Yet another Pasturella/snuffles thread

Love your rabbit
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Bunnylova4eva

Bunnylova4eva

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2011
Messages
2,240
Reaction score
71
Location
, , USA
Ripley's a almost 2 yr old Holland lop. Since getting him at 8 wks old, he's had a slightly wet nose, on and off it'lll get to be a bit more wet, but always clear discharge. Also, on and off his eyes will run (maybe like once every month or two). After bringing Ripley home originally, I contacted the breeder and she said it was just "milk and hay" I was seeing since she'd just weaned him. I just left it alone and figured it was ok. I've had other "snuffles bunnies" before that were much worse and this never has been too bad. The vet has seen him plenty since we got him and never saw any visible signs of an issue (besides what I told him about slight moisture under the nose).

As of a few weeks ago, Ripley's been scratching his ears really badly and I took him in to the vet to be seen. I've had a headtilt ear infection bun before too, so I knew I didn't want that happening. His vet said all looked good deep in the ear, but sent him home on Tresaderm drops. After a week and a half or so, I asked him how long Ripley needed to stay on it. When I told him the itching had stopped, he said great and take him off of them. Now, 24 hours since not having the drops he's back to itching. The vet originally said we'd try ivermectin if the drops don't seem to do it. As of maybe 3 days ago, Ripley's nose starting runny SO much. It's all clear discharge, but very concerning to me. For the first day or two, I tried to forget about it, thinking that it's because it's been really hot out and we don't have the A/C on. But today it wasn't that hot outside, but it's still very wet under his nose. Plus, I heard him sneeze several times today and he made some raspy noises when reaching to groom himself.

I've been through the whole snuffles thing and ear infections with other bunnies-Baytril, SMZ, Penicillin with Benathine injections, etc. I'm wondering if anyone's had something specific that's helped their buns. I'm sure I'll be talking to the vet about all this again shortly but I guess at this point I'm just really worried and wondering if anything ever really succefully treats snuffles/pastuerella and ear infections. I know you can't always fully get rid of pasturella but I'd like to do something for my lil' guy. Up to now he's been fine with a slightly damp nose, but if it's causing ear problems I feel like we need to do something.

I love both my buns so much and right now we're getting into some possible rather large health issues Taffy's dealing with (she's got her own thread going here http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f27/lump-stomach-68779/). I can't believe within the same week now Ripley's having his own problems. Ahh, I think I just may go crazy worried about these two little fluffers. :panic:
 
I'm very sorry to hear that you are having health troubles with your buns. :(

Could it be allergies, since he has had it on and off his whole life and it is always mild? I have an allergy rabbit that sneezes off and on and occasionally gets a little clear discharge. It is worse when he gets into something dusty, if I give dusty hay, or when the pollen count is high. I've noticed that if he is having a bad sneezy day I always am too, so I'm guessing that we are allergic to at least one of the same kinds of pollen. :eek:

Hopefully it is something mild and not another big health issue for you to deal with. Could the vet do a culture to confirm whether or not it is a pathogen?
 
did the vet know what was going on with his ears?

Might be totally unrelated.

Snuffles tends to present with white snot, not clear.
 
Zithromax and penicillin in combination is a pretty good way to eradicate difficult cases of URI. Any combination of two meds usually does well, but zithromax in particular seems to be good with URIs and penicillin with ear infections. Chloramphenicol is also sometimes a good choice. I would skip the SMZ--not very effective in rabbits these days and go straight to zithro or penicillin alone, or a combination of two. I would also not just do baytril unless it were combined with another med, probably penicillin. Penicillin is a good second med to use in a combination therapy since it is injected, and thus has less chance of GI upset, and works on a rather different spectrum of bacteria than many of the other meds.
 
Thanks for the input!~

Hmmm, I'd definitely be interested in trying the Zithromax/Penicillin combo. I'll have to ask the vet about that; I can see how the Baytril and SMZ never helped. No matter how much (like how long they were on it) any of my buns had, it never did much sadly.


As far as others mentioned about Allergies, I really don't know what he could be allergic to. He's an inside bunny and he had the same thing when he was an outside bunny. The other bedding he has is Carefresh, which he hasn't always even had. His pellets and hay are oxbow, with very little dust.

No, the vet did not know what was cooking in Ripley's ears. He seemed to say if I didn't tell him why we were there, he wouldn't know. Ripley was good for him and with the otoscope he was able to visualize the ear drum. He said it looked great in there, but normally if there was an infection, then he'd be able to see it.
 
Last edited:
Does he eat hay? Hay can be dusty at times, so it could cause him to sneeze.
What color is the discharge from his nose? If it is white it usually indicates an infection, but if it's just clear there's a pretty good chance he's just suffering from bad allergies.

If you are dealing with Pasturella, have you ever considered trying medicinal Oregano Oil? It's a natural super "antibiotic" of sorts. Most the research I've been able to find about using it to kill pasturella, has been about using it in chickens. But from what I've read it seems to be quite effective. My family and I have used it for ourselves, the bunnies and my dogs, for a variety of different things. If you're open to hearing about it let me know and I'd be happy to share. :)

-Hannah
 
oil of oregano cannot "KILL" pasturella. All it can do is support the body in suppressing it.

It sounds like the vet gave Ripley meds for no good reason then? Since he didn't see any problems, why did he give meds then? To reassure you maybe?

Is it possible that he has a dry ear problem going on? Itchy skin?

I'd be hesitant to throw a lot of different meds at a rabbit knowing how they can affect their systems. But it's hard to diagnose a rabbit from a distance. :)
 
He did not know that there was an infection for sure, but, I've been a long time client and I think he feels I've seen enough with buns to know when something is maybe going on; like I told him, Ripley was itching *continually* so even if there's nothing visible, I think its still a concern. They did do a mite check and found none. The Tresaderm has Thiabendazole which is is a fungicide and parasiticide that kills or inhibits fungi and parasites and then there's Dexamethasone neomycin sulfate which is a potent anti-inflammatory.

Maybe it could have something to do with dry skin, but then I haven't noticed any dry flakiness or anything. What can you do for dry ears?
 
According the research I have done it in fact does. Below is a little bit of info about Oregano Oil. The information below speaks for it's self, so I'm not going to add much.

*Please Note: Not all Oregano Oil is the same! Medicinal Oregano Oil is a lot different than the Oregano Oil used for cooking purposes. The best and most effective oregano oil is made from Mediterranean oregano.*

Essential oils are the secondary metabolites of plant materials that obtained by distillation. Essential oils are oily liquids consist of a lot of chemical components which can easily crystallyed and have characteristic smell and flavor of obtained plant. Generally they are in liquid form, but named volatile oil because of their easily evaporation properties. These volatile components give plant a lot of properties such as antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-oxidative etc.
Click to expand...

Oregano oil is the most known and used essential oil because of its strong antibacterial properties. The major active components of oregano oil are phenolic terpenoids such as carvacrol, thymol and p-cymene. These active components consist of great amount of oregano oil.
Click to expand...

Oregano oil which is obtained from Origanum onites consist of 62-68 % carvacrol, 1-3 % thymol and 8 % p-cymene. Oregano oil shows biological effects at birds gastro-intestinal system because of these active components and with the synergism of other components exists in oregano oil.

In the year 2002, USA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) classified carvacrol as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimelanomic, anti-oxidative, antispasmodic, carminative, flavor and thymol as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimelanomic, anti-oxidative, antiseptic, carminative, flavor because of their biologic activities.

In our present day, carvacrol is used against infections and as anthelminthic. Also presents in medicines as a treatment factor against cold, flu, sore throat, ear ache, lung infections, infectious diseases, injuries, analgesics, arthritis, muscle spasms, headaches, E. coli, hepatitis, viral pneumonias, meningitis, Lyme disease, allergies, bronchitis, diarrhea, gingivitis, sinusitis, asthma, aphtha, eczema, neuritis, ankle twists, prostates, parasites, cricks, psoriasis, colitis, insects bite, gastritis and mycosis. Also thymol used as anthelminthic, antiseptic present day and present in medicines against gingivitis.
Click to expand...

Oregano oil shows antibacterial effect by courtesy of carvacrol, thymol and p-cymene. These major compounds of oregano oil are monoterpenoid phenols belong to hydrocarbon class. Terpenoids such as thymol and carvacrol, shows their antibacterial effects through interaction with cell membrane of microorganisms. Because of hydrophobic properties of these compounds, they can easily diffuse lipid layer of cell membrane and cause pores between fatty acids. These conformational alterations change permeability of cell membrane for cations H+ and K+. Bacteria death will occur because of inhibition of essential processes such as
ATP synthesis due to ion concentration alteration and cytoplasm loss. Antibacterial properties of oregano oil have bactericidal effect both for gram positive and negative bacteria, because of hydrophobic character of active components of oregano oil. The differences between gram positive and negative bacteria don’t change bactericidal effectiveness of oregano oil. The cell wall of gram negative bacteria which has hydrophilic properties, do not permit passing through inside of lipophilic substances such as monensin and active compounds of many essential oils. But hydrophobic substances such as thymol and carvacrol which has low molecule mass can diffuse inner side of cell wall by making hydrogen bonds with cell wall and show permeability change effects on cell membrane. In the year 2002, Ultee shows different mode of action for carvacrol. He shows that hydroxyl substances of phenolic compounds carry ions and protons in and out from cell membrane just like ionophore antibiotics mode of action. This mode of action related to hydroxyl substances viable only for of aromatic compounds. Because hydroxyl substances of menthol which has exactly same chemical structure with carvacrol doesn’t shows same mode of action for ions and protons. Bacterial resistance is not an issue for oregano oil because of this different mode of action of oregano oil. Oregano oil is the most well known and used between essential oils because of strong antibacterial properties. Also synergism has been observed between carvacrol and its precursor p-cymene in many studies. Synergic and additive effects between major and minor compounds of oregano oil became
more potent to the microorganisms.
Click to expand...

Information above is quoted from a pamphlet on Ropadairy for Dairy Cattle (which is derived from Oregano Oil) http://www.ropapharm.com/upload/pdf/Booklet_Ropapharm_Ropadairy.pdf

Take it or leave it, but I have chosen to use oregano oil in place of antibiotics for pasturella, because it works! If you'd like to get an even better understanding of Oregano Oil, I suggest you read the whole pamphlet. :)
 
Last edited:
very interesting, thanks for the idea! Where can you get oregano oil/ what dosage? Just the grocery store? I'd think it's worth a shot.
 
Ripley's around 3.8 lb~ I think by looking online I found a health food store nearby that has it.
 
I would give 2 drops in about 3cc of water, in a syringe (Mine will not take it any other way because of the taste), once a day for 7-10 days. I hope this works for him and gets him back to normal quickly! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top