4 months old bunny sneezes

[Mongoo]

My bun was just about 1 month old when I brought her home. She sneezed on the first day, but I didn't pay too much attention to that coz i thought maybe she was choke by the powder of the hay. But the situation went worse coz she sneezed often and sometimes sneezed in a succession. Several days after that, some white nasal mucus came out from her nose. I was freaked out then I brought her to see the vet.
The vet said it was upper respiratory infection at the first treatment. He used some liquid medicine to sprayher nose, but he didn't tell me what that liquid medicine was. He also prescribed cefradine which made my bun have enteritis, then I stop to give her cefradine. After this treatment, she didn't sneeze though still sometime had snot. But the vet said that didn't matter and there was no need for my bun to have therapy anymore.
But after one month, my bun began to sneeze again, and some lucid snot came out from her nose, then I brought her to see another vet.
At the second time, the vet diagnose it as upper respiratory infection. He prescribed 3 injection of Tobramycin for her, one injection per day. And he also prescribed Tobramycin for her to drip (into her nose, drip one time every 4 hours). After the first injection, my bun sneezed less, but it seemed that the second and third injection had no use, and she still run her nose after the 2 and 3 injection. But after this, I read some information about the injection of Tobramycin, and found that was harmful for bun's kidney so I stop give her those injection and dripping.
Most of the vets in the city I live now just know how to treat cats and dogs, so I have to surf the net to find some information by myself. Most of people said Baytril is a good medicine for treating inspiratory infection, and Enrofloxacin is a relatively safe antibiotic for bunnies. Then I went to the vet and required the vet to prescribe several pills for her. But one of the vets told me that baytril is not suitable for bunny which is under 6 months old. He said that would harm the shank of my bun, and my bun would not run fast and jump high when she grows up. I feel pretty worried and sad, and I wanna know:


1. Is Enrofloxacin in Baytril harmful for the shank of bunnies?
2. My bun is 110 days old now, weigh 1.045KG, is it suitable for her to use baytril?
3. If I use baytril, according to the weight of my bun, shoud i give her 5mg/day? How long shouldthe treatment last?
4. Is it suitable for her to use baytril for a long time if the symptoms do not relieve?

I am sorry that i ask so many questions and bother u, but i am really worried about her coz she is one of my family that i can't stand seeing her suffer.

 

[Mindy]

I hope this doesn't come too late to be helpful to you.

If you think your bunny has pasturella or snuffles you may want to avoid Baytril I took in a pregnant mother with very severe pasturella symptoms and was able to save her and keep her babies from harm by using a paediatric drug called Azithromycin.

Rabbits enjoy the flavors it comes in and it seems to work better than Baytril ever did for my rabbits. I was told when Azithromycin was prescribed to her that even though she was nursing her kits would not be harmed. They all grew up just fine (although they all were potential carriers of the disease). I was also told that the pasturella bacteria has built up an immunity to Baytril in some rabbits in recent years. Regardless, switching her to Azithromycin has not only controlled her symptoms, but spread her break outs to 6-8 months apart.

Make sure your bunny gets a proper dosage for its weight, Sweet Marie gets 1.25ml once a day for 10 days when her symptoms flare up. Her symptoms are normally gone in 48 hours.

I'm sure you know this, but please take your bunny to the vets before using any medication, the Azithromycin has worked for Sweet Marie and all other rescue rabbits with snuffles that I have taken in since. I prefer it to Baytril as it has not shown any adverse side effects. If anything it might be good just to know that there are alternatives to Baytril so that you might find one thats right for your rabbit.

I hope this helps you and your bunny!

 

[mistyjr]

It sounds like it haves the snuffles. Snuffles isnt curable.

 

[pamnock]

mistyjr wrote:

It sounds like it haves the snuffles. Snuffles isnt curable.

"Snuffles" is simply a general term for cold symptoms in a rabbit. The causes can be widely variable (teeth, tumor, bacteria, viral, fungal, cardiac, foreign object, etc.) and may or may not be curable.

 

[mistyjr]

Hmm, I was always told if the bunny starts to sneeze or have runny nose, It's the snuffles.

I had a LH JR. black buck took him to the show. And he had discharge. The judge DQ him, And said it looked like it was from stress or Heat. And the other breeders told me its the snuffles and take him away from the herd. He had it about couple days last fall. And it disappeared. And since then he never got it back.

 

[Mongoo]

Dear Mindy， tks so much for ur reply.Is the Azithromycin you used ismade byPfizer? And is Azithromycin suspension or tablet? Does it have any side effects? Coz most antibiotics do harm to their digest system. Did Sweet Marielost appetite when shewasusingAzithromycin?

 

[Mindy]

Hi Mongoo

The Azithromycin I give Sweet Marie is liquid, which I prefer, its a lot easier to give her. Its made by Sandoz. Here's a link to the information on it:

http://www.sandoz.ca/assets/content/en/leaflets/AZITHROMYCIN_PI_EN_112006.pdf

Sweet Marie had some troubles with the Baytril she was taking before I switched her. Nothing serious, but mild diarrhea, and since her condition is chronic I was concerned about long term use of it. She has never shown any side effects on the Azithromycin and her appetite is great. I make sure to give her a lot of timothy hay and anti-oxidant berries, like blueberries when she's sick.

You're definitely right, like any antibiotic there is a risk of side effects, but I haven't seen any in any of the rabbits I've treated with it. Keep in mind the medication was designed for use in humans, children specifically, and so things are definitely not the same when used on animals. My veterinarian prescribes it often to rat's with upper respiratory infections.

Definitely consult a vet before you make up your mind on this. Not all respiratory infections in rabbits are chronic. Some rabbits once treated for upper respiratory infections never have problems again, but others, like Sweet Marie, where she was at a more progressed stage of the pasturella infection she might always have flare ups. Keeping these under control and prevents the pasturella from spreading to other parts of her body and gives her a full quality of life.

I really hope this helps you. Azithromycin works for my rabbits, but whats more important is the knowledge that there are other options for your bunny other than baytril if you're nervous.

 

[Mongoo]

Hi, Mindy.

I will consult my vet and try to use Azithromycin. Thank you so much for ur help！！！:biggrin2: