rhinitis in rabbits

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2bunmom

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Hi, this message is for Pamnock. In oneof your recent posts you were telling us things to do for a rabbit withrhinitis. You mentioned Vicks. Are talking aboutthe plain old Vicks Vaporub that you can buy in the drugstores? Also how is this used for the rabbit and how much doyou use? thank for all your good info. Beckie
 
Yes -- just plain old vicks. Rub alittle under the nose a couple times a day. (Small amountsinjested will not hurt the rabbits).

Just as in people, it will help to clear the nasal pasages and easebreathing a little. (It is not a cure for respriatory illness)

Running a vaporizer in a small room can also help.

Pam
 


Hi Beckie,

Sure hope everything's okay, or will soon be after treatment.

-Carolyn
 
Thanks you are so knowledgeable and a big help tous in this forum. MaybeI need to ask you some morespecific questions. I have a male rabbit around 2 1/2 to 3years old andI think he has rhinitis. He begansneezing a couple of months ago.I have beenwatching him very carefully. He is eating well, poopsok,drinks water ok. No wetness on hisnose or leg. I first noticed that he would sneeze wheneating. Some of the pellet dust going up hisnose. Now he sneezes at other times.Yesterday I noticed with one of the sneezes there was another sound toit. ( hard to describe- but I had not heard that before. )Still no wetness on nose or leg. His breathingsounds normal. At what point do youthinkI should take him to the vet? I do not want toput him through all that stress but on the other hand I love the littleguy and want to do what is best for him. Thanks for any helpthat you can give me. Beckie
 
Hi Beckie,

I would go to Pamnock first myself.

What is the male rabbit's name? I want to personalize him in my prayers.

Kudos to you for noticing the behavior and reacting quickly. Way to Go!

-Carolyn
 
I think it would ease your mind to get a culturedone and rule out the more common causes of rhinitis. Thereason I'm recommending this at such an early stage of the "illness" isdue to the fact that the prognosis is far more favorable if you canbegin treatment early rather than waiting until serious symptomsdevelop.

If the vet cannot identify a specific pathogen, it will at the veryleast, ease your worry. If the sneezing continues, you canuse the vaporizer, VetRx or Vapo rub to ease the irritation of thenasal passages. You will find that some rabbits suffer fromchronic rhinitis, but a specific cause may never beidentified. Inother cases, the symptoms may simplydissappear.

The more common pathogens to look for are pasteurella (often inconjunction with bordatella). Others are staph, strep andpseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Environmental irritants canalso cause sneezing. It isnot unusual to seerhinitis symptoms in older rabbits.



Pam
 
Thanks Pam, It is the culture thing thatbothers me. I have read that a deep nasal culture can bedone. Have you ever seen that done? I know how it would bedone but it seems that it would be very difficult on a pesky littlerabbit. How do they hold the rabbit still enough to get thatdone? Seems like it would be very stressful on thebun. What exactly is VetRx? I will getsome Vicks and Nutical today and call the vet in themorning. Thanks for all you good advice.Happy Mother's Day! Beckie
 
Hi Carolyn, It is my little Trouble--the little guy that gets into things and jumped on my back when I bentover to pet Trixie. I just do not wantthings to get out of hand soI thought I would ask Pam foradvice. I was in the pet shop yesterdayand saw one of those little hideaway houses like you have forTucker. I had to laugh, it looked so tiny. My 2 area little bigger than Missy and I was trying to imagine what they wouldlook like in there ---verycramped!haha Tucker looks likethe prince in his or as Buck says a Budda! Yes, a Budda is a betterdescription! Thanks for loving all our babies!Beckie :D
 
I would opt for a blood test, as the rabbit wouldneed to be anesthetized for a deep nasal culture, and I don't feel thatthat risk is necessary when a rabbit has simply beensneezing.

For info on VetRx, go to the Rabbits.com homepage and click on the"Advertisers" link. You'll also find the Rabbit MedicineChest link with natural remedies to help alleviate symptoms.

Pam
 
That is what I thought for the nasalculture. What kind of a blood test do they do to detectbacteria? Sorry thatI ask so manyquestions. I like to have my ducks in a row so to speakbefore I go to the vet. I guess I had better go tothat website and read up on some things. Talk to yousoon. Beckie
 
If you guys don't mind me inserting a word,Beckie, as you know Sherman has had a relapse in hissneezing. Part of what I had done at the vet on Saturday wasto have him take a blood culture for Pasturella as an interpretivetool.

It was a pretty simple procedure, although a little expensive (but Ispare no expense when it comes to Sherman). They shaved aportion of his leg (that I still to this minute can't find) and tookblood from there. Sherman wasn't traumatized atall. The blood culture portion of the exam was $74 and Ishould have the test results back on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I'm being really diligent about the sneezing issue because I know thatdepending on its etiology it's one of the leading causes of mortalityin rabbits. It may indeed not be Pasturella, but at leastthat can be excluded as one of the causes of his sneezing.

As another word, Carolyn provided me with the homeopathic remedy,VetRx. This is apparently a product that many breeders useand that Pamnock also recommends. It's been on the market foryears and is apparently indicated extremely effective for nasalcongestion and sneezing.

In any event, I would let a vet make a comprehensive diagnosis to knowwhat I was dealing with before I started experimenting with "cures" ifI were in your situation. Just my two cents. Hopeit helps! :)

P.S. Will be updating Sherman's condition and providingancillary information which may prove helpful to you and others who'venoted respiratory symptoms in their bunnies later this week.

 
2bunmom wrote:
That is what I thought for the nasal culture.


In most cases they are actually looking for certain antibodies that would indicate the presence of a particular pathogen.

Pam
 
As another word, Carolyn provided me with the homeopathic remedy,VetRx. This is apparently a product that many breeders useand that Pamnock also recommends. It's been on the market foryears and is apparently indicated extremely effective for nasalcongestion and sneezing.


I just wanted to be certain to clarify that I recommend it to helprelieve **symptoms** of "snuffles", however, it is not a cure.

Pam
 
Thanks for inserting information. Ibought some Vicks and some Nutri Stat. Buck was right on theprice difference for what looks to be like the same product.They were side by side at PetSmart with a $2.00 difference inprice. I put some Vicks on Trouble's nose and he startedrunning around, licking and wiping with his little legs. Itwas quite funny to watch. He finally ran and sat in Trixie'slitter box and proceeded to clean it off hisnose.So farI have heard nosneezing today. I plan on reading up on the VetRex, so thanksfor the info on that. Also thank you for telling me about thespecific blood test for Pasteurella. I understand theantigen/ antibody concept. Before I went to schoolfor Dental Hygiene, I was a Medical Laboratory Assistant. SoI know more about tests for humans thanI do foranimals. Although some basic tests are the same.Animals just have different normal values as compared tohumans. I do appreciate all the info that you haveshared, and feel free to share anytime. I will be interestedto see what the results were of Sherman'stest. Talk to yousoon. Beckie
 

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