What could it be?

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BlueCamasRabbitry

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This morning when I went out to feed, I noticed some dried something around the nostrils of my REW buck. I took him out of his cage, checked his paws, his nose. There was no matted fur, no discharge, or anything, so I just took a baby wipe and wiped up the dried...whatever it was.

So, I'm curious...what could it be? He is perfectly fine other than digging all the food out of his food dish (which is quite odd, since usually he dives into his pellets), but he is still eating greens, his hay, and some pellets. There is NO discharge at all coming from his nose. No sneezing, wheezing, etc. No signs of anything that could be wrong. And this just appeared this morning.

He's a little underweight, I wonder if that could have anything to do with it? We've been upping his pellets, but this morning he started digging them out. We kept giving him more, so it's not like we're not offering him more. And he's nibbling hay, and eating grass.

Any ideas?
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I gave him 250mg of Vit. C in his water. When I first started syringing it into his dish, he put the tip in his mouth and let me give him some that way. I've had lots of success with Vit C as a method for helping illness (it saved the life of a doe that should have died... so yea...)

Anyway..I'm confuzzled. We are leaving on Thursday to go to Oregon for a rabbit show (Saturday). I'll be watching him closely, and taking Vit C with me as well. He's supposed to be shown on Sat. Other than the strange green dried stuff around his nose, and the digging pellets out of his dish, he looks fine.
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I just went out to check on him (3:30 pm Pacific ST) and the dried stuff around his nose it creamy coloured. This isn't new stuff, it's the stuff I couldn't get off this morning. It also was on his chin a little bit, and his top lips. I offered him more pellets, but he tossed his dish and emptied it. :rollseyes:?

Emily
 
Rabbits are very clean so it's possible he has a repository infection and is just usually cleaning up the discharge before you see it. Another possibility would be an abscess somewhere that's discharging down his nose. One of my buns had one in his cheek that discharged via his nostril.

Might be worth getting a once over at the vet particularly if he's a bit underweight despite the extra pellets.
 
Just texted Randy so he should see this. It sounds to me like your bunny may be getting the snuffles. I would continue with the Vit C until you hear from Randy.
 
I just started upping his pellets today though. ;) I was feeding him 2 oz of pellets a day, plus unlimited hay, and we noticed he was getting thin. He's a small boy, purebred Mini Rex, but veryyy tiny. His last owner gave him a cup of pellets and he never got chubby, so for him 2 oz is nothing, and that's why he's underweight.

I really hope it's not snuffles or pasturella, or any abscess or anything.

Like I mentioned, he's been acting fine, and the dried stuff around his nose is the first I've seen of anything. We were questioning if it might be allergies. We just got him in August, so we don't know if he might be allergic to something floating around in the air, since it's now fall here, and getting colder.

Emily

ETA: Spelling.
 
Wouldn't jump the gun to snuffles yet.. think more along the lines of pellet dust (especially if he's been digging in the pellets), dusty room, buck being a silly lad,

If all the feet are clean, you aren't seeing snot, or hearing tons of sneezing, I wouldn't be thinking snuffles at this point.
 
Ladysown, that's what I was thinking.
There aren't really any symptoms of snuffles, so that's why I'm curious as to what it could be.

Hopefully he will eat his pellets tonight when I feed, and stop digging in them. :)

Emily
 
This evening when I fed, I switched his ceramic crock to an EZ Crock. He was a little confused at why it was no longer moving, hah, but after he failed to dig out his pellets, he quickly went to work eating them. :)

We looked him over again, and there is still no discharge, matted fur, etc.

Emily
 
The white mucus is indicative of an upper respiratory infection. However, if you only saw it on one day and it seems to be gone for good, then he should be fine. Sometimes they can get over these things without help, although it is rare.
 
im hopin u decided against traveling with him.cuz if his immune system is slightly off the stress from traveling might make him have probs again..hopefully the vit c gave him a boost.,:)
 
I did take him to the show with me. He was perfectly fine, as I discovered that he was being bitten by his neighbor, and that was what caused the problems. The judge did comment on his poor body condition, but we have been upping his feed, giving him all the food he can eat. However...

This morning he had some more "pellet dust" around his nose. There is no discharge, his breathing sounds fine, and there is no matted fur. He's still skinny, despite having unlimited pellets & hay. He's not eating very much. :/ I offered him some fresh grass, as well as some grass I was drying. He only nibbled it.

I gave him another 250mg of Vit. C in his water. He is drinking normally, his poops look fine. He's just not eating very much, putting weight on. I know he probably won't put it on very quickly, but I just don't understand why he's not eating all what's being offered to him. He seems to be eating anywhere from less than half of his food to about half, which is about 1/3 cup total. He has unlimited pellets though. We have a show this weekend, he's entered, but I will not be taking him with me.

Is a shot of Penicillin in order? I have Penicillin G Procaine. It expired in 8/2010, but I've only used it once, and it's been in the fridge since I got it. Is it still good? I'd hate to go out and buy another bottle, but if I must, then I can; I have to run to the feed store to get syringes/needles anyhow. What gauge should I get? I'd like to get a couple - some for now, and some other for back up. Is there one gauge that works for all types of meds?

I have BeneBac as well, so can give that to him if he needs the Penicillin. I am going to be making up a much better first aid kit in the coming weeks, after I get some more money. I have some good things now, but need some more.

Any ideas? There's just so many illnesses that have loss of appetite as their symptoms... :/

Emily
 
I would try a shot of the Pen G to see if it improves. It is not very expired, so it should be ok. I don't know about the needle gauge, sorry.
 
Claire, alright. As soon as I find out what gauge, I might give it a try...

I was told it sounds the most like worms, so I will be picking up some dewormer either tomorrow or Friday (depends on when I can get out to get it) and then giving it to Rowdy then, but to everyone else after the Saturday show.

Emily
 

Ideally this rabbit should be taken to a vet. Just reading this thread indicates that there is something wrong with him..


Has he been dewormed???

if you absolutely cannot take him to a vet then get a

23 gauge (or less) needle to draw it up and 25 gauge to inject , however, I would not give the Pen procaine G just one time but get bicillin ( Dura pen , Duopen , twin pen etc) from a farm store and start him on it every other day for at least several weeks. Bicillin is a combo of Procaine G penicillin and benzathine G penicillin and is sold in the refrigerated section for cattle. Just procaine G would need to be be given daily

1 dose of Pen g will not do more than cause his body to build up resistance to it.

In this threadI describe howI give bicillin

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=48224&forum_id=16&highlight=bicillin+injection

I am not a vet but this is the method that I learned from Randy (ra7751)


here is our library version from Marcy Moore

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=57560&forum_id=25&highlight=bicillin+marcy+moore


 
we had a prob with the gauge needle we were using with the PenG ,,it was so thick that it wouldnt push out of the needle ..and after squeezing it hard it would just pop the end off of the syringe..we had to get a bigger gauge i just cant remember the size right now..but ill ask my boyfriend when he gets home..hell remember....i agree dont use antibiotics unless they are needed ..and do a full course of em..has this bun ever been wormed before?.cuz if hes not eating well now and he has a prob with the ivermectin wormer he will def be off his feed...i try and use the wormer as a preventative so i give it to my buns when they are healthy ..and i did notice a few act strange for a day or two..ive never given to a bun that wasnt feeling well already.i know its hardcore stuff...also they say to try and mix up the tube cuz its not a consistent formula since its given to other animals alot bigger and they take the whole tube..u prob already know all this stuff..if u do just ignore me.:).i hope ur bun gets well soon.:)
 
Flash Gordon wrote:
we had a prob with the gauge needle we were using with the PenG ,,it was so thick that it wouldnt push out of the needle ..and after squeezing it hard it would just pop the end off of the syringe..we had to get a bigger gauge i just cant remember the size right now..but ill ask my boyfriend when he gets home..hell remember....i agree dont use antibiotics unless they are needed ..and do a full course of em..has this bun ever been wormed before?.cuz if hes not eating well now and he has a prob with the ivermectin wormer he will def be off his feed...i try and use the wormer as a preventative so i give it to my buns when they are healthy ..and i did notice a few act strange for a day or two..ive never given to a bun that wasnt feeling well already.i know its hardcore stuff...also they say to try and mix up the tube cuz its not a consistent formula since its given to other animals alot bigger and they take the whole tube..u prob already know all this stuff..if u do just ignore me.:).i hope ur bun gets well soon.:)
this is good info, Flash Gordon, becauseI have never dewormed my ownrabbits The ivermectin has to be carefully dosed because it it packaged and sold for large animals.

I believe that the best advice is to take this rabbit to a vet to actually dagnose the probem first before treating anything
 
angieluv wrote
I believe that the best advice is to take this rabbit to a vet to actually dagnose the probem first before treating anything
i totally agree......but for some people this doesnt happen for one reason or another.......before the internet can u imagine the freaky home remedies that some people have tried ...well Aunt Mabel sez to keep from making younguns a rubberband works mighty fine."..:shock2:




i gotta get to bed ...u guys are a bad influence..hehe
 
I bought some dewormer today and gave it to him. I bought Safeguard, the paste kind. Dose is just a pea size every other day for 7 doses.

He ate all of his pellets from last night, which was probably about 1/3 cup, in one feeding. He seems to be getting an appetite back. :) His body condition is already improving, just from what I can tell; it's slight, but improving.

I looked at his poohs, but couldn't really tell if there were any worms in them... :/ He has been on fresh grass lately, so worms are definitely possible. If he hasn't improved more over the weekend with appetite, and on the dewormer, I will get him to a vet.

Emily
 
I'm off to the farmstore in a few hours to get some Bicillin, and some needles/syringes.

I will probably have some questions about the dosing when I get back - as far as how much bicillin to put into the syringe & how much to dilute it, etc.

I did read the link you provided Angieluv, but still confused on the correct dosage for a rabbit. He's about 2lbs.

Emily
 
Okay, so I was only able to get gauges in three sizes: 22, 18, and 20. The guy at the feedstore said 18 would work...is this correct? They didn't have many sizes to choose from. :/

22 gauge was specifcally for small animals, so the sign said.
I got:
20 g X 1/2"
18 g x 3/4"
and
22 g x 3/4"
All specifcally for SQ injections. But, silly me forgot to get syringes, so I'm off to the pharmacy to get some insulin syringes & see if they also have raspberry leaves. :)

Emily
 

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