Sick Bella

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BellaGracie

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Hello everyone. I am new to this so bare with me. I was wanting some advice on my sick bunny, Bella. She is 8 weeks old and is sneezing a lot. She has some yellow crustys on her nose. She is now on day 10 of baytril and I'm not seeing a whole lot of improvement. I went to clean her feet tonight and noticed very soiled mats between her toes. I'm wondering if the breeder conditions she was at before we got her 2 weeks ago could be the reason for her illness? Any suggestions or advice? :bunnyhug:
 
It sounds like the baytril isn't effective against the bacteria that your bun has. Your vet could do a culture and sensitivity to determine which antibiotic would work. But it sounds like you need to change antibiotics.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/Bacterial/URI.htm

With URI's, the rabbit can already be a carrier, and a stressful situation(such as going to a new home), can cause a lower immunity and the bacteria taking hold. So your bun may have been fine when you got her, but the stress of a new home may have caused the onset of the URI.

URI's can be very difficult to treat, so hopefully you have a really good rabbit vet. Some other medications and treatments that are helpful for rabbits with this, are metacam(anti inflammatory and pain reliever), bisolvon(UK med for thinning the mucous and making it easier to expel), and nebulizing with a sterile saline. So you may want to ask your vet about these as well.
 
I had the same problem as well when I got kiwi. She seemed perfectly fine, & then started sneezing a couple days after I got her. I ended up treating her with baytril for two rounds, so 28 days. That seemed to clear it up. My vet also said if after the 28 days she was still showing symptoms, a C & S would be needed.

Good luck.
 
Thank you for the tips. She only has a few doses of baytril left. (Total of 12 days). If she isn't any better I am definitely going back to the vet and do a culture.
 
So Bella only has one more dose of baytril left. I talked to the vet today and he doesn't recommend another round of meds. The discharge has stopped but the sneezing hasn't. I asked about neubulizing her and he's worried about getting the dose low enough. (She's only 1 pound) can I neubulize with just saline? Without meds? Will this be helpful? I'm worried bc she is still sneezing.
 
Yes, nebulizing with sterile saline can be very helpful to their breathing. An anti inflammatory like metacam can also be a helpful med to give to your bun orally. But you are still going to have a problem with the bacterial infection probably coming back even stronger, because antibiotics weren't used long enough to really knock it down. Antibiotics should continue to be used for several days or even weeks, longer past the symptoms stopping. And your bun is still sneezing, so the infection is still active and severe enough to be causing this. I would want at least, another 2 week course if it were my rabbit.

If you aren't happy with your vets treatment for your bun, I would suggest finding a more experienced rabbit vet.
 
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She's still sneezing but my vet says she shouldn't be in the baytril too long. I am neubulizing her. Just started that tonight. Not sure if I should call him back and demand more? So frustrated.
 
I would if i were you...I know from my experience this past week..losing my Meadow so fast and quick then her babies 1 by 1 they faded away to nothing and looked absolutely fine 1 minute and gone the next....Your bun is oviously alot older than a 4 day old kit but i have been doing alot of following up and research on rabbits as i still have one rabbit left and want to make sure i can read signs more clearly so i can get him help if he needs it before it's too late like meadow...obviously the meds are not working that your bun is on..I would go back to him/her or get a second opion...I hope Bella feels better soon :)
 
Call back or talk to another vet for a second opinion or go to an emergency vet. Rabbits can go down so quickly as Tammy pointed out you don't want to be surprised to find Bella taking a turn for the worse.

Vanessa
 
I agree, find another vet if you can. A vet that only wants to give 12 days worth of antibiotics for a URI in a rabbit, is NOT a good rabbit vet! Of course it's preferable to not have your rabbit on antibiotics for a long time as it can sometimes mess up their gut flora, but with some rabbit illnesses it is needed. URI's are notoriously difficult to clear up, can take weeks to months, and even then may not completely go away and will need to be retreated. And the problems with not treating it long enough is that the bacteria will develop a resistance to the antibiotic so it will no longer be effective, as well as the infection will continue to get worse and could progress to pneumonia, or possibly spread in other ways. So treating properly and aggressively, is important to do. A good rabbit vet would know this.

With seeing some improvement with the baytril, another round may help clear it up, but if not you may need to get a culture done and/or try a different antibiotic. Something that you will want to be aware of is that some antibiotics can cause a loss of appetite, which will also require syringe feeding if the antibiotic is continued. Usually though, it's better to try a different antibiotic if this happens.
 
Bella update. I had her back to the vet today. Even though she is sick, she gained some weight! Thank goodness. We did a culture to see what exactly we are dealing with. Should have results in a few days. In the mean time she is on double the original dose of baytril, medacam, and saline neubulizing. She is still in great spirits, running, eating, playing, and pooping so the vet is hopeful. He also checked her teeth which turned out to be fine. I've noticed though that she is dosey. Is this normal?
 
Hello!
I am no rabbit expert, but I am sure that amount of meds can cause a little bit of a change in alertness! Give Bella plenty of time to rest and fight off her infection and she should be wonderful. :) You are so good for being persistent and getting her the care she deserves. Thank you for being such a wonderful, attentive owner for your sweet Bella. :)
 
Oh thank you for the kind words. It's costing us a fortune ( which my husband isn't happy about ) but she is my baby and I refuse to give up! She even climbs on my lap to have a nap now if I'm sitting with her. Just love her so much!
 
They are so easy to adore, my bun, Buster, is laying in my lap as we speak, sniffing the keyboard ;)

He's my baby I couldn't imagine if he were sick. :) You guys will get through it, I promise!! :) Love is strong enough to pull anyone through almost anything :)
 
OH WOW that is awesome news to hear that she's feeling better...Yay Bella :)
As for the dopey juliemaye is probably right she has been on meds for quite sometime now and they are likely making her feel that way.
If she is eating,drinking and active i wouldn't worry to much about it but keep a good eye on her and note any changes regardless how small they may be...Nobody would know Bella better than you as you are with her 24/7 and know her behavior and what is normal for her and what is not..but it sounds like she's on the road to recovery and that makes me happy...Nice to read some positive news in the mornin :)..
 
So the culture results came back positive for pasteurella. :cry1: she is still on baytril and medacam. But I noticed her night droppings are being left behind. Would the medication cause this?
 
Yes, antibiotics can alter a rabbits gut flora and make the cecotropes not smell right to them, so they won't eat them. If this is frequently happening and not just an occasional one left, you can try giving non dairy probiotics. Bene bac is a common one used for rabbits in the US. It should always be given at least an hour or two after antibiotics are given.
 
I have been using bene bac. But it says every 3 days. Should I be doing more? And can I give her too much? It's hard to divide the squeeze pacs.
 

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