Can bunnies survive pasteurella?

[Dee]

My vet called today with the test results from one of our bunnies. He said she had pasteurella and enterobacter(i think thats what he said, i dotn know how to spell it) . He had given her a shot while she was there and sent us with some Baytril, so he said that it should take care of both of them. Has anyone had any luck with their little ones getting better? We have another bunny and they share a cage so I am really worried for him too. The vet said just keep an eye on him for sneezing like we seen in Bobbie.

 

[Amy27]

I have a rabbit that had pasteurella and she is fine now. She was on 2 weeks of antibiotics. I am not sure Baytril is a strong enough antibiotic but I will let someone more experienced answer about that. I am not sure what enterbacter is but I wanted you to know I am a sucess story and with proper vet care, your bun will survive I am sure someone with more experience will post to this to give you some better advice.

 

[Dee]

thank you, im just really worried for them both. the vet said that both were sensitive to that antibiotic so i hope he knows what he was talking about. especially since i dont have another couple hundred dollars to take her to another vet for the next few weeks. im really hoping that Dusty doesnt get it from her, he hasnt sneezed or did the head shaking thing yet. shes only just started with the shaking of he head in the last few days, right before the vet visit. they are both eating, drinking, and acting fine. Dusty is still quite shy though so it is hard to tell when he hasnt yet showed us his full personality.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Dee wrote:

My vet called today with the test results from one of our bunnies. He said she had pasteurella and enterobacter(i think thats what he said, i dotn know how to spell it) . He had given her a shot while she was there and sent us with some Baytril, so he said that it should take care of both of them. Has anyone had any luck with their little ones getting better? We have another bunny and they share a cage so I am really worried for him too. The vet said just keep an eye on him for sneezing like we seen in Bobbie.

they can,, once-diagnosed-early enough,may need antibiotics the rest of their lives-to control the bacteria, and,may develope abscesses in the heart,lungs,mouth--i am not sure how much bayril/daily,maybe 50 mg,,you can research this and all meds/bacteria,s,etc.. on wikapedia.com/.baytril is sold under different names,,enrofloxacin,,cipro,,,i can furnish you with web info to purchase meds online,,but you need to know what to buy and how to best serve it/ml/cc/mg-units of measurements usa and metric-learn all you can from your dvm,,save your paperwork,,for reference,..sincerely james waller

 

[Dee]

the baytril he gave me says 22.7 mg, hes having me give her 1/4 of a pill a day ever since the day after her shot. luckily she eats it with no problem. i think Dusty gets a little offended we dont give him any. lol

 

[Flashy]

Here is out Library link on anti-biotics, it might be useful for you and here is the Library in on Pasteurella which should also be of use.

The healthy bunny has already been exposed, but an important thing to remember is that a lot of bunnies can Pastuerella asymptomatically, but it only comes out when the bunny is run down and the immune system can not keep it at bay, so as long as he is in good health, on a good diet, not stressed, etc, then you're doing all the right thing.

 

[ra7751]

What exactly is going on with your rabbit other than the sneezing? Pasteurella is found in nealy all mammals and some birds. It can become a problem if the immune system is compromised and can infect any body tissue....and is the most likely cause of upper respiratory infections. If you can get a copy of the lab, I would be interested in taking a look for you.

Baytril is very old school and not very effective as many of the bacteria have mutated to become resistant due to misuse of drugs over the years. The pills are certainly not the way to go as they are liver flavored. I would also suspect the dosing is quite low. I know most vets consult the VIN on dosing but in the rare cases I use Baytril, I use a much higher mean dosing. I also do not use it orally. It has a difficult time in the gut and can cause some moderate GI upset. If I use it, I inject it sub-q buffered with fluids (prevents burning and necrosis at the injection site). And contrary to most dosing protocols, Baytril should actually be administeredonce a day. Currently the drug of choice in treating a systemic Pasteurella infection is Zithromax. I have had some wonderful successes with Zithromax. And depending on exactly where and how an infection is manifested, Chloramphenicol can be an excellent choice.

I urge you to discuss a different line of treatment with your vet with Pasteurella. Sometimes Baytril will work one time in a rabbit but I haven't had much success with it....I don't even know of any vets that are still using it in dogs. Ask your vet to do a little research in using Zithromax. I think some good information is availabe on theVIN or thru Dr. Jeffery Jenkins (known the world over as "Dr' Exotic") in Sanl Diego.

Feel free to contact me if you need more specific information.

Randy

 

[Dee]

ra7751 wrote:

What exactly is going on with your rabbit other than the sneezing?

Bobbie has sneezed since we had her, they said it was allergies at the pet store. She had some white nasal discharge once, thats the only reason I even figured there was something wrong with her other than allergies. I only seen it once, other than that I rarely see any discharge at all. If i do its very little and clear, usually only enough to just make the very edge of her nose look wet. . She is still sneezing, and has started to do a weird thing where she shakes her head funny. I dont know if it has anything to do with her being sick or not, but she didnt do it until recently. Over the last 24 hours we noticed when shes stretched out on the floor she sometimmes looks like shes hiccuping because of the way she shakes a bit. I am worried about that also. She hides under the couch sometimes, but I dont know if that has anything to do with it either or she just wants some alone time. She eats, drinks, and poos ok, plays fine aside from the head shaking, which i only seem to notice while shes in a really playful hyper mood.

I will definately ask the vet about a different med when I can contact him.

 

[ra7751]

If that is Dee's pic in your avatar....I would suggest getting some rads of those teeth. Your description sounds like the rabbit version of a post nasal drip....a bit different from humans since a rabbit doesn't technically have a sinus...but quite similar. It appears that Dee has a somewhat flat face from what I can see....and that many times seems to make them prone to dental issues....nothing scientific, just my decades of experience. Rabbits have open rooted teeth which constantly grow....and amazingly long roots....especially the upper arcade of teeth. If she has an occlusion problem (in which the teeth don't properly align) or she doesn't eat large amounts of hay (hay is the primary way teeth are worn down) the molars may develop spurs....and spurs can puncture the roof of the mouth (as well as cause other issues). We have seen lower arcade molars do just what you describe. And we have seen some upper molar roots overgrow and cause serious problems including abscesses. Dental problems often mimic upper respiratory infections in initial presentations.

I am not a vet but I do consult with many vets regarding some of our more advanced infection protocols and would be happy to discuss them with your vet if he/she is willing to do that....and they can do their own research on my findings.

Randy

 

[Dee]

My name is Dee, the bunnies are Bobbie and Dusty. lol Bobbie is not the one in the picture, but her picture is in an introduction thread. the vet checked her teeth and said they were perfect and gave me tips as to what to look for if there were signs of trouble with them ever. Dusty is in the pic, i have checked his teeth and they are fine. they get plenty of hay and other things to help wear down the teeth since i knew that is an important thing.

thank you guys so much for giving me advice, im feeling hopeful for the little ones.

 

[Flashy]

Have you had the tooth roots checked? that can only be done with an x-ray. I think that's what Randy was thinking about-but I could be wrong.

 

[Dee]

oh, no they didnt do an x-ray. if i can afford one soon i will have one done.

 

[Flashy]

That may NOT be what Randy was getting at, so better wait for some qualification on that. Skull x-rays can be very enlightening. One of my guys has tooth rooth problems which we identified because he had eye problems so sometimes it is a bit of a jigsaw to work out what symptoms are caused by what problem.

 

[ra7751]

Sorry...I was being distracted while I was writing. But as Flashy posted....looking at the teeth is not sufficient....x-rays are required.