stubborn snuffles

Question
QUESTION: My little bunny has the snuffles.  He has had three of his five antibiotic shots but is still wheezing and just sounding miserable.  Shouldn't he be showing signs of improvement by now??  If the treatment doesn't work, what else do you do?

ANSWER: Dear Tonya,

If he's actually wheezing, this could be more than an upper respiratory infection (sometimes called "snuffles"):  he might have pneumonia.

Please get him to an experienced rabbit vet for culture and sensitivity testing of nasal discharge:

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

Please also read:

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

It can take more than a week for improvement to happen, but it will happen only if the appropriate antibiotics are being used.  And if he has pneumonia, he may need more aggressive treatment, such as nebulization with drugs to open his airways PLUS antibiotics.  Please ask the vet about this:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope you can get him there ASAP.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the quick response.  Cinnamon has always been a "squeaky" sounding bunny.  So I don't know if he has been ill longer than I think.  When I took him in, the vet listened to his chest, noticed his gunky nose and prescribed Pen-G/Benzathine(I don't know what that is).  He will have his final dose in two days.  Does that sound right??  Should I ask for another five doses if he still seems sick?  Does it come in another form other than injections? (I am not at all ok with doing those myself)

Answer
Dear Tonya,

In prescribing the bicillin (a nickname for the antibiotic that was prescribed), the vet appears to have assumed that (1) the bacterial pathogen is Pasteurella and (2) that this particular strain is sensitive to bicillin.  

The problem here is that (1) not all runny noses in rabbits are caused by Pasteurella and (2) not all strains of bacteria (even Pasteurella) are sensitive to penicillins.

I'll direct you again to read:

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

and

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

Once you read and understand those articles, you'll know what to ask the vet, and how to proceed if the signs persist.  

I hope this helps.

Dana