nasal congestion?

[okiron]

This is a Craigslist ad:


I am moving into a smaller place and don't have the room for my rabbit. He is a grey/white/tan un-fixed male dwarf bunny. He will come with a small cage and water bottle. His only health issue is that he has this nasal congestion that makes him breath funny and his nose gets runny. So I named him "weezy".

If interested please e-mail. I need to find him a home ASAP.

I am only asking a re-homing fee of 15$ for the bunny and the cage.

Obviously I don't expect you guys to know but maybe you guys might have an idea on what's wrong with him?

ETA: From the picture provided it looks like he's an outside rabbit in an indoor hutch.

 

[Pipp]

Ugh. How can you not fit in a dwarf?

I'm not one to berate anybody for giving up a pet for good reason, and I'm liberal with the reasons, but this does not compute. Could be that s/he's trying to dump the poor little guy to avoid extra work and vet bills.

I'd drop him/her a line and ask some questions, like:

- how old is the bunny?
- how long has s/he had him?
- has he seen a vet?
- what color is the discharge?
- is it in both nostrils?
- does he have it all the time?
- is the wheezing in his chest or his nose?
- has it gotten worse or better over time?
- what does s/he feed him?

If its a white discharge, its probably a pasturella URI, which is treatable with antibiotics although he may need them long term.

It's also possible its a dental abscess, but it would have been getting worse in a relatively short period of time and he'll need aggressive antibiotics.

If its a clear discharge, he's an older rabbit and she's had him for a long time, it could be rhinitis or something that's pretty benign.

If its clear and has been getting progressively worse, it still could be dental issues or an untreated upper respiratory infection.

If he's a young bunny, it could be an URI or dental issues.

Its possible its allergies, but not too likely.

I'd ask the questions.

Poor bunny!


sas

 

[okiron]

I emailed her the questions you have listed

I don't know what's up with her but she's been pretty aggressive on the urgency of this rehoming so I'm hoping I could help the little guy out.

 

[okiron]

Their response:

It has been the same ever since I got him. I've had him for about four months or so.
I think it's boogers on his nose and it dries up some times.
I have never taken him to the vet.
I feed him pellets, hay, and frozen carrots and berries

 

[Pipp]

Really need to know his age...

 

[okiron]

Yeah, I hate it when I ask a list of questions and they don't answer them all. I'll try asking again.

 

[tonyshuman]

Frozen carrots? That's a new one...

I don't want to discourage you from taking this guy because he really needs some help, that's for sure. However, I really worry that he might need a lot of dental work. Long-term nose issues are often due to tooth root infection or overgrowth, and that can be really pricey to fix. However, if you know of a rescue that might have more resources, or somebody that's an angel to special needs bunnies, that would be good in case you take him to the vet and find out his medical issues are more than you can afford. For instance, I know I can't afford to take on a new bunny that will have lots of medical issues. I just don't make enough money at this point in my life. But, I know that if I found a bunny like this, that really needed help, I could afford to have him vet-checked and if the treatment were going to be too much for me, I could reach out to the rabbit people I know locally.

In Cali, I always think of Save A Bunny and The Rabbit Haven (I think that's what they're called?). They really champion special-needs bunnies.

Anyway I say go for it, figure out what's wrong, and if you can't afford it look into one of those groups. It could just be an upper respiratory infection that's gone on for a long time and can be treated with antibiotics.

 

[okiron]

I sent them another email asking more questions but all I got in return was "so do you want him?"

I actually referred them to Bunny Bunch. If BB can't take him I will.

 

[tonyshuman]

:thumbup sounds good

 

[itoshiixhito]

Do you know what's going on with the little bun now?