Similar to human infants, rabbits breathe exclusively through their nose. Rabbits can breathe through their mouth when their nose is blocked. But they cannot tolerate mouth breathing for long, so it is considered a medical emergency.
Rabbit In Trouble
Bacterial infections can be caught from a dirty rabbit hutch. Infections can also be caught from other animals, especially wild animals. If you have multiple pets in your household, wash your hands between handling each pet to prevent the spread of infection.
Although rabbit snuffles might just look like a cold, they are much more serious than this. Bacterial infections should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. Your vet will prescribe medication for your rabbit, and you will need to care for your rabbit at home until the infection has cleared up.
According to NCBI, viral infections are not very common in rabbits, especially in the U.S. However, in Europe and Australia, rabbits are susceptible to a viral disease called myxomatosis.
This virus was introduced to these countries to help control feral rabbit populations. It causes death in around 95% of cases, so it certainly should be avoided. According to PDSA, symptoms of myxomatosis include:
So, if you live in this country, you should take extra precautions to protect your rabbit. Rabbit owners in the U.S. may also take these precautions, but the risk of infection is much lower in the U.S.
Dermatophytosis is another fungal condition that can affect rabbits. If one of the fungal skin lesions develops in the nose, this can cause breathing difficulties. But dermatophytosis on other parts of the body does not usually cause breathing problems.
Most of us assume that because we love and care for our bunny, they must be free from stress. But this is not always the case. Even if you put a lot of effort into caring for your rabbit, there may be some room for improvement.
Allergies or irritants can also cause breathing problems in rabbits. Allergies are quite rare in rabbits, especially compared to cats and dogs. But there are lots of potential irritants. These include:
Hind leg weakness or paralysis is a common disorder that is seen in rabbits and can have many different causes. It is a particularly harsh disease for rabbits as it affects their ability to pass cecotropes through their system, which can severely inhibit their capacity to get enough nutrition if it is left unaddressed.
Parasitic, bacterial, and fungal infections can cause a number of disorders that can lead to weakness or paralysis in rabbits. One of the more notable parasitic infections is known as Encephalitozoon cuniculi.
When you bring your rabbit into the veterinarian, a physical examination will be completed, with particular attention being paid to the spinal column. Standard blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) and a biochemistry profile can be used to determine if any infections or toxins are present in your rabbit's system.
In the case of infection, the appropriate antibiotic or antifungal medication will be prescribed and should be taken for as long as directed to prevent a reoccurrence of the infection. Rabbits who have broken their backs may be able to heal if only the bones are broken and the nerves are still intact, although a pin may be needed in some situations. If the paralysis is due to a toxin that was ingested recently, your veterinarian may administer vitamin E and activated charcoal as well as perform a gastric lavage, especially since rabbits are unable to vomit to expel the toxin themselves.
Dig up some more trouble with Peter Rabbit, as everyone's favourite naughty bunny gets into trouble with rival Mr. McGregor in this easy reader based on the movie starring James Corden, Rose Byrne, Daisy Ridley, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, and Domhnall Gleeson.
House rabbits often suffer from respiratory problems. These ailments can be as minor as a brief cold or can escalate into a life-threatening problem. If your rabbit shows signs of breathing trouble on a weekend or holiday, or if you are in an area where veterinary care isn't readily accessible, you may need to provide temporary relief until you can see a professional. Always seek out a professional when your rabbit is having trouble breathing.
Environmental irritants, such as dusty bedding, old hay, or anything moldy, can aggravate a rabbit's breathing problems. Remove all dusty or damp materials and replace them with fresh commercially made bedding, such as hay. Change this bedding regularly, since ammonia from the rabbit's urine could also cause irritation. Increase ventilation, but do not expose your rabbit to drafts. In rabbits with chronic bronchitis or rhinitis, use a HEPA air filter to reduce allergen levels.
As prey animals, rabbits are easily stressed. Loud noises, an unfamiliar environment, other animals or sudden movement all increase their susceptibility to disease. Move rabbits with breathing problems to a quiet place that will reduce their stress levels. Avoid extreme changes in temperature, which can aggravate breathing trouble. Provide plenty of affection, and if possible, keep any bonded cage mates with the rabbit. These social animals feel better when they have a companion. Rabbits suffering from long-term respiratory illness, such as pasteurellosis, must be kept in stress-free housing continuously, to reduce the chance of a flare-up.
According to Houserabbit Adoption, Rescue & Education (HARE), rabbits with a very clogged nose may need suctioning to breathe properly. Rabbits cannot breathe well through their mouths, and won't get enough oxygen through a clogged nose. Use a pediatric ear syringe to gently remove mucus and temporarily clear the rabbit's nose.
Rabbits suffering from allergic reactions or swollen nasal membranes can benefit from antihistamines. HARE recommends using mild antihistamines meant for human children to reduce irritation to give your rabbit relief. According to the book "Rabbits: Health, Husbandry, and Disease" by V.C.G. Richardson, the correct dose of diphenhydramine, a common human antihistamine, is a 1:45 dilution of 12.5 mg/5 ml elixir in drinking water.
Avoid treating rabbits at home when proper veterinary care is available. Some rabbit respiratory problems, such as pasteurellosis, can eventually cause serious problems including head tilt, loss of balance and death. Pet owners cannot successfully treat these illnesses at home. Transport rabbits to a qualified vet as soon as possible to ensure your pet's health.
The commercial antibody market is already a mess, although that's not a new development, but it's gotten messier. Santa Cruz Biotech, one of the big suppliers, is getting out of a big part of the business. Actually, "being forced out of the business through their own actions" is probably a better description. The company has been hit with a $3.5 million dollar fine over its treatment of its goats and rabbits, and has to give up its license under the Animal Welfare Act. That means they can continue with mice, rats, and chickens, but the rabbit and goat antibody production is now shut down.The USDA had found evidence of mistreatment at the company's facilities in California, and (in a bizarre development) also found an entire goat facility that the company had not been reporting. The current settlement includes the "neither admits nor denies" language about the company's culpability, but you don't give up a big piece of your business and agree to the largest animal-welfare fine in USDA history if you think you have a good case. You also don't suddenly cause 4,000 animals to vanish right before an inspection, which is what apparently happened a few months agoUsing animals in biopharma research is still unavoidable (go find another way to make antibodies, for example). It's true that monoclonal antibodies are produced in cell culture, but that process still begins by injecting a mouse. Meanwhile, polyclonal antibodies, of the sort that Santa Cruz was producing, use animals directly for production. You inject a mouse, or a rabbit, or a goat (or what have you) with your antigen of choice, let their immune system reaction to it, and draw blood to harvest the resulting antibodies. Animal care and use committees come in because all of these steps can be run humanely, or not so humanely. In addition to basic standards for keeping lab animals, there are regulations about how strongly you can challenge their immune systems, how often you can draw blood (and how much), and so on, and Santa Cruz appears to have been accused of violations up and down the list.As human beings, we have a responsibility to treat our research animals as befits a species that can understand the consequences of its own actions. Losing Santa Cruz Biotechnology's rabbit and goat production is going to disrupt the work of a number of research labs around the world, and not in that hot, happenin' Silicon Valley sense of the word. But it still sounds like a fair trade. There's enough pain and suffering in this world already - creating more of it just because you can't be bothered is not an acceptable way for human beings to act, not towards animals and not towards other humans.
Floppy Bunny Syndrome is a condition that usually presents with acute onset of generalised weakness or flaccid paralysis of the body, resulting in the rabbit\u2019s inability to hop around or, in severe cases, not do anything but lie on their sides. The sudden onset of this condition can display varied symptoms of an apparently healthy rabbit and can often present over a 1\u201312 hour period. There appears to be no breed or age predilection for rabbits described with this syndrome, with the following signs generally seen:\r\n\r\n\r\n \tNo or little movement in back legs, front legs, or both\r\n \tGeneralised weakness or paralysis\r\n \tNot drinking or eating (or a decreased appetite)\r\n"}},"@type":"Question","name":"What Causes Floppy Bunny Syndrome?","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"The correct answer is no one knows for sure what the exact cause is. The symptoms listed above can occur in many conditions. Blood tests and further investigation can sometimes result in a definite diagnosis of one of the conditions covered below.","@type":"Question","name":"Is This Condition Fatal?","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"Unless the underlying cause of these symptoms is identified, this is a question that cannot be answered. Many conditions that cause similar signs can indeed cause death if left untreated. At a bare minimum, if supportive treatment is not initiated, a decrease in food and water consumption can result in dehydration, collapse, and death. The good news is that we have very good success at being able to save most bunnies that present with this condition.","@type":"Question","name":"What Can I Do If I Suspect Floppy Bunny Syndrome In My Rabbit?","acceptedAnswer":"@type":"Answer","text":"The first thing to consider is undertaking a few simple blood tests to try to find the underlying cause. If these tests are not conclusive, there are two main paths to consider."]}!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script',' _US/fbevents.js');fbq('init', '1985083428403681'); fbq('track', 'PageView');fbq('track', 'ViewContent'); "@context" : " ","@type" : "Organization","name" : "Unusual Pet Vets","url" : " ","sameAs" : [ " "," =en"," " ](function(w,d,s,l,i)[];w[l].push('gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js');var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=' ='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);)(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-KW83S5B'); .wpb_animate_when_almost_visible opacity: 1; .rll-youtube-player, [data-lazy-src]display:none !important; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer []; function gtag()dataLayer.push(arguments); gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-PZ410GVNLP'); (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.5&appId=143708189126901"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); 2ff7e9595c
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