Sneezing bunny. Not happy with seller!

[Ilovefoals]

I got my daughter a rabbit yesterday. Our local garden centre has a pet department. He's a young dwarf lop, white and fluffy and very cute! But, he's sneezing badly. My SIL's friend works there but is currently off on holiday but says I should have been told that the vet thinks he is allergic to the dust in hay and shavings. He'd also been treated for an ear infection which I wasn't told about either! I'm currently waiting for them to ring me to explain themselves, what treatment he's had etc but I'm really angry! I wouldn't want to part with him now but if they'd told me he had problems when we asked about him, I'd have been able to be more organised or possibly wouldn't have bought him. Anyway, suggestions for bedding and hay for a rabbit with dust allergies?

 

[Zero00000]

A rabbit sneezing can be a number of things, Id be very concerned that the upheaval had shown an illness that they can carry and can be brought on my stress,
This is Pasteurella (Snuffles), It is highly contagious and cannot be cured, so if you have any other bunnies then please keep this one away until a diagnosis is given, if he is your only rabbit then you can have him treated but it can flare up at any time, Pasteurella is diagnosed by a deep nasal swab and results take up to 2 weeks.
It can also be one of the first signs of myxi, so also watch for swelling of the genitals, ears, face, little to no appetite, lumps and other signs.
It can also be a problem with back teeth.
Could be an allergy as you say, or an upper resp infection.

Is he an indoor or outdoor rabbit?

The dust free hay company will do dust extracted hay, or a good quality new cut meadow hay from your local farm are less dusty than last years, bedding you can use any horse bedding, aubiose, bliss etc etc. Shavings are not too dusty but there are others that are less dusty,
Vet bed can be used if indoors, buy a length and cut it wash it and reuse it.

Ear infections can return at any stage, so watch him for a head tilt, unfortunately some people are not very truthful when selling anything, we rescue and have 60 odd rabbits at the moment, so many cannot be rehomed because they have problems that were never declared to us!
If he has had an ear infection, likely treatment would have been a course of antibiotics and pain relief and possibly worming for 28days.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Ilovefoals]

Thanks for the reply.

He's an indoor rabbit and will have the roam of the downstairs while we are home. I'm thinking in the summer an outdoor run might be a good idea to have him in the fresh air. No other rabbits at home.

Just had a staff member call me back. Told me he wasn't supposed to have been up for sale yet! Seems someone made a booboo! He asked me if I wanted to return him but I've said no as he's really lovely and friendly and I'd feel terrible. So, he's going to book me a vets apt which they'll pay for. Apparently he's had anti-biotics for the sneezing but when they didn't work, the vet decided he had a dust allergy. They were keeping him on straw with dampened hay which the staff member says completely stopped the sneezing (this was when he was being treated for the ear infection and was in their backroom holding area) but when we bought him off the shop floor yesterday he was on a shavings bed??? I forgot to say before, he also has bald areas around his shoulders and down his front legs which the shop says he did to himself through boredom! Argh!! I'm about to go in with the shavings I bought and speak to the guy face to face. He says he'll see if there's any shredded paper I can get instead.

 

[Zero00000]

Please read this - http://www.lbah.com/word/pasteurella-rabbit/

 

[Ilovefoals]

Ok, update is we have returned him I ended up taking him to my vet yesterday afternoon as I'd done a bit of research and was worried. He had started to produce a lot of snot too. Vet said his ears were full of pus and thought he could also have an eye infection and possibly Pasteurella. She advised I return him as he could be chronically ill. The shop were happy to have him back and apparently he was still getting antibiotics and ear drops when he was sold to us! My poor daughter was so upset and I'm really angry. They've assured me it'll never happen again and they will make sure he gets the treatment he needs. What a nightmare! Thanks for your advice xx

 

[catxx]

Sorry to hear of your drama sadly this is all too common in pet shop rabbits.

If you decide to get another bun, do go to a rescue instead!
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk