Stressed out bunny

Well the latest addition to my little family seems to get colds each time she gets stressed out.... now the simple answer to this is to not let her get stressed out.

The only problem is she has alot of issues as she was an abused little bunny and is very nervous. I try to leave her to herself most of the time so she can just chill out, however I had to clean her little bum the other day as she poops EVERYWHERE as a terrority thing.

Now I do have some of the antibotic drops left to use again however I know this situation is going to happen again and again and is going to cost me about £25.00 a go because of the checkups from the vets.

Any ideas of natural foods or other medicines I could give her that will boost her immune system when she is stressed out?

Probiotics into her water or sprinkled onto her food are a good idea as not only do they provide essential vitamins & minerals but they also contain good gut bacteria which can counteract the effects of the antibiotics, which deplete all (good & bad) gut bacteria when used, as this can lead to GI disturbances. They should also help with the sticky ceacal problem you seem to be experiencing (this can also be linked to stress).

I assume by cold you mean she has snuffles, how long a course of antibiotics is she having to counteract this....

ooo thats great, ive only been using some basic vitamin liquid... will have to keep my eyes out for some, thanks.

The anti-botics were for 14 days which worked fine, as when we first got her she had a really bad cold (and yeah sneezes and sniffles)

This seemed to clear it all up and her sniffles etc have only started again since she got stressed out again :-(

They do seem to be clearing up a little by themselves so not given her any antibotics so far this time, but was wondering if there was another way of trying to help get rid of them for her without having to put droplets into her mouth which just stresses her out more and makes the situation worse for a little while.

You can by probiotics from the vets, online or from P@H stores (if you really must) and the top brands are Pro-C, Avipro and Bio Lapis. Another one you could try is a coure of Fiberplex (vets or online) which is a concentrated fiber supplement with added probiotics, it's given 3 times a day for 3 days.

What I will mention though, is that 'snuffles', which is usually caused by the bacteria Pasteurella, can be very stubborn when it comes to total eradication which is why it often recurs when the rabbit is stressed. Generally a short course of antibiotics will suppress it to a manageable state for the immune system and then when the immune system is pressured and cannot cope it spirals again and become symptomatic.

Due to this it is recommended that a symptomatic rabbit is given a course of no less than 6 weeks of Baytril, and if that dosn't work a swab test is usually taken for culture & sensitivity testing, to see if another antibiotic is more effective.

One of my snuffle bunnies, Lexie, has now been on Oxtetracycline injections for nearing 6 months and will probably be on them for life as her infection was chronic. I think, sadly, sometimes vets underestimate how stubborn pasteurella is and how serious it can become.

I hope this helps.

thanks for the advice, I will certainly have a look into the different brands... I think you are right that its going to be something that is always there though :-(