bunny sometimes sneezing

Question

zoe's nose   Dear dana,
2weeks ago I just bought new bunny,Zoe.. And as I notice he likes to sneeze sometimes but not often.. One day I try to wipe his nose with tissue and I kind of shock cause the tissue is wet.. I did it again and it still wet.. He eats well.. I feed him with hay, pellets, carrot and fresh vegetables.. He eats a lot.. He makes me worried cause my bunny just passed away almost 1 month ago which got ear,eyes and finally the lungs infection that I suspect it was caused by pasteurella.. I had fed Zoe medicine which contain sulfadiazine and trimethoprim since 2days ago.. But until now when I try to wipe the nose still wet..do u think it is normal or I got to be worried.. I don't want to misdiagnose my bunny anymore since the last one I just found I'm too late to know that my bunny got ears infection that cause him headtilt.. :( thank u dana

Answer
Dear Sanny,

Clear discharge isn't an emergency, but you're wise to want to get things under control before they become more serious.  Trimethoprim is safe for rabbits, but honestly we find it is no longer very effective against most of the bacteria that cause upper respiratory infections in rabbits.  Baytril tends to be a better choice, though even that will not always solve the problem.  It depends on the type of bacteria causing the problem and *why* there is a problem (stress from a new home?  dental disease?  The list is long.).

Please read these articles, which I think will help you better understand the problem and how to deal with it:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/weepy.pdf

for starters.

It is a good idea to find a rabbit-experienced veterinarian now, before you really need one. I hope you can find one via the international listings linked here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vet

And I hope this helps.

Dana