Snuffles in rabbits is an upper respiratory infection, similar to a cold in humans. The main symptoms are runny eyes, a runny nose and sneezing, but in rabbits this can be very serious and will need urgent veterinary attention. Let's find out how it’s caused and how to treat rabbit snuffles.

What are Snuffles in Rabbits?

Rabbit snuffles is a chronic bacterial infection in the nasal sinuses and tear ducts. It can be caused by more than one sort of bacteria, the most common being Staphylococcus spp or Pasteurella spp.

The first symptom of snuffles your rabbit will develop include runny eyes with wet, tear-stained fur on the cheeks. This discharge starts clear, like normal tears, but if left untreated, becomes white-yellow coloured and can cause hair loss around the eyes.

As the condition progresses, you’ll start to see nasal discharge and dried discharge on your rabbit’s front paws as they wipe their eyes and nose. Rabbits breathe through their nose, and having lots of discharge can cause breathing difficulties, so you may hear them snuffling, wheezing or coughing.

They’ll also find it difficult to swallow with a blocked nose, so they’ll eat less, and you may notice some weight loss. Other signs of illness include low energy, hiding away and being quieter than usual.

In severe cases, snuffles can lead to pneumonia which requires intensive veterinary treatment and unfortunately is often fatal.

What Causes Rabbit Snuffles?

Rabbits with dental disease often develop snuffles because overgrown and/or maloccluded teeth (where teeth don’t line up properly) cause the tooth roots to push upwards and obstruct the tear duct. Blocked tear ducts prevent normal tear drainage, so bacteria are able to grow.

Poorly ventilated hutches can also make rabbits prone to developing snuffles. This is due to the build-up of fumes from urine or certain types of wood shavings like cedar. This can cause irritation to the eyes and nasal passages, and trigger snuffles.

How to Treat Snuffles in Rabbits at Home

Snuffles in rabbits requires veterinary treatment, so you should take your rabbit to see your vet as soon as you notice symptoms. Your vet will carefully examine your rabbit and ask you questions about their diet and housing.

It’s likely that your vet will want to take swabs from your rabbit’s eyes to test for bacteria. ‘Culture and sensitivity’ testing will be done to help find the most effective antibiotic for your rabbit. This involves growing the bacteria in culture and then exposing it to different antibiotics to monitor the response.

Most treatment is applied to the rabbit’s eyes by a cream or drops. But your rabbit may also need anti-inflammatories and oral antibiotics for rabbit snuffles if there’s an infection in the nasal sinuses. This is administered into the rabbit’s mouth using a syringe.

Your vet will show you how to give any treatment your rabbit has been prescribed so you can continue to treat your rabbit at home. Severe cases of snuffles will require hospitalisation beforehand so your rabbit’s condition can be stabilised before treatment at home can begin.

If snuffles has been caused by dental problems, your rabbit may need to have their teeth clipped or filed. This is performed under general anaesthesia, which comes with risks, but your vet will discuss this with you. Blocked tear ducts may need to be flushed with an antibiotic solution to remove any bacteria and pus prior to treating with a cream or drops. This will help the antibiotics to penetrate the duct faster, but your rabbit will need to be sedated for the procedure.

Snuffles in rabbits is difficult to cure and treatment can take several months for the condition to improve. It’s also highly infectious so keep an eye on any other pet rabbits you have. An infected rabbit can pass it on through respiratory contact or body secretions like nasal discharge. You’ll need to thoroughly clean your rabbit’s housing and any items that they may have had contact with.

How to Prevent Rabbit Snuffles

The two most common causes of snuffles are living conditions and dental disease. So, to prevent your rabbit from getting snuffles, you should keep their hutch clean and ensure it’s well-ventilated to avoid a build-up of urine fumes. You should also avoid using cedar shavings for bedding as it’ll likely cause irritation.

To prevent dental disease, your rabbit should be fed a similar diet to wild rabbits as they rarely suffer from dental problems. A wild rabbit's diet is high in fibre consisting mostly of grass and hay. Rabbit’s teeth continue to grow throughout their life, so need to be worn down by chewing on food. Feed your rabbit mostly grass and hay as these are high in fibre.

If you want to feed a commercial mix or pellets, make sure it’s high in fibre and only feed small amounts. If you need to make changes to your rabbit’s diet, do so gradually over 2 weeks, to allow their digestive system to adjust and to prevent any tummy upset.

Snuffles in rabbits is a highly contagious condition that has symptoms like a common cold, but in rabbits this can be very serious. It can cause watery eyes, difficulties breathing, affect their appetite causing weight loss, and can lead to pneumonia. If your rabbit shows signs of this illness, they will need urgent veterinary attention. Fortunately, most treatment can be done at home but will take several months.

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Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Lapis – www.vetlexicon.com/treat/lapis

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