Rabbit chewing everything, cecal dysbiosis, vet has diagnosed respiratory infection, possibly pasturella, but no sneezing or nasal discharge

Question
Hi Dana,
I have a three year old, neutered male rabbit.  He is lively, energetic, and has been very healthy.  Recently, he began chewing up his cardboard boxes, devouring his willow sticks, and trying to eat my linen curtains.  He was shedding much more than usual, and I began to see fecal pellets mixed with cecotropes in his litter box.  We had an exceptionally dusty bag of hay which he did not seem to be eating.  I took him to my rabbit savvy vet.  The vet felt that his one lung sounded a bit raspy, and after an x-ray, diagnosed him with the very beginnings of pneumonia.  She felt it might be pasturella.  He has never sneezed, had any type of nasal discharge, or seemed particularly under the weather.  A blood test revealed that he had anemia and low blood proteins.  She attributed this to the infection.  He took a 14 day course of baytril, and the vet felt his lungs were clear when I took him back.  It was a particularly busy day at the clinic, and she asked me to return for an xray in a few days.  I will be going in two days.  In the meantime, he has given up eating his Oxbow pellet (2 Tbs/day), the cecotropes in the litter box have returned, and he seems absolutely determined to eat the whole of an enormous seagrass ball we gave him.  I am very concerned about him, and just want to have the right diagnosis.  To me, it isn't adding up--could you help explain or offer any alternative thoughts?  Thank you very much.  Jill

Answer
Dear Jill,

The vet's diagnosis isn't inconsistent with what you're seeing, though the uneaten cecotropes (not a sign of cecal dysbiosis unless they are pasty or runny) could be unrelated to the pneumonia.  It's good the vet caught that; it can be difficult to detect!  She's a vigilant vet who did the right thing, and it's a very good idea to have a followup radiograph.

Since he's still exhibiting strange eating behaviors, ask the vet to have a look at his teeth, both incisors and molars.  Uneaten cecotropes and a change in eating habits can signify a dental problem.  Might not even be a bad idea to have a head radiograph taken in addition to the visual exam of the molars.

Please see:

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

I hope this helps.

Dana