Asha gasping for air after vet visit

[Sabine]

My almost five year old Netherland dwarf girl Asha has been treated for headtilt for the last 5 weeks. She has had a 2 week course of baytril and is still receiving long acting penicillin injections. She is also on her last week of Lapizole (Panacur/fenbendazole). I have another thread about her progress in the Infirmary section but just wanted to give a bit of background info for those who have not read it.

We went to the vet's this morning for her PenLa injection and on the way back we suddenly heard odd noises from the back of the car. We pulled in and when I took Asha out of the carrier there was bright green mucus coming out of her nose and she was gasping for air badly. It was so bad that I was convinced she was going to die in minutes. We turned around and told the vet that we were coming back. By the time we got there the breathing had normalised and she was only slightly opening her mouth to draw in air. The vet examined her and found nothing wrong and the mucus had also stopped coming. The green colour may have been due to the dandelion leaves I had put into the carrier. We thought that this may have been a once off choking episode and drove home (1/2 hrs drive) Shortly before we reached home we heard the noises coming from the back again and sure enough when I took her out she was gasping for air again and bright green mucus is coming out of her nose.
We can't pack her up and drive her back to the vet's again. In fact I think the trip would kill her.
I just wonder what is going on and is there anything I can do at this stage. If this continues I am even considering putting her to sleep as I don't want her suffering as she is slowly choking to death.
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[JBun]

If the vet checked her lung sounds and she seemed ok, I think all you can do is keep an eye on her, to see if this was maybe just caused by stress somehow, and that she may be ok now that she's home. Don't know if this is a possibility, but maybe she had some sort of reaction to the injection, like an allergic reaction. If so, and she's still having symptoms, you could ask the vet about giving her some benedryl. I hope the little girl is going to be alright, but you of course, have to do what's best for her.

 

[Sabine]

Thankfully Asha hasn't had another choking episode since we got home. She has also started eating normally now. I think maybe the stress of travelling may have caused her to choke on a dandelion leave as odd as it sounds. She actually was eating more dandelions between the first and the second choking. The next time we travel I will just put her on a blanket and only offer food when the car stops. most of my rabbits don't eat anyhow when the car is moving but it doesn't seem to stop Asha even with severe headtilt.
I am not sure if the penicillin is the culprit as she must have had over a dozen of injections in the last five weeks and never reacted adversely.
I was convinced we were loosing her earlier. Everything seems alright now, thank God.

 

[JBun]

Well, she's a fighter! She's not going to let a little dandelion leaf take her down now, after all she's been through in the last few weeks

 

[Louladoll]

Glad to hear it hasnt happened again since you got her home. Most likely the stress of travelling unfortunately! I hope she is doing better now
Louladoll xxo

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:ray:

 

[tonyshuman]

That must have been really scary. I would be careful in future car trips to make sure it doesn't happen again. The stress can make them breathe more quickly, and since she's so tilted, that could be bad if she's trying to eat and chew at the same time.

 

[Bigwig67]

How is Asha?

 

[Sabine]

She is gradually improving and has also started using the litter tray again. The tilt is still quite bad though and she does loose her balance occasionally. i have just started her on Cevazuril (Toltrazuril) also sold as Baycox I think. I am hoping that this may bring some more improvement as her mobility is still not great.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Praying she gets better soon!

 

[Bigwig67]

This illness is so cruel. It is such a pity that there isn't a vaccine against it like the dreadful myxomatosis.
Very pleased to see that Asha is making a bit of progress. Poor little bunny.