Runny nose/sniffles

Question
Hi i recently started breeding rabbits and am experiencing difficulties through stupid mistakes of my own.I have been going to a friend who is a breeder as well and bought 2 rabbits of her in Jan(in the dark)next morning i took it into the house to pet it,seen it had a crustyness to her nose so i took it away.After that i noticed her nose had white stuff coming out of it and she stated to sneeze.I didnt realise what it was and it spread to more rabbits.
Now i am really paranoid when i see a wet nose at all.It probably is a hard question for you to answer,i am afraid when i see a wet nose it is going to turn into the sniffles.Some of my rabbits have a wet nose and arn't sneezing,can it be the start of the sniffles or is that normal?Like i said i am really paranoid.How can i tell if it is the start of the sniffles.They are not
sneezing and their eyes and chest are clear?

Answer
Hi Andrea

I know exactly how you feel.  Rabbits will have a little bit of moisture around their noses.  As long as it is clear and they are not sneezing they are probably ok.  However you need to isolate anything that you have heard sneeze or that has any nasal discharge.  Snuffles comes from a variety of different organisms but regardless of the cause it is horribly contagious.  Just check on them every day and if you think they may be coming down with it move them to a separate area and keep an eye on them.

If these are not in the house just remember that you aren't with them all the time.  Just because they don't sneeze while you are out in the barn doesn't mean they are not sneezing at all.  Make sure to spend a lot of time out there assessing them.

On a good note snuffles is not necessarily a death sentence.  We had an outbreak at our sanctuary and were able to get it under control with zithromax.  However zithromax should only be used in rabbits that are obviously sick.  Some of the other antibiotics have been so over used that they are not working anymore.  The sick rabbits will most likely carry the illness their entire life and I would not use them in a breeding program or to show.  Any type of stress can cause them to become ill again.

Good luck

Pam