rabbit has snuffles lactating

[Juankio]

My rabbit has snuffles and snot. She is nursing 2-week-old babies. My veterinarian prescribed Enroflexicna for 5 days, it has not improved and now he prescribed Azithromycin for 5 days. The veterinarian does not have much experience with rabbits since there is no exotic veterinarian in my area. . Can Azithromycin be given to lactating rabbits? Thank you

 

[ladysown]

i don't know about the meds, but the kits need to be weaned just before 4 weeks of age in order to hold the immunity from momma's milk. Remove the doe (personally I'd cull her). Move them to a clean cage away from any other rabbits you have. They will STAY away from all other rabbits until either deemed clean or culled due to symptoms.

Kits will be fine without her at that age. Watch them like a hawk, remove and cull any that show any type of symptoms. Any that remain symptom free stress them in a variety of ways before breeding, any snot or weepy eyes or bone weakness, cull them. When I speak of culling in this instance I mean cull dead.

Snuffles likes to hide and infect the unsuspecting, it is not something you mess around with.

 

[Alaska Satin]

My rabbit has snuffles and snot. She is nursing 2-week-old babies. My veterinarian prescribed Enroflexicna for 5 days, it has not improved and now he prescribed Azithromycin for 5 days. The veterinarian does not have much experience with rabbits since there is no exotic veterinarian in my area. . Can Azithromycin be given to lactating rabbits? Thank you

To directly answer your question, azithromycin is considered safe for rabbits, but most any drug in the blood will, to some degree, pass through breast milk.

I generally avoid antibiotic use unless I know what the pathogen is. Antibiotics will wreak havoc on the doe's gut flora, which is likely to make all her problems worse, and double antibiotics can result in double the trouble. When the antibiotics pass through the breast milk, the kits will get a double shot of antibiotics as well, and in an unknown dosage. Wiping out most of the bacteria in their developing guts - while possibly leaving antibiotic resistant strains! - is a pretty rough start for those bunnies. If the doe has a bacterial infection like Pastuerella, the kits almost certainly already have it too (in fact some estimates suggest that 30-60% of all rabbits carry the bacteria, though most are asymptomatic).

So unless you know for sure what the problem is, I'd be inclined to pass on the additional course of azithromycin. Has your vet has done a culture? If not, you don't necessarily know that a snotty nose is snuffles, aka pasteurellosis. As far as I have observed and read, rabbits do not catch viral colds like humans, but some do have allergies, and all of them can catch other cold-like illnesses, which tend to be bacterial in origin rather than viral. So "snuffles" can be caused by allergens/irritants, or by various bacteria in addition to Pastuerella, commonly including Staphylococcus, Bordetella, or Morexella. All of these have developed strains that are resistant to either azithromycin or enrofloxacin or both.

Think back to when the symptoms started. If it appeared coincidentally with a change in food, hay, or lodging (allergens, dust and other irritants can trigger rhinitis), it may be allergy-related. But if it is a condition that has come on as a result of the physical stresses of kindling and nursing babies, it's more likely a bacterial infection.

It sounds like you've already found out that whatever it is, if it is actually a bacterial infection, is resistant to enrofloxacin. Azithromycin may wipe it out, or it may not, in which case the last thing you want to do is wipe out non-resistant strains and allow a big culture of double-resistant bacteria to proliferate.

If you can assure yourself that it is not allergies or environmental irritants, you have a couple of options. Unless she is a pet that you will never breed again, I have to agree with @ladysown that the best course of action is to isolate the group, euthanize the doe when the kits reach 4 weeks, and watch the kits for signs of infection. If she is a pet, I would keep the doe completely separate from other rabbits, pretty much forever, and probably the bunnies as well. It might seem heartless but it's actually more merciful than raising a bunch of immune-compromised rabbits that will not only suffer themselves when they encounter stresses, but which may very likely infect other rabbits, and cause heartbreak for owners who have to watch them suffer.

 

[Juankio]

To directly answer your question, azithromycin is considered safe for rabbits, but most any drug in the blood will, to some degree, pass through breast milk.

I generally avoid antibiotic use unless I know what the pathogen is. Antibiotics will wreak havoc on the doe's gut flora, which is likely to make all her problems worse, and double antibiotics can result in double the trouble. When the antibiotics pass through the breast milk, the kits will get a double shot of antibiotics as well, and in an unknown dosage. Wiping out most of the bacteria in their developing guts - while possibly leaving antibiotic resistant strains! - is a pretty rough start for those bunnies. If the doe has a bacterial infection like Pastuerella, the kits almost certainly already have it too (in fact some estimates suggest that 30-60% of all rabbits carry the bacteria, though most are asymptomatic).

So unless you know for sure what the problem is, I'd be inclined to pass on the additional course of azithromycin. Has your vet has done a culture? If not, you don't necessarily know that a snotty nose is snuffles, aka pasteurellosis. As far as I have observed and read, rabbits do not catch viral colds like humans, but some do have allergies, and all of them can catch other cold-like illnesses, which tend to be bacterial in origin rather than viral. So "snuffles" can be caused by allergens/irritants, or by various bacteria in addition to Pastuerella, commonly including Staphylococcus, Bordetella, or Morexella. All of these have developed strains that are resistant to either azithromycin or enrofloxacin or both.

Think back to when the symptoms started. If it appeared coincidentally with a change in food, hay, or lodging (allergens, dust and other irritants can trigger rhinitis), it may be allergy-related. But if it is a condition that has come on as a result of the physical stresses of kindling and nursing babies, it's more likely a bacterial infection.

It sounds like you've already found out that whatever it is, if it is actually a bacterial infection, is resistant to enrofloxacin. Azithromycin may wipe it out, or it may not, in which case the last thing you want to do is wipe out non-resistant strains and allow a big culture of double-resistant bacteria to proliferate.

If you can assure yourself that it is not allergies or environmental irritants, you have a couple of options. Unless she is a pet that you will never breed again, I have to agree with @ladysown that the best course of action is to isolate the group, euthanize the doe when the kits reach 4 weeks, and watch the kits for signs of infection. If she is a pet, I would keep the doe completely separate from other rabbits, pretty much forever, and probably the bunnies as well. It might seem heartless but it's actually more merciful than raising a bunch of immune-compromised rabbits that will not only suffer themselves when they encounter stresses, but which may very likely infect other rabbits, and cause heartbreak for owners who have to watch them suffer.

Thanks for the answers, the snuffles started a few days after giving birth, we didn't change anything about her diet or her home. It is my pet and will not reproduce again. After I wean them at 4 weeks, I will give the rabbit antibiotics. I will also ask my veterinarian if he does cultures to see what bacteria it is.