One of my rabbits, Vladimir, has had chronic "snuffles" (upper respiratory infection) for a while now. I adopted him in June of '06 and he was first officially diagnosed in April of '07. We have tried a few different medicines and while they appear to keep the symptoms at bay for a while, about two weeks to a month after going off the medicine the symptoms will appear again.
Vladimir's symptoms have gradually gotten more severe. It started with just excessive sneezing and then as he got worse, he began to have difficulty clearing his nose and now also has a small amount of clear discharge coming from his nose.
I've been trying to compile a record of sorts, involving when and for how long Vlad was medicated since that first diagnosis in April '07. I should have been doing this from the beginning, I know, but I didn't. So I have a very rough timeline.
April 28, 2007 - Vladimir was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and prescribed 8mL of Baytril for 14 days, every 12 hours. (Also prescribed Benebac.)
I never wrote it down, but I know that after the two weeks were up Vladimir seemed to be doing just fine. However, it was some time in late summer or early fall that I brought him back to the vet again for the same problem. Again he was prescribed Baytril & Benebac, again he got better...for a while.
I confess that after a while I started to think maybe the sneezing wasn't such a huge issue, since after all it's never affected his playfulness, appetite, or anything else. At worst it seemed like an annoyance to him. He wasn't yet exhibiting the more severe symptoms -- he wasn't yet pawing at his nose, trying to clear it so that he could breathe better. I was stupid and didn't realize it would escalate to that point.
So, several months went by of just excessive sneezing, no symptoms that made me really worry too much. I had read that some rabbits just had chronic sneezing and I thought Vlad was one of them.
Fast forward to October '08, when Vlad started to get worse. I made a vet appointment and again he was prescribed Baytril and Benebac, this time a higher dosage. This time the Baytril was in tablet form, too, which was twenty million times more difficult to deal with than the liquid Baytril. (Vladimir is, uh, pretty uncooperative when it comes to taking his medicine. Though apparently the Benebac is delicious!)
So, the Baytril did not work at all this time, even though the vet took a culture of the discharge from Vladimir's nose and found that the bacteria should be sensitive to the Baytril. (The vet also mentioned that Vlad's teeth appeared slightly overgrown. When I clip my rabbits' nails every month or so I do a quick examination of them, but I hadn't noticed anything wrong with Vlad's teeth.)
Next up on our list of medication was, oddly enough, children's cherry-flavored Benadryl. The vet said she thought that since the antibiotic wasn't working, we could try an allergy medication instead. The Benadryl had no effect.
So back to the vet again, and this time we were prescribed 0.5mL Trimethoprim-sulfa, twice a day for two weeks, as well as the good ol' Benebac. Because Vladimir didn't show too much improvement when the two weeks was up, I continued it for another week. There was significant improvement for a while afterward.
Fast forward again to now, about a month after the Trimethoprim-sulfa. All of his symptoms are back and at their worst. He's still active and seems like himself, with his usual gigantic appetite, but he has trouble clearing his nose and sneezes more frequently than ever. It breaks my heart to hear him.
Now, if you actually read that big, fat explanation, I'm asking for your advice.
Should I try the Trimethoprim-sulfa again, but for a longer period of time (four weeks? more?) to hopefully kill this bacteria once and for all?
Or do you think that there could be something else causing this that won't be solved by antibiotics alone? I read here that dental problems or foreign bodies can cause "snuffles".
Also -- his environment is not dusty, dirty, or drafty. My other rabbit, who is bonded to Vladimir, has never had any respiratory issues. Neither has my guinea pig, whose cage is in the same room that the rabbits live in. I would think that "snuffles" would be contagious at least to other rabbits, but although my rabbits share bowls, a litterbox, and living quarters, they have never shared this disease.
I feel at a loss here. No treatment has worked and it makes me want to tear my hair out. I just want my poor boy to feel like he can breathe freely. All the same, I don't want to go down the same treatment path if it's not going to do anything for him.
I am taking him to the vet ASAP, but I want to know if anyone on LJ has had this experience with a rabbit or has any helpful advice.
Vladimir's symptoms have gradually gotten more severe. It started with just excessive sneezing and then as he got worse, he began to have difficulty clearing his nose and now also has a small amount of clear discharge coming from his nose.
I've been trying to compile a record of sorts, involving when and for how long Vlad was medicated since that first diagnosis in April '07. I should have been doing this from the beginning, I know, but I didn't. So I have a very rough timeline.
April 28, 2007 - Vladimir was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and prescribed 8mL of Baytril for 14 days, every 12 hours. (Also prescribed Benebac.)
I never wrote it down, but I know that after the two weeks were up Vladimir seemed to be doing just fine. However, it was some time in late summer or early fall that I brought him back to the vet again for the same problem. Again he was prescribed Baytril & Benebac, again he got better...for a while.
I confess that after a while I started to think maybe the sneezing wasn't such a huge issue, since after all it's never affected his playfulness, appetite, or anything else. At worst it seemed like an annoyance to him. He wasn't yet exhibiting the more severe symptoms -- he wasn't yet pawing at his nose, trying to clear it so that he could breathe better. I was stupid and didn't realize it would escalate to that point.
So, several months went by of just excessive sneezing, no symptoms that made me really worry too much. I had read that some rabbits just had chronic sneezing and I thought Vlad was one of them.
Fast forward to October '08, when Vlad started to get worse. I made a vet appointment and again he was prescribed Baytril and Benebac, this time a higher dosage. This time the Baytril was in tablet form, too, which was twenty million times more difficult to deal with than the liquid Baytril. (Vladimir is, uh, pretty uncooperative when it comes to taking his medicine. Though apparently the Benebac is delicious!)
So, the Baytril did not work at all this time, even though the vet took a culture of the discharge from Vladimir's nose and found that the bacteria should be sensitive to the Baytril. (The vet also mentioned that Vlad's teeth appeared slightly overgrown. When I clip my rabbits' nails every month or so I do a quick examination of them, but I hadn't noticed anything wrong with Vlad's teeth.)
Next up on our list of medication was, oddly enough, children's cherry-flavored Benadryl. The vet said she thought that since the antibiotic wasn't working, we could try an allergy medication instead. The Benadryl had no effect.
So back to the vet again, and this time we were prescribed 0.5mL Trimethoprim-sulfa, twice a day for two weeks, as well as the good ol' Benebac. Because Vladimir didn't show too much improvement when the two weeks was up, I continued it for another week. There was significant improvement for a while afterward.
Fast forward again to now, about a month after the Trimethoprim-sulfa. All of his symptoms are back and at their worst. He's still active and seems like himself, with his usual gigantic appetite, but he has trouble clearing his nose and sneezes more frequently than ever. It breaks my heart to hear him.
Now, if you actually read that big, fat explanation, I'm asking for your advice.
Should I try the Trimethoprim-sulfa again, but for a longer period of time (four weeks? more?) to hopefully kill this bacteria once and for all?
Or do you think that there could be something else causing this that won't be solved by antibiotics alone? I read here that dental problems or foreign bodies can cause "snuffles".
Also -- his environment is not dusty, dirty, or drafty. My other rabbit, who is bonded to Vladimir, has never had any respiratory issues. Neither has my guinea pig, whose cage is in the same room that the rabbits live in. I would think that "snuffles" would be contagious at least to other rabbits, but although my rabbits share bowls, a litterbox, and living quarters, they have never shared this disease.
I feel at a loss here. No treatment has worked and it makes me want to tear my hair out. I just want my poor boy to feel like he can breathe freely. All the same, I don't want to go down the same treatment path if it's not going to do anything for him.
I am taking him to the vet ASAP, but I want to know if anyone on LJ has had this experience with a rabbit or has any helpful advice.