Chronic Sneezing

[cloutier39]

Hi everyone. My boy, Niles, is approximately 4 years old. I rescued him from a shelter almost a hear ago. Ever since I brought him home he has sneezed a lot. He has fits where he will sneeze about 10 times rapid fire. His nose it always wet too. Poor thing. I have brought him to my very rabbit savvy vet and they don't know what else to do. He's been on antibiotics a few times and it's obviously not working. They said it's not hurting him, but I still don't like it.

Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[stevesmum]

Maybe it's environmental? Something in your home he is reacting to? Or maybe the hay you feed him is too dusty. What colour is his nasal discharge and is it on his paws too?

 

[doodlebugger]

Have they checked him for dental issues? We have a bun that had similar symptoms, and it turned out that his tooth roots were growing up in his sinuses. Have they checked his nasal passages, or done a culture of the nasal passages? I've heard of several rabbits who had hay or something stuck up their nose, and it caused sneezing like that too.

 

[cloutier39]

I was thinking it could be the hay actually. I do remember him sneezing the first day I brought him home so I guess it could have started right away.

Yeah the vet checked for dental issues and said the teeth looked great.

Haven't done a culture though. My moms rabbit sneezes sometimes and they did one on her and it was negative.

When I finish this 50lb box of orchard grass I am going to try a new one. Hopefully the Timothy qualify is better and I can use that again.

Thanks!

 

[JBun]

Were head xrays taken to see the state of the teeth and to see if there is any erosion or visible infection of the nasal passage? What antibiotics has he been on so far and for how long with each one? Have you ever seen colored discharge such as white, or has it only been clear? Have you ever tried changing hay, litter, or possible environmental factors that might be a cause, or tried reducing anything dusty to see if that helped?

If you try different hay or litter, I would suggest starting off with a small bag so you don't invest in a large one that may not work out.