Sneezing or coughing (not sure which)

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wallice

wallice

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Oct 15, 2009
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Location
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Hi

Wallace is an 14 month old Flemish Giant male and is fixed. His diet consists of hay, pellets, fresh foods like lettuce, with apples, strawberries and banana as treats. He weights about 17lbs and is still eating fine. He hasn't lost any weight. There is no discharge, his poops are fine, he is still alert, and doesn't have any audible breathing difficulty other than the sneeze/cough.

I worry the sneezing (or coughing, this is the first time a rabbit has been sick, so not 100% sure of the sounds) may be from one of two things, or a combination of the two.

I recently moved into an attic apartment, and it get really hot in the summer time up there (I live in Ontario, and recently its been in the high 20's, 30's with humidity) and he isn't used to this heat. Could the heat be causing his illness? I put a rotating ran in the room to cool it down, as well as give him frozen water bottles to lay on if he chooses.

Because of the heat, he is shedding like its nobody's business! I touch him and it looked like he has exploded! I try to brush him, but I haven't found a very effective brush yet and have gone through many. Could the excess hair be causing his symptoms?

Any and all help would be great! I'm seeing my vet this Friday to get my puppy his shots, so I can take him with me then if necessary, but my vet charges $80 just to look at him, so that plus the dog's bill would be HIGH! I'd do it, don't get me wrong, but if it isn't necessary, then I'll try and treat it myself, or remove whatever is making him sneeze.

Thanks for the input!

Christina
 
I'm not entirely sure I have ever heard a rabbit cough- I wasn't actually aware they could. They cannot vomit, so I assume they can't cough. Someone will inevitably correct me on this though I am sure :).

My rabbits sneeze occasionally. It's absolutely charming when they clambour up to lick my face and sneeze all over me :) haha.

You say he doesn't have any other symptoms or changes in his behaviour? How often does he sneeze? More than once in a row? Any discharge around his nose or eyes? If so- what colour? Does he have crusty paws?

If he has no discharge, is eating well and active, but sneezes every now and then (like...perhaps once a week) then I don't see much of a problem. Just keep an eye on him and see if it gets any worse.

Jen

ETS- sorry i didn't see you said there was no discharge. Also- my rabbits moult like crazy in 'moulting seasons'. All I have to do is touch them and they explode on me and I am wiping my eyes and nose for hours lol. I just pull (gently) the tufts of fur out, and groom groom groom. Still doesn't work particularly well. I just have to hoover every day lol.
 
Hi
Yeah, there isn't any discharge or crusty anything, and he seems otherwise fine, and even gave me a few binkies today :)

When he does sneeze, it is usually around 3-5 in a row, and he will do it a few times a day. I'm worried about the frequency, but wouldn't there be any other symptoms if he was sick?

BTW, he is also in a much smaller room with a guinea pig who is also shedding. Maybe there is just too much hair in a smaller space than he is used to, so is sneezing now when he didn't before the move and had free run of the main floor.
 
Hmm well that does seem like quite a lot of sneezing. How long has it been going on for? Weeks? Days?

If it's not accompanied by anything else then I'm sure it's nothing to be too stressed about atm.

What kind of hay do you use? Is it dusty?

Jen
 
Unless there's a new irritant in the environment, like different hay as Jen mentioned, or the temperature has changed a lot recently, it's something that you should get checked out. It could be an early sign of an upper respiratory infection or even tooth roots growing into the sinuses. Sneezing more than 1 time a day is probably abnormal, and should be checked at the very least. It is possible it's nothing, and few bunnies do sneeze that often, but I'd want to get it checked out to be sure.
 
tonyshuman wrote:
Unless there's a new irritant in the environment, like different hay as Jen mentioned, or the temperature has changed a lot recently, it's something that you should get checked out. It could be an early sign of an upper respiratory infection or even tooth roots growing into the sinuses. Sneezing more than 1 time a day is probably abnormal, and should be checked at the very least. It is possible it's nothing, and few bunnies do sneeze that often, but I'd want to get it checked out to be sure.
Click to expand...
:yeahthat:

I have to agree, I wouldn't take any chances, especially with a Flemish. Get his teeth, ears, nose, trachea, heart and upper and lower respiratory system checked out in a general exam -- visual, stethoscope, etc. -- even if you don't do any other tests.

Is this vet rabbit savvy?

Sure is expensive, compared to here, anyway.

They'll often give you a 'second one for half price' deal when you bring two pets to one visit if you ask.



sas :clover:
 
Hi
His sneezing has been going on now for about 4 days. He is on the same hay he is used to for the past 7 months now which I get from a farm near by and is most timothy with a little bit of alfalfa and sweet meadow in there as well. It isn't dusty and is kept in a sealed container.

He did have a major temperature change to his environment which is why he is shedding so much. He went from a ground floor room that was very well ventilated to a smaller attic space with no windows. There are 2 rooms on either side of this space, and when both are left open, there is a nice cross breeze. Its just much warmer, but as I moved recently, this was the only place to keep him.

I am starting to think it was heat related though, as he hasn't sneezed at all all night or this morning. We got a big thunderstorm last night that cooled everything down a lot.

He was seen by my vet 2 months ago and has his teeth checked and they were fine then apparently. Would they grow that fast?

Thanks so much for all the input, and don't worry, if it gets even slightly worse, he is off to the vet asap!
 
:yeahthat: He could be breathing more quickly than normal because of the heat and that could cause some sneezing.
 
Thanks everyone for the help! I was able to move him to a cooler part of the house, though it wasn't easy. He is doing a lot better now, so I blame the heat. He has only sneezed once today when I was around, which is a major improvement!

Christina
 
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