Bunny Allergy?

Question
Dear Dr. Krempels:
I have two house rabbits, a neutered Netherland Dwarf (Maxwell) and a spayed Holland Lop (Magnolia) that are bonded and love each other. Maxwell has always been in perfect health. Magnolia is active, eats well, but for the past few months, she has one or two sneezing fits each day. I have changed nothing in my apartment, no painting, carpet, etc. I have cleaned my place spic and span - and that doesn't do anything. Sometimes I can find a tiny string of mucus outside her nose that I wipe away. The vets have tested her for everything, and she comes back clean - no snuffles, etc. Her breathing is fine, and she is always very active. But the periodic sneezing persists. It bothers me perhaps more than it bothers her as it doesn't seem to affect her appetite or activity, but I want to know if there is anything I can do. Pet medicine chest has some allergy supplement, but is there anything tat you can recommend? Thank you  so much for your help,
Kevin

Answer
Dear Kevin,

Aw, what lucky bunnies they are to have such a caring, vigilant dad!

When you say Magnolia has been "tested" for snuffles, do you mean that the vet has taken a deep nasal sample and sent it off for culture and sensitivity testing?  If you're not sure, please read:

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

This test is of utmost importance if one is to detect the presence of bacteria and find out which rabbit-safe antibiotics will be most effective at killing them.

If a c & s test has been done and come back completely negative (which would be really surprising to me, given the description of symptoms in Magnolia), then there could be another cause, such as a foreign body lodged in her nostril, or even a tooth root intruding into the sinus cavity, due to bone loss (osteoporosis) in the jaw.  You can read more about the various causes (and diagnostics and treatments) of sneezing in rabbits here:

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

I hope this helps. Please write back with more information if you think I can help with this mystery.  Good luck!

Dana