My 8 Week Old Buns Are Sneezing A Lot!?

[Nat@LWR]

My 8 week old rabbits are sneezing, and we got them yesterday. They are cute little Mini Rexs. My daughter thinks they could have a cold. I was wondering if their is any home remedies to help them at all. We are going to take them to the vets as soon as we get a spot. Can anyone offer any ideas on home remedies :!: :?: :bunnyhop:

 

[Dood]

Unfortunately rabbits are very susceptible to respiratory infections.

Stress, like a new home, can often trigger a disease flare up. I would feed them the same foods their breeder gave them and not change their diet. I would also not handle them and leave them alone so they can fight it off.

Get them to the vet ASAP and please make sure your vet is aware of which specific antibiotics are suitable for bunnies as some can kill them.

 

[squidpop]

:yeahthat: Unfortunately when a rabbit has a cold its usually really serious and has to be treated long term with antibiotics so you need to go to the vet. When rabbits sneeze people usually call it the snuffles and worry that it s Pastuerella which can't be cured however sneezing can also be caused by other bugs as well. My rabbit sneezed and was pretty sick and my rabbit savvy vet prescribed Azithromycin and he got better and has not had the snuffles or sneezing again. This medrabbit article might help you, you can skip down to the treatments at the bottom http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respirator ... al/URI.htm
You should call the people who sold you the rabbits - its really bad that they sold you sick rabbits.

 

[RothsRabbits]

show us a pic of where you are keeping them. it maybe to dusty for them also. just a thought.

if they have a runny nose or they look sickish then they are sick but if they look alright it could be the area they are in or around.

 

[KKRabbitry]

First thing I would do is call the breeder you got them from and see if you can take them back. The breeder may not let you, but it is worth the question.

It is very difficult to treat sickness in rabbits. Even if your bunnies do get better, they might always be prone to flare ups whenever they are stressed. Breeding them later on is also risky, because some disease can be passed on genetically in rabbits. Finally, even if they fully recover they might always be carrier of the disease, so it could be risky having them around other rabbits.
( I don't know if you have other bunnies, but if you do you need to quarantine these two immediately!)

I know a lot of people who have struggled with respiratory diseases in their rabbits, and it is often a long, difficult, expensive, and heartbreaking ordeal trying to get them better.
So if you can return them to the breeder that is really the best option. I don't know if you plan to breed, show, or just wanted pets......but starting off with sick rabbits is just setting yourself up for failure.

Good luck. Hopefully it turns out to be a minor issue that is easily resolved, but if not I hope you can return the bunnies and start over.

 

[Zass]

A sudden thought, did your bunnies recently get moved from a cold place to a warm one? Or even just take a warm car trip after being in the cold? It's another respiratory trigger, and so are pine shavings, dusty hay, powdery pellets, and who-knows-what else.

Unfortunately, rabbits don't get "colds". So heavy or continuous sneezing should be taken pretty seriously. It very well could be caused by a highly contagious and never-truly-curable illness. Make sure your vet knows rabbits.

 

[KKRabbitry]

Make sure your vet knows rabbits.

Agree. That's really important.
A lot of vets don't know a thing about rabbits.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

My 8 week old rabbits are sneezing, and we got them yesterday. They are cute little Mini Rexs. My daughter thinks they could have a cold. I was wondering if their is any home remedies to help them at all. We are going to take them to the vets as soon as we get a spot. Can anyone offer any ideas on home remedies :!: :?: :bunnyhop:

As others have stated, rabbits don't get colds. There are a couple of respiratory infections they get, and one of them is contagious and not curable. I would contact the breeder ASAP and let them know what is going on. Do any of them have a nasal discharge?