Sneezing bunny

[MintJulep]

My Julep has been sneezing a lot for the past 2 days and I’m wondering if I need to get her to the vet. She has no nasal discharge but some watery eyes. I did recently get her a new type of hay, organic meadow hay from oxbow. I am very allergic to Timothy hay and normally buy orchard grass. Could this just be her having an allergic reaction to the new hay? She is acting fine and eating well it’s just the sneezing that concerns me. Any advice is welcome!

[jerseygirl]

How long have you had the new hay? Does the hay seem more dusty then the usual stuff you buy?

You could give each serving a light mist of water to settle any dust and/or pollens and see if that helps. Some people that have buns that are highly sensitive to dust will dip each serving of hay in water before giving it. You just have to take care to remove any uneaten hay at the end of the day so it doesn’t go mouldy.

Maybe observe her for a few hours out of a room away from the hay and see if she improves. You could give her fur a wipe over with a damp cloth to remove any irritants.

If it’s looking like the hay isn’t the culprit, it’s probably time for her to have a check-up.

[MintJulep]

Well her sneezing hasn’t gotten better even after I got rid of the new hay and cleaned her cage and everything else it was in contact with very well.. Looks like I will be calling the vet tomorrow to see if they can get her in. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and if she is sick I caught it early enough. But only the vet will be able to tell me. My poor bunny.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Best of luck at your vet apt!

[jerseygirl]

Yes, good luck! Keep us updated.

[MintJulep]

Well we went to the vet on Tuesday and Julep made one heck of a first impression.. Anyways the vet said there was some lung congestion and decided to put her on both an antibiotic and an anti inflammatory. She has been on them for 2 days and today I noticed that she is producing a lot of cecotropes. I mean a lot. And they are getting smushed into my carpet because she isn’t even using her litter box to go poo. Could this be a side effect of the medication? It’s not listed as a side effect on the actual medication so I’m not sure. Should I call the vet back and see what she says? It’s really gross and I hate cleaning smushed poo in my carpet. I also feel bad for Julep because it gets on her bum and paws.

[Bam]

Stomach upset is a common side effect of antibiotics. Antibiotics kill some of the good bacteria in the gut, so the intestinal flora gets disrupted. There are lots of bacteria in the cecum (where cecals are produced), You can give a probiotic to help get the gut back into balance. If you start seeing really runny poop or loose stools with mucus you should call your vet at once though. That could mean that really bad bacteria has started to grow in the absence of the good ones.
Sending her many healing-vibes (((((Julep)))))

[MintJulep]

Thanks so much Bam. I will see what probiotics I can find in my area and start adding them to her diet. Hopefully we will get through this without having to call the vet but I will keep a close eye on her poops to make sure they don’t turn runny or have mucus. Both of us are ready to get back to normal!

[Bam]

Benebac is a probiotic that can be used with small pets, but there might be other brands where you live.

I too hope you won’t have to go back to the vet, most bunnies cope just fine with antibiotics, extra cecals are not a huge deal. Just felt I ought to warn about liquid poop/mucus, not that it’s likely to happen but in rare cases it can, and if it does, it’s not a wait-and-see thing.

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