BethM
Well-Known Member
Ok, so last year I posted about Nick and his "coughing."
Nick has been a sneezy bunny since the first day he came to live with us. I have always assumed he had allergies. He will sneeze more when he's had his nose in the hay bin, or in a dusty corner. He will occasionally have a "moist" nose, but never any discharge (just moisture that will come out while actually sneezing). He has never had matted fur on his paws.
Last year, I got very concerned, because he started sometimes making a weird noise like a cough. I don't know if bunnies can actually cough or not, but the noise was like a squeaky, wheezy, sneeze.
After he did this a couple times, I took him in to see the vet. The vet did not take a culture, as there was no wet or dry discharge while Nick was there. The vet said Nick seemed quite healthy, other than having a slight congestion. He said the congestion didn't sound serious, but was more congestion than he liked to hear. He sent us home with some Baytril. I think the prescription was for 10 or 14 days, I can't remember. It was the ground up stuff in suspension, I think.
I gave Nick the entire course of Baytril. I know Baytril has sometimes been overused, but none of my rabbits had used it in the 2+ years we've had them. The cough went away completely at that point, and the sneezing was very much reduced.
Since then, Nick's sneezing has gradually been on the increase again. It really got going a month or so ago, when spring trees started blooming. (I was miserable then, too.) In the last few days, the "cough" has returned. He doesn't do it often, maybe two coughs in an evening, close together, but not every evening. He "coughed" tonight, after he was lying on a rug in the bunny condo that is covered with fur.
(Nick is a Holland Lop mix, and has the typical flattened face. He prefers to lie down totally stretched out, with his chin on the ground.)
Nick has been eating normally, and had the same activity level as usual.
The weather has been strange this last week. Cool and rainy alternating with hot. Dry and steamy in the same day. In fact, a huge weather system moved in this afternoon, and I've been slightly dizzy for a few hours. The only thing I can attribute that to is the change in the barometric pressure. the temperature dropped 20 degrees in about 2 hours.
The only other thing that has changed lately is that we switched litter. We were using Feline Pine/ExquisiCat. We switched to Cozy 'n' Fresh, purchased at the Tractor Supply Company. It is a kiln-dried, pelleted pine litter that supposedly has "activated carbon to reduce odor." Made by the same company that makes Equine Fresh. It does smell different than Feline Pine. Their litter box has a built-in grate, so the bunnies never come into actual contact with the litter. (We've been using this for about a month. Nick's sneeze has been on the increase since February.)
Anyway. Should I be rushing him in to the vet?
I plan sifting the pellet food from now on. Also, I will be getting as much fur as possible off of their rugs tomorrow. In about 6 weeks, we are moving out of our terribly dusty apartment with the awful carpet into a house with all wood floors; I am hoping this will help my allergies, and Nick's as well.
Nick has been a sneezy bunny since the first day he came to live with us. I have always assumed he had allergies. He will sneeze more when he's had his nose in the hay bin, or in a dusty corner. He will occasionally have a "moist" nose, but never any discharge (just moisture that will come out while actually sneezing). He has never had matted fur on his paws.
Last year, I got very concerned, because he started sometimes making a weird noise like a cough. I don't know if bunnies can actually cough or not, but the noise was like a squeaky, wheezy, sneeze.
After he did this a couple times, I took him in to see the vet. The vet did not take a culture, as there was no wet or dry discharge while Nick was there. The vet said Nick seemed quite healthy, other than having a slight congestion. He said the congestion didn't sound serious, but was more congestion than he liked to hear. He sent us home with some Baytril. I think the prescription was for 10 or 14 days, I can't remember. It was the ground up stuff in suspension, I think.
I gave Nick the entire course of Baytril. I know Baytril has sometimes been overused, but none of my rabbits had used it in the 2+ years we've had them. The cough went away completely at that point, and the sneezing was very much reduced.
Since then, Nick's sneezing has gradually been on the increase again. It really got going a month or so ago, when spring trees started blooming. (I was miserable then, too.) In the last few days, the "cough" has returned. He doesn't do it often, maybe two coughs in an evening, close together, but not every evening. He "coughed" tonight, after he was lying on a rug in the bunny condo that is covered with fur.
(Nick is a Holland Lop mix, and has the typical flattened face. He prefers to lie down totally stretched out, with his chin on the ground.)
Nick has been eating normally, and had the same activity level as usual.
The weather has been strange this last week. Cool and rainy alternating with hot. Dry and steamy in the same day. In fact, a huge weather system moved in this afternoon, and I've been slightly dizzy for a few hours. The only thing I can attribute that to is the change in the barometric pressure. the temperature dropped 20 degrees in about 2 hours.
The only other thing that has changed lately is that we switched litter. We were using Feline Pine/ExquisiCat. We switched to Cozy 'n' Fresh, purchased at the Tractor Supply Company. It is a kiln-dried, pelleted pine litter that supposedly has "activated carbon to reduce odor." Made by the same company that makes Equine Fresh. It does smell different than Feline Pine. Their litter box has a built-in grate, so the bunnies never come into actual contact with the litter. (We've been using this for about a month. Nick's sneeze has been on the increase since February.)
Anyway. Should I be rushing him in to the vet?
I plan sifting the pellet food from now on. Also, I will be getting as much fur as possible off of their rugs tomorrow. In about 6 weeks, we are moving out of our terribly dusty apartment with the awful carpet into a house with all wood floors; I am hoping this will help my allergies, and Nick's as well.
