Snuffles? I don't know

[RodeoBunny]

Hi everyone, I woke up this morning and our rabbit is in the same spot as he was last night in his cage. Every morning there's new poop in his litter, but not today. I don't think he touched his food either.

I took him out and he's not moving at all.

There's white, crusty mucus on his nose, and I can hear the congestion in his nose when he breathes. His tummy also feels really hard.

I did a quick search and came up with snuffles, I don't know if that explains the tummy though.

I'm hoping I can get some quick feedback here. Im going to rub his tummy for a bit, and take him to the vet if I don't see an improvement. :tears2:

 

[Maureen Las]

It definitely sounds like an upper respiratory infection and that he should go to the vet right away; he most likely is not eating , drinking, pooping because he feels ill from the infection.
If you can give him a dose of simethicone ( 1 cc of liquid gas medicine for infants ) that may help break down the gas that built up in his tummy.
Syringe pedialyte ( infant electrolyte drink) and if you don't have that just use water .

I had a bun with a similar problem. She had so much congestionI was really terrified to syringe anything asI thought she may choke or not be able to swallow.

if that is the situationI would just take him to the vet ASAP.
If the vet is knowledgeable he may culture the exudate from the nose to determine the exact bacteria but probably will give you an antibiotic to help him immediately.
Good effective antibiotics are zithromax (azithromcyin) , Convenia which is an injectable Cephalosporin which most vets do not know can be used on rabbits, injectable penicillin or Zeniquen ( new drug) in the baytril family

Most vets hand out baytril and if you can only get that the injectable is way more effective than the oral.

If your vet can teach you to do subqutaneous fluids it may be hlepful to keep him hydrated while he is congested. We have some videos of how to do this with a rabbit or you could ask the vet to show you.

let us know ...

 

[RodeoBunny]

Hi, I drove around and found a vet right after you posted...

She gave me Metacam, and Ciprofloxacin and Oxbow Critical Care feed.

We put an IV in him and he took 100 like a champ :highfive:

His nasal discharges have stopped, and his breathing isn't raspy anymore.

He's already more active, and his stomach feels a little better I think.

I haven't had much luck with force feeding him. He's maybe ate like 5cc. I'll keep trying to get more into him

Thanks for the help

 

[tonyshuman]

Glad you got him to a vet. How long do you give him the antibiotic? I would also look for some probiotic too, like Bene-Bac (from a pet store) or Probios (from a farm store).

 

[RodeoBunny]

Metacam for 4 days and Cipro for 10.

He grooming himself now, I think he'll be okay :hug:

 

[Maureen Las]

Actually fluids (If not subqutaneously then orally give pedialyte infant electrolyte drink)are more important than food (although some food should always be going in to keep the gut moving); he may alsostart eating on hisown

pure canned pumpkin (not pie filling or seasoned pumpkin) is easy to syringe and some rabbits like it; it also has a lot of fiber.

Ciprofloxicin is not the strongest antibiotic out there but if your bun has not had it before it should be effective for the first round. ; infections like this do come back if not treated aggressively.
Mainstream vets usually treat with baytril, sulfaor cipro usually because they feel it is the safestroute to go with rabbits( notreally true)

Claire suggested a probiotic like benebac which is a good idea when a bun is on an oral antibiotic


My girl. (RIP) Babette ,was initally treated with baytril and the infection cleared multiple times before she became resistant to this drug .
She eventually got bicillin injections ( injectable penicillin)which really cleared it up

She, like your boy, initially responded almost immediately to baytril injections and would be eating, drinking and back to "normal" within about 12 hrs.
I am glad that you acted swiftly as these infections can progress quickly.

keep us updated

and welcome to RO

 

[ra7751]

Couple of thoughts here. Contrary to belief, there is no such thing as "snuffles". Oldschool term from a time that little (and I mean very little) was known about rabbits. Apparently it originally meant what we called an Upper Respiratory Infection but evolved into a very vague term.

Most URIs are caused by a strain of Pasteurella. Many vets are still stuck on using Sulfanomides (Septra, Bactrim, SMZ, etc.) or some of the older Flouroquinolones such as Baytril or Cipro. We now know that these drugs are not the best choice against the most common pathogens found in a URI. Sulfanomides are extremely harsh on the beneficial bacteria in the GI. Baytril (Cipro is the human version) have been so misused in the veterinary world that many bacteria have developed a resistance and don't work so well these days. In the rare times we use Baytril, we inject it using a different dosing protocol....but those times are usually for wildlife and not domestics. If I were to use a Flouroquinolone in a domestic rabbit, it would be Marbofloxacin (Zeniquin). The most effective drug against Pasteurella is Zithromax. We have also used Convenia (safe only as an injectable). Unfortunately, most vets are not aware of using these more effective drugs in rabbits. And a culture should be performed to confirm and identify a bacterial infection.

Also keep in mind that what appears to be respiratory issuemight not be at all. Dental issues can present symptoms of a URI. And it's very possible, since the drugs haven't had time to reach working levels, that since the symptoms seem to be better...your rabbit may have had a foreign object in a nostril....maybe a piece of hay or something like that.

Just a few thoughts to keep in mind.

Randy

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

RodeoBunny wrote:

Hi, I drove around and found a vet right after you posted...

She gave me Metacam, and Ciprofloxacin and Oxbow Critical Care feed.

We put an IV in him and he took 100 like a champ :highfive:

His nasal discharges have stopped, and his breathing isn't raspy anymore.

He's already more active, and his stomach feels a little better I think.

I haven't had much luck with force feeding him. He's maybe ate like 5cc. I'll keep trying to get more into him

Thanks for the help

GREAT job..!!..uti,,goner for sure...when we see it,,the clock has already been running...great job,,he will love ya for it.....all i can say is hay and water...sincerely james waller:wave::rose: