URI'S

So I took my English lop bunny Tiny to the vet on wed as he had been sneezing quite alot and weepy eyes and on the day I took him to the vet he sounded like he was really struggling to breath. So got him to the vets and he has a upper raspiratory infection and sent home with instructions to give him 1ml each of loxicom and baytril and with 3 days of wet food mix as he wasn't eating. His wet food mix ran out yesterday and I think his med's run out tomorrow. I have a follow up vet visit on wed.

So I have a few questions:
When should I start to see a improvement in him? I thought he looked a little better yesterday was eating veggies but not his nuggets but today he is not eating anything. I have soaked his nuggets in water and fed him that way. But is there anything else I can feed him? I haven't left the house in 3 days just incase he takes a turn for the worse I will take him to the vet sooner if he keeps on getting worse.

Sorry for the rambling....
Thanks for reading....

Hi, you seem to be doing things right. If you run out of the syringe food (Critical Care or Recovery?) you can use his normal pellets soaked with enough water to get them through the syringe. You can offer him herbs as well, flat leaf parsley, mint, dill etc. You could also try syringe feeding him human baby foods. And when at the vets ask about pro-biotics to help his gut.
And I think you may need to get him back to the vet soon, like today or tomorrow if he isn't eating and won't take any of these. If he does eat you do definitely need to get him to a vet before Wednesday. What are his poops like?
Did your vet take any samples (swabs) from Tiny's nose to get an identification of what is causing this infection? That may be the next step.
I'm sure there are others here on HH who can offer better advice than me.

It was recovery that I was given for him. I have offered him greens and his favourite grapes with no interest. He has however eaten the soaked food when I syringe it into his mouth. His poops are tiny but my other half says that's just because he is not eating much. No no swabs just listened to his lungs which were thankfully clear. My vet said he thinks that my other rabbit gave him the infection as I only got her a few weeks ago and even though she is not ill she could have give him it as he has been indoors for months now and she is the only new thing

Your vet jumped to a quick conclusion and he could be wrong about the source of the infection, though the new addition might be the source, in which case she should be seen to.
My rabbit had/has a bacterial infection in one nostril. He is a house rabbit and has been for over a year with no contact with other rabbits and no access to outdoors in that time.
He was given a nasal endoscopy and samples from the infection taken and sent to a lab where pseudomonas was found. This is a VERY common bacteria which can affect most warm blooded creatures, including birds and humans. It lives in soil but it is also bound to be present in 99.9% of all homes... apparently it loves tea towels! So my rabbit could have picked up his infection from my shoes, from wild sourced forage, from practically anywhere.
Until the cause of the infection is known it can be hard to treat. Is it definitely a bacterial infection and not a virus? Has the vet ruled out a tooth root problem with X-rays?
If this was my bun I would get him back to the vet as soon as possible, ask for a sample to be sent to a lab for identification (this will be taken under GA) and while he is under the GA ask for a skull X-ray to be done to determine the state of his teeth.
Certainly, if he has made no progress whilst on the prescribed drugs I would get him back to the vet asap as the longer he is in this state the worse it is for him.
As for his poos.... true, less food makes smaller poos but are they tiny, hard and perhaps misshapen?

I wouldn't say he hasn't made any progress he does sound a little bit better he was definitely showing signs of improvement yesterday it's just the lack of eating that has me worried. His teeth are fine he is under a year old and likes to chew everything so I don't think it's his teeth but will get the vet to look at them. His poos are just mini versions of his big ones.

It's important that he doesn't slip back. Keeping him eating (and taking in fluids) is the most important thing. Tempt him with a variety of foods ... you will know his favourites.
Age isn't always an indicator that teeth will be good. And the roots of the teeth can be just as much a problem as the crowns. I mentioned tooth roots because you said he had weepy eyes.
Did you vet say he thought Tiny had pasturella (snuffles)?

He just said that he had a upper respiratory infection didn't say any more than that. I just tryed him with more food... tiny decided I would like it over my jumper rather than in his mouth... should try him with human since he seems intent on eating me instead. Will be easier when my other half gets home then ill be able to syringe it better into his mouth

There are so many things that can cause the infection... your vet only described the location. He prescribed a broad spectrum antibiotic which is right unless the actual cause is shown to respond better to some other drug.
Yes, syringing can be very traumatic for bun and human. Have you tried wrapping him in a towel? It sometimes helps. My Henry is hell to syringe and I do all I can to avoid it as well.
Will he drink okay? Tepid water can be a help in these cases, it's less of a shock on the stomach.
Try not to worry too much. Keep Tiny warm and quiet and let him have plenty of rest between feeds.... about every two hours is a good guide to syringing with warm, quiet rest between.
I expect someone will be on the forum later today who will be able to offer more help/ideas than me.
I hope everything goes well for you. It's awful having a sick bun. I've been to bed only four nights since the beginning of November because of Henry's problems, first his nasal infection (which he still as, pseudomonas is the devil to shift) and now because he has a muscle injury that means he should rest (tough when he feels okay).
Human baby foods can be good to syringe if you're having a real problem.

Thanks for your help I put him on the windowsill which is his favourite place to sleep this morning and apart from me picking him up he hasn't moved. Yeah that's what u hate about vets only give us the information that they think we need to know and not actually telling us what is going on.
If I can't get him to eat something solid tonight I will consider giving him a bit of my other half... If it's human he wants it's human he will get as long as it makes him feel better haha.
Oh no! Poor bunny! Hope yours gets better soon.

It sounds like your vet might not be that rabbit savvy. You should start asking him more questions.
Are you a member of the RWAF?
It is a great organisation and really helps members with sick rabbits. I don't know what I would have done without the advice of Ros Lamb on the RWAF helpline/email site. And if you are a member your vet will get free referral to Richard Saunders, one of the country's top rabbit vets.

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

Membership is really good value for money.

If the biting new it'll be because he not well.

You could try him with a mashed banana or strawberry something sweet to try and tempt him.

How rabbit savvy is your vet? I agree with woodwench they were quick to jump to the conclusion that your new rabbit passed it on, I have two house rabbits and one of them developed sneezes.
Maybe get a second opinion.

If he spitting out the syringe feed try smaller amounts more often.
Get him to the vets sooner the feeding

If your overing your other half make sure you give tiny a meaty bit cooked medium rare lol.
Good luck

Gemma... I won't ask that you specify which tiny meat bit
Agree about the banana or strawberry. Even a very ripe pear might tempt him.

woodwench wrote:Gemma... I won't ask that you specify which tiny meat bit
Agree about the banana or strawberry. Even a very ripe pear might tempt him.

I was keeping it clean this time round any ways there never enough meat on that its all flab lol
Xxx

What... ? I've yet to see a flabby thumb... unless it's broken!

No the biting isn't new he's not a people bunny haha.

Don't think he cares if it's cooked or not! We don't call him 'devil bunny' for nothing.

Going shopping later will pick up a few things that he likes see if that tempts him....

Hope he starts eating for you soon
Keep us updated.

Aye right woodwench like that what you were thinking lol
Xxx

I'm pretty sure that less than a weeks worth of Baytril won't be of a great deal of use either. Thinking back 7 years ago when I used my local vet and Tinkerbell has a URTI my local vet gave a weeks worth of Baytril but for too many reasons to list (!) I decided not to return to that vet and took her to a rabbit savvy vet who told me that a weeks worth of Baytril was of little use as nowhere near a long enough course. It took over a month to sort the problem out.

I'm also a bit puzzled as to why Baytril was prescribed for less days than the period of time to the follow up - prescribing antibiotics and taking a break of a few days and going back is not good - Ideally once you start you don't want to take a break as the infection can take hold again and the antibiotic can become less effective.

I'd also agree that if you are still concerned with lack of eating that an appointment before Wednesday would be a good idea. (For more meds if nothing else)

More than likely that it won't be the same vet as the one that I saw.... It usually isn't. Finding a specific rabbit vet in my area is very hard so I dunno what to do..... who's idea was it to get a rabbit? Lol

What area are you in and we'll see if someone on here is close that can recommend a vet
Xxx

Aberdeenshire

Agree with Big Ears. The infections cause is undiagnosed, and considering the feeding issues as well, it would seem the infection is pretty well established and would need a longer course, certainly enough to see you to and maybe a day or so beyond the follow up visit.
Did the vet mention to you that he/she was prescribing a short course for any reason? I wonder if they were worried about the effects of both Baytril and Loxicom on a digestive system already under stress.
I really think you should insist on more information from the vet ... after all it's your bun and your money paying his bill.

Nope didn't mention why he was only giving it for 5 days. All he said was that it wasn't in the lungs and that it hadn't developed into something else. Can't remeber who he said it could have developed into.

Your out my area but my bro best friend specialises in small pets I'll see if he recommends anyone in that area.
Xxx

Probably said snuffles but I'm not a vet, or a nurse.
These vet practices where there are lots of vets and you see a different one each time... oh, I can't be doing with them. It's hard getting a good rabbit vet. Hard finding small practices now. I use a small animal only practice with just three vets, any one of which I'm happy to see. The practice is a member of the RWAF and though not on their rabbit savvy list they are good enough to admit their limitations and say when they would like to seek a referral, they don't leave that to the owner to ask and they don't plod on blindly either.
I hope you can sort this ... I think it's probably quite a simple thing that needs the right approach.