My bunny can’t breathe

[Emilykatelyn]

So I had posted a few times now about my rabbit, Lucy, whose “upper respiratory infection” has spiraled through multiple X-rays with multiple different rabbit savvy veterinarians. One of the vets I went to told me my rabbit had an abnormally narrow trachea. My main vet told me she had an upper respiratory infection. As Lucy’s problems worsened, her breathing kept getting worse along with her sneezing. Me and my boyfriend moved into our new apartment and that day Lucy had an episode where she started breathing out of her mouth. I rushed her to the closest vet and they got her oxygen and took some X-rays. They had to put her under to get some dental X-rays. They discovered she had slight dental disease but there was still no absolute cause of why she could be breathing out of her mouth. That day they sent me home telling me either her roots were growing into her sinuses or she had some kind of blockage in her trachea or her nose. They said either way it would cost me thousands of dollars to figure out where the block is coming from or to extract the teeth from her that have the dental disease. This happened a week ago.

Today, and everyday since, Lucy is still continuing to breath out of her mouth. Her nose seems extremely congested but she is on upper respiratory medication and it hasn’t seemed to make a difference. She refuses to eat any hay so she’s solely living off of pellets, critical care and greens. Her poops aren’t as often but still consistent, she still has an appetite but it has definitely decreased. Her activity has also decreased, she mostly just finds a corner and lays there for the night. Her breathing is not good. Sometimes she makes awful noises of congestion while other times I can just see her breathing through her mouth, then sometimes her mouth is open and it seems to be a struggle.

I’ve talked to my main vet and the vet who took the X-rays. Both told me there isn’t anything I can do unless I want to spend thousands of dollars, which I don’t have to spend. I’ve already spent almost a thousand within the past month with all of The X-rays and vet visits trying to figure out what is wrong with my bunny. I’m not sure what to do or if there is any comforting way I can manage her breathing.

Please send me any of your suggestions ASAP

Thank you

[BB & Tiny]

I’m so sorry this is happening to you and your baby. I do not know anything which would be of help to you.

I hope other members can weight in with some suggestions.

[lillian]

I know there is something called pet care or whatever that let’s you pay the bills over a period of time without interest, buy I’m not really sure on any real fixes as I’m not a vet. It sounds more worrying that your vet is quoting you amounts of money without being 100% sure on what the problem is.

[Emilykatelyn]

That’s exactly how I feel. If there are several different things it could be what if I needlessly have her teeth extracted or have her put under for a trachea exam with a scope and then nothing is fixed? I just wonder how long a rabbit can survive breathing out of their mouth rather than their nose… or what danger it poses to her to be a mouth breather now

[Emilykatelyn]

Thank you for your sympathy. I hope so too

[jerseygirl]

{{{Lucy}}}

I’m very sorry, must be distressing for you.

What meds did they put her on? Any anti inflammatories? I think these would be important.

Perhaps a nebuliser might help? You can hire these and use just saline.

Have you gone over possible environmental causes? Ie, type of hay, litter…

Benadryl has been used successfully in rabbits for symptoms whether allergy related or due to infection.
[edited by jg]

[vanessa]

🙁
I’d try Jersey Girl’s suggestions… benadryl, anti-inflammatory, environmental, nebuliser, and HOPE it is a resolvable upper congestion.

[vanessa]

Pulling out teeth sounds like exploratory surgery. No way.

[MimzMum]

I don’t want to alarm you, but I would actually see about finding a vet who might be more rabbit savvy, as I don’t see any mention of possible heart problems. This is one reason why a bunny would be mouth breathing/not eating well/lethargic as they are obligate nose breathers and any constriction of the heart muscle would make activity uncomfortable. Whenever a bunny is pointing it’s nose in the air and breathing through it’s mouth one possible diagnosis is that could indicate fluid on or around the heart and lungs that is restricting breathing. Is your bunny a Rex breed? They do tend to be predisposed to heart conditions. Although any bunny can acquire them. http://rabbit.org/cardiac-heart-disease-in-rabbits/

Your bunny does need a rabbit savvy vet and soon. I say rabbit savvy because although bunnies can have lots of tooth problems it’s not necessarily the answer to everything. Unless the vet can actually point out that your bunny has elongated tooth roots, I wouldn’t go straight to surgery. You’ve not mentioned your bunny grinding her teeth and you sometimes see that when a rabbit is having dental trouble or is in pain in general. From what you’ve described I suspect your vet is very ready to pull teeth but not investigate further. Usually extractions are only a last resort.

Medication can sometimes be prescribed to assist in keeping the heart healthy, but the right diagnosis needs to be made first. When they xrayed her, did they do any of the chest? This is something that they may be able to do consciously, but could also require a light GA and that should be a risk weighed against the overall health of the rabbit.

I use Care Credit to assist with my vet bills. They are a good company.

I have also just read your other thread about the abnormal trachea. Perhaps a different view chest xray (if it will not distress the rabbit further) could be taken also to check for a thymoma, a tumor that can press on the windpipe, narrowing it. http://www.rabbit.org/health/thymoma.html     

Thinking of you and hoping a solution can be found soon. xx

[Emilykatelyn]

It’s shocking that I’ve gone to three different vets and also an emergency vet and none of them suggested heart problems. Lucy is still mouth breathing. She doesn’t grind her teeth, she barely touched her hay. As of right now she’s on a diet that consists of pellets that I put in warm water to soften them, leafy greens and herbs, and critical care. She doesn’t eat nearly as much as she used to. Her breathing patterns are the same. Sometimes she gets really really snotty like tons of fluid coming out of her nose, which I don’t understand how that ties into teeth problems. They did already look at her trachea, as you read, in an X-ray. There were two chest X-rays. She got a mouth xray where the vet who gave her that did say that the roots “could be” growing into her sinuses. And they did detect some dental disease but I’m assuming it could not have been that detrimental if they suggested an obstruction in her nostrils too. Her poops are smaller and sometimes slightly mushy now. But she still has an appetite.. None of the vets have contacted me since her last X-rays. One of them told me they wanted to do research which they must have not found anything since they never contacted me back. I’m really not sure what’s wrong with Lucy.. From mouth breathing to snotty nose, narrow trachea and slight dental disease. At this point it sounds like a little bit of everything

[Emilykatelyn]

Right now Licy is on Enrofloxacin. How much Benadryl do I give her?

[BB & Tiny]

Three vets and no diagnosis ? That would be extremely frustrating. I hope someone comes up with one soon.

[Bam]

Forum Leader LBJ has given benadryl to one of her rabbits. This is what she wrote about dosage, I’m quoting:
“You can use Benedryl with bunnies. I just have what the vet prescribed (I found the note she gave me). We were using it to help dry up Wooly’s sinuses, but you could use it for other purposes. I got the children’s liquid benedryl, 12.5 mg/ml solution. It’s cherry flavored. The vet said to mix 1/2 teaspoon per 1 cup of water. Wooly was 3.4 lbs at the time (according to the sheet). So I’m not sure exactly what the proper dosage is, but that is what the vet prescribed for MY bunny.”

[jerseygirl]

It might pay to have a babies nasal aspirator on hand to help clear away the discharge when it gets bad. Is it clear or opaque?

Just want to mention for anyone reading, Benadryl used is Diphenhydramine. In the UK Benadryl is a different antihistamine.

I’d mention to your vet if you’re wanting to use it Emily. Just to check appropriate and won’t interfere with anything else she’s on.

I wonder if she needs to see a specialist?
If you’re comfortable posting region you are in, people might be able to give some recommendations.

[Tinkerbella]

Late post but to whoever searching for help…. My bunny is the same she has pasturella and has to have anti inflammatory injections every 12 days or her breathing becomes bad,as the various antibiotics she’s tried, just dont seem to work. I use eucalyptus in an aroma diffuser you plug in to help with breathing. Also started pouring a bit of colloidal silver in the diffuser to kill the bacteria in her lungs as she breathes it in. The infections are most effective for short term relief. I’m using zithromax antibiotic just started it and it’s the best so far, she started eating more.x

[Bam]

Tinkerbella, thank you for your post. It can be helpful for others.

This is a somewhat old thread though, and we ask members to not revive old threads. You can start a new thread of your own here if you like:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/afv/post/aff/2/Default.aspx

I’m locking this thread now.

[Author]

Messages