Momma has started sneezing... :/

[Susie570]

I've heard all kinds of bad stuff about sneezing rabbits. Momma River started sneezing today... it's scaring me!! We've had her over three months, if she had 'snuffles' or whatever it's called, it would have shown up before now, wouldn't it? I don't see any snot around her nose, maybe she just got something stuck in there? Or maybe it's from drinking so much water?? I would be horrified if she were sick, wouldn't the babies get it too? And our other rabbit!!! :/ Gah!!

 

[Zass]

Relax. Wait for matted paws and white snot before you panic.

They can get water in their nose. They can have allergies. They can have hay fines, mold, or dust bothering them.

Might be a good idea to start quarantine procedure:
Make sure cages are separate, feed her last, and wash up and change clothing that may have come in contact after feeding or handling her.


The really scary part aboutPasteurellosis (the snuffles disease most worry about) is that once a rabbit has it, there is a strong chance they will be carriers for life. The disease is only suppressed by antibiotics. It goes into remission, and can show up anytime a rabbit is stressed. During pregnancy is unfortunately one of the most common times.

Pasteurella is also not the only pathogen that can cause respiratory disease though, it's just the scariest. :|

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respirator ... al/URI.htm

 

[Susie570]

Ok... I'll start taking precautions just in case, although I figure at this point, if she's contagious our other bunny will have already been exposed. Their cages have been right next to each other and they sniff each other through the bars. Maybe she will stop sneezing and be fine anyway, that's just scary. <br /><br /> -- Wed Feb 11, 2015 1:22 pm -- <br /><br /> Feeling cautiously optimistic... I'm almost afraid to post anything after reading about other people's run-ins with 'snuffles'. Sneezing momma River still sneezes sometimes, but it mostly seems to be after she's been drinking water from the bowl outside her cage (sometimes a few minutes later). Her chin is wet (from the water I would guess), but I haven't seen any trace, so far, of any sort of snot. I've noticed (since I checked a day or two ago) that her teeth are not properly aligned, maybe that's causing it? I don't know if it's a genetic misalignment or something else... her top teeth are in front of her bottom teeth. Her chompers don't look uncomfortably long, but I would assume this means they need trimmed... I'm trying to find someone to do it. My buck is like that too, but his teeth are shorter. I understand this is caused by chewing on their cages? :/ Is there even anything that can be done about it? Maybe I haven't been giving them enough to chew on? I'm making sure they have apple tree branches all the time now.

Anyway, back to the sneezing. I'm desperately hoping that if it were 'snuffles', she would have shown some worse symptoms by now and that I'm not jinxing myself by feeling hopeful. She's definitely not 'off her feed', she eats voraciously and seems perky and active. Her eyes are clear. I do realize that these are all 'promising' signs, but no guarantee. It's going to be 'wait and see' for a while I guess. Send me good bunny vibes.

 

[Zass]

I'm desperately hoping that if it were 'snuffles', she would have shown some worse symptoms by now

No...that's unfortunately not always how it works. Since it can go into remission, rabbits can show very small signs, have it disappear, and have it pop up a year or more later.
Nasty stuff.

But, it's entirely possible she's just snorting water. Is switching her to a bottle an option?

I think it might be good to get second opinion on those teeth. Is there someone you know with rabbit experience who could look at them with you? If not, are photos possible??

 

[Susie570]

I'm desperately hoping that if it were 'snuffles', she would have shown some worse symptoms by now

No...that's unfortunately not always how it works. Since it can go into remission, rabbits can show very small signs, have it disappear, and have it pop up a year or more later.
Nasty stuff.

UGH!!! :/ Darn. Now I'm just going to be worried forever.

I think it might be good to get second opinion on those teeth. Is there someone you know with rabbit experience who could look at them with you? If not, are photos possible??

I'll try to get some pictures. I don't know anyone (local) who could look at them for me.

 

[Zass]

You will find that a lot of rabbit breeders will quickly terminally cull anyone with white snot. Not just for fear of pasteurellosis, but because we don't want to breed poor immune systems into our lines, or even pet home a rabbit who is likely to be frequently ill later.
(Compare this to predators removing sick animals in a natural setting.)

Any "pet only" rabbit that is sold is still likely to be bred somewhere down the line.

I recently sold a pet home only v-lop doe, only to see her back up for sale a few weeks later without the "pet quality only" label.

I'm glad I was able to tattoo their right ears so that any breeder with experience would know they are pet stock...But, for every one person with experience, there are 100's or maybe 1000's without.

Not saying you would have to cull if you saw white snot, there are still other options.

I was just explaining some of the reasons many of breeders react the harsh-seeming way they do.

 

[Susie570]

Fortunately, I haven't seen any 'snot' of any color, yet... (and really hate typing that because I feel like it's jinxing me)

Anyway, here are a couple of blurry shots of her teeth. One of the pictures makes it look like they're uneven, but they're not. It's just the angle. She doesn't appreciate having her mouth pried open

 

[Zass]

Could the wet chin be drool?

 

[Susie570]

Could the wet chin be drool?

I'm starting to think it might be.... that would mean her teeth need to be trimmed right away, wouldn't it?

 

[Zass]

Could the wet chin be drool?

I'm starting to think it might be.... that would mean her teeth need to be trimmed right away, wouldn't it?

I dunno. I've never had a rabbit who needed their teeth trimmed. I couldn't really tell anything from the pics. I was hoping someone else would see and speak up. :need-comments:

 

[katiebear]

I can't tell from the pictures..are her bottom teeth ok? I can't see them at all...if they are missing that could cause her to drool..
Trimming teeth is fairly easy..I have one that I have to trim..I use wire cutters. But you may need some help.
Wrap her up in a towel and put a dowel in her mouth just to help keep it open. If you need to..just something I found helpful.

 

[Susie570]

Her bottom teeth are there, just smaller.
I just consulted with her former owners and they told me that her teeth look normal, maybe just a little long. Told me to make sure she has something to chew on. I'm going to make sure she has something to chew all the time. They also suggested that I get her a mineral block while lactating. I'll try to get one of those tomorrow. I don't know what could be causing her to drool.. she's eating and pooping and all very well. It's kind of hard to catch her when she hasn't been drinking as she is drinking quite a bit (but then she has a lot of milk for the babies!) I guess as long as she remains active, acting healthy, not blowing snot and eating/drinking/pooping I shouldn't worry too much. It's hard not to though!!

 

[Zass]

Yeah, it is hard not to worry. It's good that you watch them closely though. Rabbits tend to hide signs of illness, so it can take an observant eye to catch things in the early stages where treatment tends to be most effective.

Do you feed hay? If you can find an affordable source, it really is great for their teeth.

 

[Susie570]

I do feed hay! I managed to find a guy who sells horse hay (grass hay) and he lets me come fill up a big plastic garbage bin with the loose hay for $2 Can't beat that!! I'm about to need some more, actually. I give them as much hay as they want. <br /><br /> -- Thu Feb 12, 2015 12:40 am -- <br /><br /> I swear, this stuff is gonna kill me from stress. I'm laying here awake, can't sleep, because I'm worried about the sneezing. I watched her sneeze a few times in a row today, carefully watching for snot, didn't see any but as long as she keeps sneezing, I'm gonna be a wreck. :/ Worrying won't change anything, I know that, but I swear, I need a sedative or something. Every time I've checked so far, the hair around her nose seems to be dry and there is no sign of matting on her paws or front legs. I don't know if I'm cut out for this. Ugh. At least she's still eating heartily.

 

[cmfarm]

One time I purchased 2 White Marans roosters from a guy. I drove 3 hours round trip to get them and brought them home. I do know I should have quarantined them but I can be lazy sometimes so I just let them out with the rest of the chickens. About a week later one started sneezing. I thought "oh no, now everyone is going to get sick" (chickens have similar illnesses to snuffles, where they are also carriers for life but symptoms only show up in times of stress). So I waited. No snot, looked healthy, just occasional sneezing. His brother never started sneezing. And no one else did either. After about a month he finally stopped. I think it must have been environmental or allergies or something. A few months later a predator got both of them so I am not sure if he would have ever started again.

 

[Susie570]

I went to Tractor Supply and purchased the biggest rabbit cage they have for River and her babies.
The reason I didn't go that route to begin with, is that I don't like the idea of making bunnies stay on wire, I feel sorry for their poor little toes... But anyway, I set them up in the new cage in the hopes that her sneezing is coming from the smallish cage she has been in. It's been IMPOSSIBLE to have decent sanitation in it anyway, so that concerned me, even though I was cleaning it out regularly. Also, I know the little hoppers will be out of the nest box soon, so they need room to move around. She is still sneezing off and on, but it's not heavy, hard sneezing. Still not seeing any sign of mucous. I'm hoping this will do the trick. I can't stand many of those 'sleepless nights' stressing about it. Wish her luck!!

I would go ahead and get one for the buck too, but I plan to make one of those big rabbit condo things for each of the buns.

River in her new cage.


Her morning salad

 

[Sagebrush]

The orange thing I am guessing to be a part of a carrot.... what is the white stuff attached to it?

 

[Susie570]

The orange thing I am guessing to be a part of a carrot.... what is the white stuff attached to it?

LOL that's just a little bit of ice... I keep her veggies in the freezer
The green stuff is broccoli stem.

 

[JenerationX]

I do feed hay! I managed to find a guy who sells horse hay (grass hay) and he lets me come fill up a big plastic garbage bin with the loose hay for $2 Can't beat that!! I'm about to need some more, actually. I give them as much hay as they want.

How dusty is that hay?

 

[Susie570]

It's somewhat dusty.... but since it's all crammed in the hay feeder (and nest box), I haven't thought it would cause much sneezing. She started doing it after I gave her some flax seeds, so I've also thought she might have gotten one stuck in her nose/sinuses or something. I guess I'll just keep hoping it's nothing nasty until the sneezing either goes away, or she starts showing mucous.