respiratory problems

Question
Hi, I have a sweet little bunny, Caleb, that has been sneezing and his nose has been running. I have taken him to the doctor on more than one occasion and she put him on Baytril in Pet Tinc 5mg/ml. each time. The sneezing and runny nose stops after a day or two. When he has finished the medicine within 2 days the symptoms start all over again. He eats fine and drinks water and doesn't really act sick. He runs around and plays with the other 2 bunnies I have and his best friend, our cat. I don't know what to do. I am so worried about him. Could it be an allergy. I use aspen for his bed. He eats Timothy hay, and Kaytee pellets and fresh organic veggies. If you have any advice I would really appreciate it. It is hard to find a vet that knows much about rabbits in my area. I have called everywhere. I just don't know what to do to help him.  Thanks, Teresa

Answer
I am curious - did the vet ever do a culture to see what exactly may have been the issue?  It could be an allergy, or it could be an infection that only partially responds to Baytril.

The vet would take a culturette and use it inside his nose, then send it off to find out what it is (staph, Bordatella, whatever) and which antibiotics will kill it.

If it comes back negative, then it could be allergies, and there are treatments for that (antihistamines).

If your vet doesn't know rabbit dosages, they can go to http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html and use the dosage calculator there.

I would just be sure to ask the vet to do a culture before trying any other treatments, make sure he is off any antiobitics for a week before doing so to get a good sample.

Kim