Runny nose (without color discharge or sneezing)

[TheLilacLop]

Hey everyone! I just want to start out by mentioning that Penelope (Holland Lop) is seeing a vet on Saturday for an overall wellness check, I just happened to notice yesterday that her nose is runny. I’m hoping for some advice beforehand so I can stop worrying excessively. 

So to get started, I brought Penelope home from a breeder about a week ago. Yesterday the breeder contacted me to inform me that it looked like Penelope had a cold from some pictures. I went back to the first pictures I took of her and it looks like she’s had this for awhile (makes me feel horrible that I didn’t catch it early on). I don’t think it’s snuffles because there is no color ed discharge, she isn’t lethargic, she’s eating great, there’s no sneezing, and she isn’t having difficulty breathing. 

Could it be an allergy to something? Her litter is changed everyday and I’m using compressed wood pellets (equine bedding, basically). She’s eating alfalfa hay mixed with Timothy hay, Oxbow Young Rabbit pellets, and we haven’t really been giving her fruit or veggies since HRS recommends we give these when they’re 7 months or older. There’s no strong odors where’s she’s located, no air conditioning – though there is a fan to make sure the room stays cool enough – around 75 degrees. The only thing I can think of is maybe it’s a tad stuffy downstairs? We have a fully furnished basement/room so maybe she just isn’t getting enough air? I keep the windows open down there, though.. I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking all this but I’m responsible for her and I want her to get better. I know a vet will figure this out but as you can tell, I’m a total worry wart. Sorry for the long description, I just wanted you all to know so maybe you could offer advice if you’ve ever dealt with this before in your rabbit(s). Thanks so much <3 I attached photos as well so you can see her nose/environment. 

[Wick & Fable]

Runny nose could be caused by general nasal irritants or an infection. I’ve also heard once or twice that dental problems can cause some nose issues (kind of like in humans, when you have a tooth extracted or dental procedure, you may get a really runny nose). My only experience from Wick is a runny nose due to an upper respiratory infection (URI), but that came about with sneezing, so it may or may not be the same case to you. I’m more leaning towards allergies since it seems pretty tame. On the flip side, it could be just very slow developing, so sneezing isn’t a reaction as of yet.

Hay dust can do it, so if the hay from the portion of your hay bag that you’re currently on is dustier, it could cause some runny nose. Dust from carpeting and the air could as well, so if it’s been a while since you’ve vacuumed, dust, etc., there may be more in the air to irritate the nose. My vet did tell me something interesting in terms of hay brands. Wick was originally on Kaytee timothy hay, but with his URI, I wanted to try something less-dusty to get the sneezing a bit more under control. My vet pointed out that it may not just be dust hay, but different companies will grow their hay in different environments, so it’s possible that where Kaytee cultivates its hay is filled with something that really irritates Wick. I changed to Oxbow timothy, and voila, sneezing was much lesser. Wick still needed treatment for the actual URI and the sneezing caused directly by it, but switching hay brands helped.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[TheLilacLop]

Thanks so much for the reply! I actually feel a lot better about everything. Your advice was very helpful and I’m confident that I’ll get Pen back on track

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