Three types of rhinitis in rabbits: treatment and prevention
 Rhinitis in rabbits: symptoms, treatment and prevention

Rabbit runny nose or rhinitis - one of the most common and unpleasant diseases for pets and their owners.

Much has been written about the reasons for its occurrence, prevention and treatment methods, however a single, detailed and thorough instruction to the rabbit breeder will not interfere.

Why did the rabbit sneeze and runny nose appeared?

Under the symptoms of the common cold and sneeze in rabbits several diseases may be hiding:

  • allergic reaction;
  • cold;
  • rhinitis is a dangerous infectious disease.
Allergy in rabbits usually occurs on food or natural factors. In the vast majority of cases, allergic rhinitis is caused by ordinary dust.

The most dusty food is hay.from which the rabbit begins to sneeze. Cages with rabbits are not recommended to be kept in dusty places, as the respiratory system of eared pets is very gentle and often reacts to adverse environmental factors.

 The cause of rhinitis in rabbits is hay allergy
The cause of rhinitis in rabbits is hay allergy

It is not difficult to get rid of allergies, you just need to protect the rabbits from the annoying product, that is, dust. Other causes of allergies are extremely rare, and only narrow specialists are involved in their study.

The second source of rhinitis is the common cold.. The reasons for its occurrence are associated with improper care:

  • keeping rabbits in damp, cold and blown rooms;
  • general body weakness caused by a lack of vitamins, a poor diet.
Rabbits suffer from colds most often in early spring and in the autumn-winter period. In the warm season with proper care cold - a very rare phenomenon.

The cause of rhinitis is infection. It can be transmitted from a sick rabbit to a healthy airborne route or through the use of common utensils. There are cases of transmission of infection to rabbits from other domestic animals (chickens, dogs).

Weakened immunity, the presence of a chronic cold, and contacts with others, including foreign animals, are fertile ground for the development and spread of rhinitis.

How rhinitis develops

The first symptoms of rhinitis are noticeable after a few days. after infection. You can accurately determine the presence of the disease in 5-7 days. Rhinitis can occur in different ways.

The worst case is fatal after 1.5-2 months.

Chronic rhinitis may also develop. In this case, determine the timing of the disease is difficult. The practice knows cases when infected rabbits lived up to 1.5 years, and after slaughter, the meat as a whole was fit for human consumption.

Why is chronic rhinitis dangerous? Danger of chronic rhinitis in that it can turn into pneumonia and lead to complete dysfunction of the bronchi, which leads to the death of the animal. Meat such a rabbit can not be.

 Rhinitis can cause rabbit death
Rhinitis can cause rabbit death

Symptoms of the disease

Sneezing and snot is the first and earliest alarm. At the first hints of a sick rabbit, it is desirable to set aside from fellows.

However, the appearance of snot, is not yet evidence of the appearance of rhinitis. Most likely, we are talking about a cold.

A healthy rabbit has a soft pink nose mucosa. If she blushes, increases in size (inflamed), nasal discharge begins to acquire a yellowish, purulent hue, then these are true signs of rhinitis in the initial stage.

Later on, even more pronounced symptoms appear, which are noticeable even to a person very far from rabbit breeding. Rabbit cheeks are stained with dried pus.

Sick rabbit begins to scratch his nose hard, why it appears characteristic crust. Breathing, wheezing, fever, refusal of food, weight loss are obvious symptoms of chronic rhinitis.

How to treat snot (infectious rhinitis) in a rabbit

Only a veterinarian can absolutely accurately determine the presence of rhinitis or the common cold in a rabbit.What is a blood test. Therefore, treatment always begins with general measures that are often more effective than medicines.

Sick rabbit worth isolatingand all inventory is sanitized. Disinfection is carried out with ordinary boiling water.

If the house has formalin, then a 3 percent solution cope well with the destruction of infection.

The second point is nutrition. In a veterinary pharmacy, there are always vitamins that a rabbit may lack.. Their addition to food, as well as the diversity of the diet will help boost immunity and increase the chances of recovery.

If the measures taken are not sufficient and the condition of the sick pet does not improve, then start treatment, for which folk remedies and medicines are suitable.

 Medications for the treatment of rhinitis in rabbits
Medications for the treatment of rhinitis in rabbits

There are many methods of treatment, so we’ll focus on the main ones.

Instillation of penicillin or furatsilina. Drugs are available and inexpensive, penicillin may be replaced by analogues of its group. Penicillin or furatsilina solution is pipetted into the nose of the rabbit.

The procedure can be repeated 2-3 times a day for 10-12 days. Single dose of 10-15 drops.

Since rabbits do not like to dig in very much, it is ideal if they help you to hold the rabbit firmly, as it is inconvenient for one person to perform the whole procedure.

You may be interested in the following articles on rabbit diseases:

Adding biomitsin to food. Biomitsin - not an expensive and proven drug, it, pre-mixed in warm water, eared add to the food.

Standard dose for 1 rabbit 1 mg per day. In case of serious diseases, the dose is increased by 2-2.5 times. The drug acts quickly, so the amendment rabbits will go after 4-5 days.

Inhalation of essential oils or decoction of herbs. The inhalation course lasts up to 7 days. Used for the treatment of decoctions of mint, sage, fennel, thyme, eucalyptus oil, sea buckthorn, lavender, cloves.

When using the oil, a dosage of 1 drop per 2 liters of water is maintained.

For the inhalation of the rabbit must be transplanted into a small cage. with permeable walls. Next to it (but inaccessible to the rabbit) put a pan or other container with hot broth.

The cage and pan are covered (wrapped) so that the rabbit can breathe in pairs. The concentration and temperature of the broth is checked on itself empirically.

If the eyes do not sting and the temperature is tolerablethen this is the best option for the rabbit. Don't forget the chink for fresh air.

A patient can be taken, for which it is desirable to place a bowl with ordinary water and food in a cage. The frequency of inhalation 1-2 per day.

 In order to get rid of the cold, the rabbit is inhaled.
In order to get rid of the cold, the rabbit is inhaled.

After inhalation, nasal discharge will become more abundant.. To alleviate the condition of the rabbit, it is advisable to wipe them with a towel or paper towel.

There is also a cold inhalation method.. It is carried out according to the instructions, sold in a set with special devices. You can buy such a device in a veterinary pharmacy.

Very effective for cold inhalation are considered sea salt vapors.

With rhinitis, antibiotic shots are prescribed.. There are more than a dozen effective drugs. However, given the danger of antibiotics for a rabbit, stabbing them is desirable only after a blood test and consultation with a veterinarian.

Diet for the patient

There are no restrictions on the diet of a sick rabbit with rhinitis. But to diversify the diet, add vitamins, greens (slightly dried) is desirable.

Supports rabbit immunity such herbs as basil, mint, dill, chamomile. Warm tea from these herbs can be given as a drink.

A runny rabbit needs even more nutrition. Therefore, in the cold season do so: sick rabbits are taken into the house or other warm buildings.

What to do to prevent

The best way to avoid a cold - these are the right conditions for keeping pets, especially in winter. A warm room, no drafts, dampness, vitamins and a varied diet.

As a special preventive measure Biomitsin is added to the food of rabbits (0.5 grams per day per 1 rabbit). Antiviral action also have dill, mint, chamomile, wormwood, basil.

Summing up, it should be emphasized that it is much easier to prevent rhinitis in pets than to treat it later.

Moreover, the practice knows a lot of examples when even antibiotics do not help the complete recovery of animals.