Excessive sneezing

Question
My rabbit is 7 months old and she tends to sneeze (I believe that is what she is doing) alot. It tends to happen after grooming herself but sometimes it does happen spontaneously, and it can be up to 20 in one go. Then she may pause and start again. To begin with we found it quite funny and cute but it seems it is getting worse and I'm concerned she is pain, I have had rabbits before and this is the first time I have ever seen this. Do you know if it's anything to worry about and if she is in pain?

Answer
Hi Lauren,

The sneezing could be caused by a number of things.  Rabbits, like people, sneeze when the nasal passages are irritated.  It's a lot like an allergy.  You seem to have made some observations that indicate she might be inhaling something.  We have a rabbit that sneezes for quite some time if his hay and/or pellets have excessive dust.  We now sift his pellets and try to get him as much dust free hay as possible.  Since it appears the problem is related more to grooming, I would suspect either she is getting a piece of fur inside a nostril (and we have seen small pieces of hay get up there too) or possibly getting some flakes of dry skin in her nose.  If this be the case, brushing her more often may help.  Most of the time if there is any nasal discharge, it is usually clear and runny.  In humans and many animals antihistamines are used to block histamine releases which results in a reaction....in this case, sneezing.  I don't like to use antihistimines in rabbits since they will many times act as a stimulant.  A rabbit has a pretty aggressive metabolism and already have a rapid heartbeat.  Unless things are really bad I prefer not to do anything to increase the heart rate.  In some severe cases, a steroid such as prednisone may be of some help.  Steroids do carry some baggage and can cause some collateral issues.  In a rabbit, the immune system is not the strongest.  Since it's technically the immune system that triggers the reaction to stimuli( the sneezing)....the steroid would suppress the immune system and restrict it's response.  This treatment should be very carefully considered in discussions with a rabbit savvy vet since it can suppress that delicate immune system to a point that opportunistic bacteria may invade and cause some serious infections.

Bacterial infections can also cause sneezing.  Most often these are respiratory infections or even dental issues.  Generally you would see her act like she feels bad and usually the discharge would be much thicker and most of the time will have either a greenish or yellowish tint to it.

I doubt she is in pain....but I'm sure it's annoying to say the least.  Since you don't indicate any presentations that lead me to suspect a bacterial infection....I would look carefully at environmental issues.  Directly affecting her I would look carefully to see if there is any excessive dust in her hay or pellets.  Make sure she is well groomed to remove any loose fur or flaky skin so that won't be inhaled.  And look around her.  What is her bedding?  Cedar shavings or cat litter can often cause sneezing....and for other health reasons these beddings should never be used.  Does anyone in the house smoke?  Any air freshener sprays in her area?  Cooking utensils (like pans with teflon coatings) can give off toxins that can trigger something like this....in fact, overheated teflon pans have been known to kill some birds.  Are there any other animals like dogs, cat or ferrets in her immediate area?  And as odd as this might sound, with drier air coming in response to the time of year...low humidity could be the cause.  We routinely use humidifiers to maintain proper humidity in the house.  I really think the thing to do here is to carefully monitor everything in her environment and start eliminating them as possible causes....and don't discount anything.  This will take some effort to isolate the cause but I do suspect something in her environment that is causing this reaction.