Treating Snuffles [OLD POST]

Seeing there are other posts on this I will try not to repeat what is said.

My new just weaned American Chinchilla has sneezing but is eating, drinking, everything looks good including front paws. Although he licks them to clean.

As of now I made a Chamomile and Echinacea tea added some sugar for taste for it with a touch of ACV. (Read this on a random blog)

The person also recommend adding one drop of GSE (grape seed extract) to the water to help fight off anything.

Going to order tomorrow I think so the GSE will arrive by Thursday.

Any other suggestions? He is quarantined and was the fattest of my options.
Any other ideas?
Thanks!
UPDATE:
Turns out it was NOT snuffles he never got as big as he should but when I culled him his organs were normal. To anyone new to the thread I no longer have any questions or need advice since he went to freezer camp.

Snuffles,
is a symptom of immune system issues.
*check feed , and hay for mold - and avoid old feed.
* make sure there is enough grass hay in the diet, to insure dental health.
*make sure water is clean
*make sure ventilation/ cleanup- is adequate to insure ammonia from urine and feces,
doesn't build up in their area.

[and yes, quarantine is important]

prevention is a better strategy, than treatment.

all sneezing, is not related to pasturella, or bacterial infection.
some of it is reaction to environmental conditions.

**continued irritation/inflammation of respiratory system, will result in an infection.
Pasteurella is difficult to "cure" - "culling" is often the treatment...

michaels4gardens":1t89c5ex said:

Snuffles,
is a symptom of immune system issues.
*check feed , and hay for mold - and avoid old feed.
* make sure there is enough grass hay in the diet, to insure dental health.
*make sure water is clean
*make sure ventilation/ cleanup- is adequate to insure ammonia from urine and feces,
doesn't build up in their area.

[and yes, quarantine is important]

prevention is a better strategy, than treatment.

all sneezing, is not related to pasturella, or bacterial infection.
some of it is reaction to environmental conditions.

**continued irritation/inflammation of respiratory system, will result in an infection.
Pasteurella is difficult to "cure" - "culling" is often the treatment...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. The owner I bought it from said she NEVER had an issue and some times they just sneeze. She said I could return it for a full refund but being a 35 min drive the 30 dollars I paid for him isn't worth the trouble.....as long as I don't get my doe sick which is a level below and opposite size.

He was in a barn but I never saw inside. He was brought out to me. Now he has great ventilation, clean everything and dry hay not at all moldy. His pellets I was given to slowly swap with smell good but don't know their date.

Since he is just weaned I could try to feed grass hay but in small amounts for sure.

I remember seeing others recommend culling but since I only have two rabbits I hate to do it if there is a decent chance he pulls through However if he gets worse instead of better I will definitely cull him.

Thanks for the help!

Sometimes they just sneeze. Sometimes they have a cold. There's all sorts of things it could be other than snuffles.

There was someone who thought they had snuffles and they sent me four young ones (barely weaned) instead of dispatching them because of 'snuffles'. All they had was a cold and it cleared up after feeding them oatmeal. They got about half oatmeal/ half pellets along with forage (especially mint and peppermint) for a few days. Then less oatmeal in their pellets. No more cold. No more sneezing.

hotzcatz":1fpv0w7o said:

Sometimes they just sneeze. All they had was a cold and it cleared up after feeding them oatmeal. They got about half oatmeal/ half pellets along with forage (especially mint and peppermint) for a few days. Then less oatmeal in their pellets. No more cold. No more sneezing.

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Awesome I actually have oatmeal on hand I'm not eating so I will try that! So far he is still active with normal eating and bathroom habits so I'm starting to relax. Still has that sneeze but I'm thinking I jumped to conclusions I hope. Since the test looks good. I still make a tea with echinacea and chamomile in it with maybe 1-2 teaspoons of sugar in it then watered down to normal water level. He likes that but I should try the oatmeal.

Being only feed pellets up till now I am going to slowly introduce fresh greens. I gave him 2 oregano leafs today he liked and some family has chocolate mint plant I could try. If your not familiar it's a mint plant but also tastes like chocolate.

He is still on the big side so that's good. The original breeder was feeding a cup a day which I am cutting back to half since he is still younger.

I'll try your tip about oatmeal tomorrow and mint. Thanks again!

For still growing buns, I feed them as much as they want, but YMMV. Since he's just weaned and still a growing bun, it might be a good thing to give him as much as he can eat for the first several months. Once they've reached adult age, then cutting back on feed is the usual thing.

There's something in oatmeal called 'mucilage' or some such thing, and that's what's supposed to help folks with colds to get better. Works for humans as well as buns. For humans with a cold, you can smear Mentholatum on the soles of the feet and that will clear up a stuffy nose. Not sure what the equivalent would be for buns since they would lick the Mentholatum off their feet and that can't be good for them. Feeding them mint should be helpful, though, for colds?

why would you cut his feed back... he needs a good amount of pellets to continue growing. I feed my young stock the same amount as what my adults get. They use it for growth, the adults use it for maintenance.

hotzcatz":1p1f54ct said:

For still growing buns, I feed them as much as they want, but YMMV. Since he's just weaned and still a growing bun, it might be a good thing to give him as much as he can eat for the first several months. Once they've reached adult age, then cutting back on feed is the usual thing.

There's something in oatmeal called 'mucilage' or some such thing, and that's what's supposed to help folks with colds to get better. Works for humans as well as buns. For humans with a cold, you can smear Mentholatum on the soles of the feet and that will clear up a stuffy nose. Not sure what the equivalent would be for buns since they would lick the Mentholatum off their feet and that can't be good for them. Feeding them mint should be helpful, though, for colds?

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Thanks I gave him the oats this morning I will continue and see how it goes. So far his eyes nose and paws look clean so I think it's just a sneeze.
I also put his cage in the sun for about an hour this morning figure vitamin D can't hurt. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Jun 17, 2020 11:09 pm __________ <br /><br />

ladysown":1p1f54ct said:

why would you cut his feed back... he needs a good amount of pellets to continue growing. I feed my young stock the same amount as what my adults get. They use it for growth, the adults use it for maintenance.

Click to expand...

He wasn't eating all of it and since I'm feeding him in "quarantine cage" I use bowls instead of my nice feeders with mesh bottom. He would only eat about half to 2/3 of it at first and I wanted to keep it fresh so I would throw away the old food wash it and give him new feed.
I will give him more now since it's been a week or so he probably can eat darn near a cup of feed.

Can too much feed also cause the haise in their urine or is that strictly quality of feed? I know it's the quality but could also be too much or no?