like a post traumatic stress reaction - because tonight he did it about the same time he was due for the Baytril?

Could he be allergic to the baytril?

No because I didn't give him any tonight and he just had this type of episode. He started off in October with Baytril for a URI, and he was all better after a couple of weeks. Then the symptoms came back, and the vet decided to give Flocillin injections (two shots one week apart) and we were giving Baytril, but he wasn't improving. So, they switched to the Trimeth Sulfa stuff and he had a bad reaction to that. It caused him to have some kind of stomach issue - thought to be illeus? Vet treated him and kept him overnight. Said the next morning he was fine, but when he spent the next hour and a half stress breathing all the way home (he has always done this while traveling), he couldn't stop when he got home. He just sits there or lays there and can't stop breathing fast. He doesn't want to move, and doesn't want to be bothered. We gave him the infant saline drops (2 in each nostril) and ran a vaporizer and he came out of it within an hour. He was fine until last night when it was time for Baytril, and after we gave him that, he had another episode (heavy breathing, loafing/sitting there/laying there and in a trance like state). Again, we did the saline drops and he was fine the rest of the night. Tonight, I had not even given meds yet, and he just had an episode out of the blue. Now I am afraid to give him the Baytril because he might have another episode. I have to wait until tomorrow morning to call the vet though.....

It's just frustrating not knowing what is wrong with him!

Nothing is working this time. Not the saline, not the epi/saline mix the rabbit savvy vet gave me, and nothing else. I can't find an after hours vet, and I can't afford the emergency hospital locally. I can only pray that he will be alive by morning and I can take him to the vet then. This is so sad to see him struggling like this!!

Im sorry I never replied to your message. I am actually lost on what advice to give. I haven't ever heard of this happening in a rabbit. The tetracycline you were asking about is what i hear a good ointment for the eyes but im not sure about anything else. Have radiographs been done to make sure there isnt a bigger issue going on inside?

Oops sorry I got the username mixed up. But still wondering if an X-ray was done

The rabbit savvy vet's xray machine was down as of last week. I ended up giving a small dose of Meloxidyl (she had mentioned she gave it last weekend when he was in his bad episode) around 9 p.m. and by 10:30, he still had no improvement. I was certain I would wake up and find him gone, but at midnight I got up to go to the bathroom and walked in to check on him. He was eating hay, had eaten the greens I left in his cage, was drinking water, and acting like nothing happened! Same results throughout the night and this morning - eating, drinking, and acting like nothing happened! Even had his tiny little piece of banana this morning (which he will refuse if he isn't feeling well). I'm just not sure if this is a combination of stomach issues and sinus issues or just the sinus issues. He had a long string of snot that I wiped from his nose when I gave him the last dose of saline, and when I checked on him at midnight, he had another string of snot stuck to the side of his nose. But, he wasn't making snorty noises or even gasping for air. When this happens, he just sits and does that rapid stress breathing, and after a while, he will lay down or kind of flatten out. What I do know is that it is very difficult to give him oral medication if he is having these episodes. Giving him Baytril the other night triggered an episode. Taking him to the vet triggers the episode because he will start stress breathing when I put him in the carrier. Last night, I didn't do anything when he had an episode (I was getting ready to give him some banana with probiotic, but had not given it to him yet). I had to skip his Baytril last night because I was afraid once I got the breathing under control, it might trigger another episode.

I'm just glad he is okay this morning.....but we need to figure this out so he doesn't get worse.

Two days have passed and he hasn't had any more of those strange episodes. The rabbit savvy vet advised to stop giving him antibiotics and just watch him closely for now. I have been getting up through the night and he seems perfectly normal. He started molting really bad, and I am finding a lot of loose fur. He has sneezed once a night for the last two nights and it's always clear discharge with fur. The night with his really bad episode it was thick and white discharge. He's eating well - almost excessively, and we noticed his poos changed.

Could this have been a mixture of events made worse by molting? Because the day after the last bad one, I was finding a few "strings of pearls" and smaller poos, but after that night, he started pooing more and eating more. I have to wonder if this episode was more of a pain response?

Either way, I am continuing to monitor him, and have arrangements with our rabbit savvy vet in the event of an emergency (which we didn't have before), and I am hoping that this was just a small bump in the road and we are on our way to being out of the woods now.

It's quite perplexing what may have been going on with him. Hopefully he continues to improve from here.

Curious if you have ever had any xrays done to see if there might be something going on below the surface, or any blood tests? Just wondering if the increased appetite might be connected to something else?

If he continues to have respiratory issues, might be worth asking your vet if nebulising would be helpful.

No xrays or bloodwork at this point. When it started, the vet's xray machine was down and since we were able to manage everything, she was not overly concerned with any further testing. If it had continued, she would have, and if it happens again, she will do further testing.

We are on the three days of fairly normal behavior. I suspect that his molting might be causing some gut issues because I'm finding more strings of pearls. We do have him still on the probiotic and he isn't really having any more respiratory issues other than an occasional sneeze (like once a day), but the discharge has been clear and I believe due to the molting. He's molting very badly today, and the vet doesn't seem concerned with his huge appetite for hay and greens. He is not eating his pellets like usual, but she said she was fine with that. If the eating doesn't slow down by next week and we haven't had any episodes, we will likely take him in to the vet just to make sure nothing else is going on.

We did think about nebulizing.....and I wished I had it when he was having those episodes, so if it starts up again, I will definitely ask about it. Thanks!

Hey my rabbit is going through the same thing and Idk what to do. She has been having episodes where she just sits and breathes through her mouth and her eyes bulge. She hasn't been eating much and is barely drinking she is very underweight and Idk what to do!! She has the episodes a lot. Any advice? Im really worried about her