vet says it's not snuffles...thoughts??

[LoveCrumb]

I posted last weekend about my rabbit (Jerry) ingesting a very small amount of gum, and I've been watching him closely for any problematic signs on the advice of my vet, though he said it was very unlikely to cause any harm.

Yesterday Jerry was very lethargic, his appetite was minimal and his poop was small and also minimal. Last night I noticed he was making a strange noise either through his nose or mouth. If I hadn't heard him sneeze in the past, I would have assumed it was a sneeze, but it really doesn't sound like a sneeze, nor does it have the same head movement with it. The sound he makes is a bit like a very short and quite snort or grunt/honk you might hear your rabbit make, I don't really know how else to describe it. Maybe it's a rabbit version of a cough? It's not as loud or dramatic as a sneeze, even though rabbit sneezes are pretty undramatic.

Also, as he breaths through his nose, there's a small clicking noise, as though a bit of mucous is partially blocking his nostrils. This clicking noise hasn't been constant, probably only affecting him 25% of the time this past 24 hours.

Jerry has continued to make the noises today, and there was no improvement in appetite, so I brought him to the vet. He's a young rabbit...3 years old, and the vet did a full inspection. Says his lungs and mucous glands look/sound good, everything's looks and sounds healthy, and there are no signs that my rabbit has snuffles (no mucous on his paws or nose, his eyes are clear, no sneezing). Jerry had GI stasis once over a year ago, and then again (though very minor/short-lived) again in the fall, the cause unknown, so the vet thinks he might be susceptible to GI stasis. He gave Jerry a shot of general pain relief and a shot of something for gut motility to hopefully help his appetite.

It's been 5 hours since the vet appointment and I haven't yet noticed any improvement, and he's still making the noises. Even though his appetite is very low, my instincts tell me it's not GI stasis. When he had it in the past, he would constantly be fidgeting and rubbing his stomach against the floor due to discomfort. In the past, he would be unresponsive to my touch and failed to groom himself. Now, he still enjoys being pet and licks my hand and grooms himself, though all with less energy than usual, and he's very still in his cage.

I'm supposed to call the vet back tomorrow with an update. Do you guys have any thoughts about what might be wrong with Jerry? Maybe, because I've been so observant of him over the last week, I caught an early case of snuffles before it could progress to a full blown URI?

 

[JBun]

It sounds like it could be something like a foreign body, such as a piece of hay stuck in his throat causing some sort of partial obstruction. If the vet didn't do an exam of his mouth and nose to check for foreign bodies, then that would be a good next step. But if the vet can't get a good enough look while he is concious, you may need to have a GA done so the mouth and nose can be thoroughly examined. If nothing is found in a visual exam you may need xrays, but even then an xray may not pick up on anything.

Until you get him into the vet, you just need to make sure he continues to eat and drink enough that he doesn't develop stasis. You may need to syringe feed. If there is a something lodged in his throat, then that may be why he doesn't want to eat, so feeding soft food will be good. Use Critical Care if you have it. If not you can soak his pellets in warm water to make them mushy. You may not need to syringe feed. He may eat the softened food on his own.

 

[LoveCrumb]

thank you for the excellent advice! I will try syringe feeding him critical care if he doesn't go for the mushy pellets, and bring up a potential obstruction with the vet tomorrow.

 

[LoveCrumb]

Jerry's breathing got much worse last night and today the vet diagnosed him with snuffles- rhinitis, and it's not in his lungs, only in his nose. The vet suspects that his compromised immune system shut down his GI process and also resulted in this case of snuffles, since Jerry has not been in contact with any other domesticated rabbits. I'll put up an update hopefully with some better news. He's on enrofloxacin for the next 5 days.

 

[JBun]

You will probably need a much longer course of antibiotics, as URI's are usually very difficult to clear up because of the difficulty of the antibiotic getting to the infection in the nasal cavity. The important thing is to make sure you are continuing the antibiotics several days past the last sign of symptoms.

Did the vet give you any metacam? That will probably be helpful for your bun too, as it will help provide some pain relief and also reduce inflammation from the infection and make it a bit easier for you bun to breathe. If you aren't seeing any improvement after a few weeks or symptoms get worse, it would be good to discuss with the vet, trying a different antibiotic, additional treatment options, and/or further diagnostics to investigate if something else is going on.

Though a bacterial infection can be picked up from another sick rabbit, they can still get a respiratory infection even though they haven't been exposed to another rabbit. Rabbit's can already carry the bacteria that cause URI's, and not be symptomatic until their immune system is compromised in some way.

Hope your little guy is feeling better soon.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/Bacterial/URI.htm