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moist nose and eyes

22 10:59:33

Question
Hello there,

My wife and I have a 1 year old, 9 pound lop breed rabbit named Lucy. She's a little chubby, but not extremely overweight -- just large.

Anyway, I'm a little paranoid about my rabbit's health. Probably just being over cautious. Her nose seems a little moist inside. If I lightly pinch her nose I can hear a little squishy noise inside. But, her nose is not running and she hasn't been wiping it on her paws. She does not sneeze, her droppings are healthy looking, her appetite is normal, and she has lots of energy.

I took her to the vet a few days ago where they examined her and even checked her molars, which look good. I guess sinus issues can relate to teeth problems? She jumped up onto my lap when we were there to try to hide from the vet.. so cute. They gave me Pentamycetin (1) to use on her eyes 3 times a day for a week as she was getting some little eye boogies every couple of days. I haven't noticed any eye crusties since using this though.

I first noticed the nose thing over a month ago. It hasn't gotten any worse and her personality and energy level have not changed (she's very energetic). Her nose seems to have a little bit of a whistle sometimes when she's sleeping (not all the time), but when she's up and hopping around it goes away. I should add that we do have cedar shavings underneath the wire mesh in her cage, and she is in a small room with poor ventilation. We do let her out quite frequently though.

Is this normal? Could it be signs of illness or illness to come? It has been the same for at least a couple months (maybe even much longer) and has not gotten any worse. Is there any advice you could give or should we just continue on as usual?

Thanks for the help,
Justin

Answer
Dear Justin,

It doesn't sound as if there's anything really bad going on here, but I would DEFINITELY lose the cedar shavings and replace them with something less irritating to the respiratory system, such as pelleted sawdust products (e.g. Feline Pine).  Cedar shavings are not recommended for any small animals, as they can not only cause respiratory irritation, but also affect liver function, especially if the animal is housed over them without any way to get away from the aromatic vapors.

Litterboxes are more healthy than grates covering bedding, so you might consider switching to that.  And it's important for her to be in a well-ventilated place at *all times*, not just when she's running free.  Good health is a 24-hour venture.

For more info on runny nose/eyes, please see:

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

and find a good vet experienced with rabbit medicine here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

Hope that helps.

Dana