irisshiller
Active member
Hi, I very much need help concerning some sneezy bunnies and an injury... Hope some of you who have been through this can advise me!
I run a small pet zoo with about 30 rabbits at the moment (we had a sort of population explosion when one of the males broke into the females' cage and got all of them pregnant, but the males have been neutered since then and we're rehoming the 2 month old babies right now). About a month ago, I agreed to take on 4 rescue rabbits who urgently needed a home. They have been together in a separate cage and I thought they seemed to be doing OK.
However, a few days ago the vet came by to vaccinate everyone and was worried about wet noses on the new bunnies. He asked me to pay attention and if I heard any sneezing or saw them grooming their faces a lot, to let him know. So I paid attention, and thought I did hear a few sneezes and some noisy breathing, so I asked him to give us a prescription for medicine.
It seemed that all hell has broken out since then! The vet was very worried and thought they had pasteurella. I had to move them to another corner of the pet zoo, lock their cage and restrict all access. We asked another vet (a friend) for his opinion and he said: 'this is a catastrophe.' He says we can never allow them to mix with the other rabbits, even if they get better. It might have already spread to the others (although I don't see any symptoms on them) and it might kill the young bunnies. My husband is annoyed with me for taking on those bunnies and my friend/pet zoo partner is very helpfully sending me horror stories from the internet. :/
It gets worse... this morning while I was moving them into their quarantine cage, one of the rabbits started struggling like mad and fell from my hands. He seems to have broken his back leg as it is now dragging at a strange angle!! I feel terrible! Trying to contact the vet but he's busy and haven't managed to get through yet...
I have no idea what to do!! Has anyone ever had a rabbit with a broken leg? Is it possible to fix it or will he have to be put down?
Regarding the sneezing - is it possible for the rabbits to get better and continue living with us or do they all have to be put down, too, to protect the others..? That feels really bad because they don't actually seem that sick. Their noses are a bit wet and there is a sneeze every now and then but they are not having any sneezing attacks or white discharge. I haven't seen much face washing and their paws do not seem wet or matted. What is a bit strange is that on 2 of them, the fur on their noses seems to have fallen out. Not below but on top. Is this a result of the wetness/sneezing? For the rest, they are eating, drinking and hopping around normally. They do lie around a lot, but it is really hot here right now and the others are doing the exact same thing. Does this sound like pasteurella or could it be something else?
I came across an earlier post with pictures of rabbits in heat stress... this is exactly what they do after they have been running around in the heat and get too hot - they lie, pant and stick their noses in the air. I also saw the heat stressed rabbits have wet faces. Is it possible that the whole thing is simply heat stress..? Or is that just wishful thinking?
They do have a shady place, cool tiles to lie on, lots of water and greens and frozen bottles. They have passed the summer (which has been extremely hot at times) OK. But a friends' rabbit has died from the heat this summer when it passed 40 C.
Really upset about this! I only just got the 'dog situation' under control and now this!
Oh, my friend also told me the disease could spread to cats! Is that true? I have just adopted a barn cat to help control the mice. Is she at risk too?
Thanks for any help or reactions!
I run a small pet zoo with about 30 rabbits at the moment (we had a sort of population explosion when one of the males broke into the females' cage and got all of them pregnant, but the males have been neutered since then and we're rehoming the 2 month old babies right now). About a month ago, I agreed to take on 4 rescue rabbits who urgently needed a home. They have been together in a separate cage and I thought they seemed to be doing OK.
However, a few days ago the vet came by to vaccinate everyone and was worried about wet noses on the new bunnies. He asked me to pay attention and if I heard any sneezing or saw them grooming their faces a lot, to let him know. So I paid attention, and thought I did hear a few sneezes and some noisy breathing, so I asked him to give us a prescription for medicine.
It seemed that all hell has broken out since then! The vet was very worried and thought they had pasteurella. I had to move them to another corner of the pet zoo, lock their cage and restrict all access. We asked another vet (a friend) for his opinion and he said: 'this is a catastrophe.' He says we can never allow them to mix with the other rabbits, even if they get better. It might have already spread to the others (although I don't see any symptoms on them) and it might kill the young bunnies. My husband is annoyed with me for taking on those bunnies and my friend/pet zoo partner is very helpfully sending me horror stories from the internet. :/
It gets worse... this morning while I was moving them into their quarantine cage, one of the rabbits started struggling like mad and fell from my hands. He seems to have broken his back leg as it is now dragging at a strange angle!! I feel terrible! Trying to contact the vet but he's busy and haven't managed to get through yet...
I have no idea what to do!! Has anyone ever had a rabbit with a broken leg? Is it possible to fix it or will he have to be put down?
Regarding the sneezing - is it possible for the rabbits to get better and continue living with us or do they all have to be put down, too, to protect the others..? That feels really bad because they don't actually seem that sick. Their noses are a bit wet and there is a sneeze every now and then but they are not having any sneezing attacks or white discharge. I haven't seen much face washing and their paws do not seem wet or matted. What is a bit strange is that on 2 of them, the fur on their noses seems to have fallen out. Not below but on top. Is this a result of the wetness/sneezing? For the rest, they are eating, drinking and hopping around normally. They do lie around a lot, but it is really hot here right now and the others are doing the exact same thing. Does this sound like pasteurella or could it be something else?
I came across an earlier post with pictures of rabbits in heat stress... this is exactly what they do after they have been running around in the heat and get too hot - they lie, pant and stick their noses in the air. I also saw the heat stressed rabbits have wet faces. Is it possible that the whole thing is simply heat stress..? Or is that just wishful thinking?
They do have a shady place, cool tiles to lie on, lots of water and greens and frozen bottles. They have passed the summer (which has been extremely hot at times) OK. But a friends' rabbit has died from the heat this summer when it passed 40 C.
Really upset about this! I only just got the 'dog situation' under control and now this!
Oh, my friend also told me the disease could spread to cats! Is that true? I have just adopted a barn cat to help control the mice. Is she at risk too?
Thanks for any help or reactions!
