Pneumonia?? Always paranoid!

[lynne2809]

Hey everyone. I posted a thread yesterday because my bunny fell off of my nightstand while I was away at college. He was totally fine with no limping at all and he was acting totally normal. I came home from college for the weekend and when I went to check on him, I noticed that he was making this popping/clicking sound when he breathed, but I could only hear it if I had my head near him and was listening for it. He is acting totally normal otherwise and has no eye/nose drainage or discharge. I am SO paranoid about pneumonia and I have been for a while now - mainly because I have read so many horror stories of rabbits never surviving pneumonia. My question is: what should I do? Going to the vet is extremely stressful for him and I can’t tell if this is an actual problem or just me being paranoid and over analyzing things. Can they have pneumonia without having nasal discharge? Would it be obvious if he had it? I’m freakin out over here. I am the first to admit that I am a helicopter mom. I thought he was breathing funny in August and rushed him to the vet sobbing because I thought he had pneumonia and he was 110% fine. Ahhh I am stressed and me sitting here listening to him breathe is not helping my anxiety

 

[JBun]

Pneumonia, you will most often see other signs in addition to the noisy breathing, like lethargy, lack of appetite, increased respiratory rate and effort, coughing/barking sound, possibly discharge but not always, and in severe cases there will be mouth breathing.

If he hit his nose when he fell, there could be some swelling and that could be causing the noisy breathing sounds you're hearing. Which should subside as the swelling goes down. But we can only make guesses here, so if you still have concerns then it's best to have your bun checked by your vet.

 

[lynne2809]

Hey everyone! Just an update. I went to the bunny room this morning and Mickey seems 100% normal. He was running around on the bed and begged for treats and played with me for a while. I assume it is highly unlikely to be pneumonia since this is the case? His vet said that I should just continue to monitor him but that bunnies do strange things sometimes and it’s nothing to freak out over!

 

[lynne2809]

Mickey this morning!

 

[lynne2809]

Pneumonia, you will most often see other signs in addition to the noisy breathing, like lethargy, lack of appetite, increased respiratory rate and effort, coughing/barking sound, possibly discharge but not always, and in severe cases there will be mouth breathing.

If he hit his nose when he fell, there could be some swelling and that could be causing the noisy breathing sounds you're hearing. Which should subside as the swelling goes down. But we can only make guesses here, so if you still have concerns then it's best to have your bun checked by your vet.

Do you know how common pneumonia is and how common it is for them to survive it? All of the cases I’ve seen on here and Facebook said that the poor babies didn’t make it, which makes me even more paranoid for him to get it so I am always worried does it usually start as a URI? I assume it would be pretty unlikely that they would have pneumonia without any indication beforehand?

 

[JBun]

It's not very common in adult rabbits, though is more likely to happen when it does, after something like a choking episode. It's most common in baby rabbits that aren't nursing but are being hand fed, as syringing milk creates a high risk of aspiration occurring. When a rabbit does get pneumonia, survival rates aren't very good unless it's caught right at the very beginnings(eg. starting antibiotics immediately after a choking episode even when it's not known if a rabbit is developing pneumonia or not).

It's not something I would worry about unless your rabbit has had a serious choking episode, or you're seeing signs of the beginnings of respiratory problems.

 

[lynne2809]

It's not very common in adult rabbits, though is more likely to happen when it does, after something like a choking episode. It's most common in baby rabbits that aren't nursing but are being hand fed, as syringing milk creates a high risk of aspiration occurring. When a rabbit does get pneumonia, survival rates aren't very good unless it's caught right at the very beginnings(eg. starting antibiotics immediately after a choking episode even when it's not known if a rabbit is developing pneumonia or not).

It's not something I would worry about unless your rabbit has had a serious choking episode, or you're seeing signs of the beginnings of respiratory problems.

Thank you! He has never had a choking episode (knock on wood) and the only time he ever came close to URI was two months ago. He had some sneezing/sniffling and clear nasal discharge and I rushed him to the vet in tears because I thought he had pneumonia. His vet said he was “the picture of health” and she said that it was likely just some hay or fur that irritated his little nose. Thank you so much, this made me feel so much better, I won’t feel so on edge about it now!

 

[lynne2809]

It's not very common in adult rabbits, though is more likely to happen when it does, after something like a choking episode. It's most common in baby rabbits that aren't nursing but are being hand fed, as syringing milk creates a high risk of aspiration occurring. When a rabbit does get pneumonia, survival rates aren't very good unless it's caught right at the very beginnings(eg. starting antibiotics immediately after a choking episode even when it's not known if a rabbit is developing pneumonia or not).

It's not something I would worry about unless your rabbit has had a serious choking episode, or you're seeing signs of the beginnings of respiratory problems.

Can they contract pneumonia from breathing in dust or hay, or is that more likely to lead to sneezing or mild irritation rather than pneumonia? I am just curious because my parents take care of my bun while I am at school and he is very messy - he throws his hay everywhere and sheds a ton and he plays with toys that are made of Timothy hay, so there is a lot of dust/hay/hair floating around the room all the time, but he has an entire bedroom to free roam in, so he is not confined to a small area (and there is a ceiling fan in the room). Even if I cleaned his room every day, he would still find a way to make it messy with all of his hay and fur! When I go home to visit him every two weeks, I completely deep clean the room by washing all of the blankets on the hardwood floor, sweep and vacuum to get rid of all of the dust and hay. Should I be worried about him getting pneumonia this way while I am away at school?

 

[JBun]

That's more likely to just cause sneezing. Though with prolonged and excessive dust exposure, especially in a more confined area, that could eventually cause a URI to develop.

Your bun sounds like he has a good and healthy living environment. I don't think you have anything to worry about. If anything, GI stasis is the biggest and most common worry in rabbits. That's the main thing I keep a look out for with my rabbits, is a lack of appetite for more than a few hours, and/or a significant reduction of poop size.

 

[lynne2809]

That's more likely to just cause sneezing. Though with prolonged and excessive dust exposure, especially in a more confined area, that could eventually cause a URI to develop.

Your bun sounds like he has a good and healthy living environment. I don't think you have anything to worry about. If anything, GI stasis is the biggest and most common worry in rabbits. That's the main thing I keep a look out for with my rabbits, is a lack of appetite for more than a few hours, and/or a significant reduction of poop size.

Thank you so much, this makes me feel a lot better. I try to be very conscious of preventing him from contracting anything by washing my hands before I go see him and asking my parents to do the same while I am away at college and also rinsing out his water bowl every day and refilling it with fresh water. We also don't wear shoes in the room that he is in to hopefully prevent any bacteria/viruses from traveling to him on somebody's shoes. Ever since he had stasis in August and had to spend 4 days at UGA, I have been very anxious about his health. I am trying to everything that I can to keep him healthy without going overboard and reminding myself that I can only do so much to prevent him from getting sick. I also keep trying to remember that most rabbits will not have pneumonia in their lifetime (or die from pneumonia) and this is probably a very unrealistic worry that I am just having because of his recent health scare and the internet scaring me to death... I need to stop looking things up online about all of the illnesses that rabbits can catch!

 

[fluffy_lop]

Thank you so much, this makes me feel a lot better. I try to be very conscious of preventing him from contracting anything by washing my hands before I go see him and asking my parents to do the same while I am away at college and also rinsing out his water bowl every day and refilling it with fresh water. We also don't wear shoes in the room that he is in to hopefully prevent any bacteria/viruses from traveling to him on somebody's shoes. Ever since he had stasis in August and had to spend 4 days at UGA, I have been very anxious about his health. I am trying to everything that I can to keep him healthy without going overboard and reminding myself that I can only do so much to prevent him from getting sick. I also keep trying to remember that most rabbits will not have pneumonia in their lifetime (or die from pneumonia) and this is probably a very unrealistic worry that I am just having because of his recent health scare and the internet scaring me to death... I need to stop looking things up online about all of the illnesses that rabbits can catch!

In all seriousnesss, you are right, you need to stop looking up things on the internet. The internet is helpful when you have a problem, but when you don't have a problem, people can become anxious by reading too much on the internet. You obviously look after your bunny very well, and he is lucky to have an owner like you. You have clearly learned a lot by keeping your animals and that is great. So relax and enjoy your bunny's company!

 

[lynne2809]

Also on the topic of pneumonia, how exactly is “snuffles” spread (I know that “snuffles” is just a catch-all term and it is not one specific illness). One of the rabbits at the rescue that I volunteer at was having thick nasal discharge and having difficulty breathing (he was recently rescued from a terrible situation with over 100+ rabbits, so we think that he already had the infection and it progressed). The rescue owner and I tried to keep him comfortable until his appointment at the vet but sadly, he ended up passing away. The vet also thinks that it was some kind of contagious URI or “snuffles.” I came home and showered and washed all of my clothes after being with him. I am currently at college and my rabbit is back home, but I am going home next weekend to see him. Will he be at any risk of contracting snuffles indirectly from me interacting with the rabbit that passed away? From my understanding, URIs/snuffles are mainly transmitted by direct contact and it would be nearly impossible for him to catch anything this way since he was never in direct contact with the rabbit and I washed my hands and clothes, but I am super worried!!

 

[JBun]

Snuffles isn't really a term for pneumonia, but a general term for an upper respiratory infection. Though most often it is to refer to a URI due to the pasteurella bacteria. URI's are contagious and spread because it's a bacterial infection. Pasteurella is the worst one for rabbits to contract because it's very contagious and is very difficult to cure. Because of how difficult it is to clear up, it's pretty much considered uncurable, though it can sometimes be kept under control with ongoing antibiotic treatment.

Having washed up and it having been several days since contact, you should be fine. The pasteurella bacteria doesn't live more than 24 hours, outside a host, in air at room temperature.

 

[lynne2809]

Snuffles isn't really a term for pneumonia, but a general term for an upper respiratory infection. Though most often it is to refer to a URI due to the pasteurella bacteria. URI's are contagious and spread because it's a bacterial infection. Pasteurella is the worst one for rabbits to contract because it's very contagious and is very difficult to cure. Because of how difficult it is to clear up, it's pretty much considered uncurable, though it can sometimes be kept under control with ongoing antibiotic treatment.

Having washed up and it having been several days since contact, you should be fine. The pasteurella bacteria doesn't live more than 24 hours, outside a host, in air at room temperature.

Thank you! The other rabbits that lived in the home with him have started antibiotics and she disinfected her rabbit room, so hopefully that will prevent her other rabbits from contracting anything? So snuffles is not similar to RHDV regarding transmission, right? I know that hand washing and normal disinfectants do not kill RHDV, but if I washed my hands and changed clothes and took a shower, any bacteria should be gone, correct? Now I am so worried to go home next weekend to see my bunny because I’m scared of him contracting something from the rabbit that I was handling

 

[Moonshadow]

I’ve been reading you posts on this thread for a while and it’s really admirable that you care so much about your bunny and are volunteering at a rabbit rescue.

However, you seem to be getting extremely stressed out about any possibility of your rabbit getting sick. Even with others on the forum trying to reassure you. I really think you need to take a step back for your own mental health and well-being. If taking a break from volunteering at the rabbit rescue can do that, I really think you should. At least until you are in a better headspace.

Currently you are like a doctors or nurse who can’t separate themselves from their patients. You are worrying to much and may get burnout. Or something worse may happen. Because you are getting stress, worried, and paranoid about unnecessary things, you may miss if your rabbit actually is acting out of the ordinary and needs to see a vet.

You are correct to be careful about certain things like gi stasis, uti, ear infections, and RHDV but constantly thinking about possible diseases/viruses/contagions that could harm your currently healthy bunny is obviously making you miserable. Please take a step back for your own mental health.

 

[JBun]

RHDV is a virus that can last for months in the environment, pasteurella(aka. snuffles) is a bacteria that has a short life in open air. So disinfection will naturally have different requirements for each. If you were coming home to your rabbit the same day as being around rabbits with a URI, I would be more concerned and more careful about proper disinfection, but you're not. So it's not something I would stress over.