In Saskatoon is the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, and they have fantastic vet clinics (one for large animals / livestock, one for small animals / pets). They are the gold standard for care in this province, and they have exotics-knowledgable vets, although if you go on an unscheduled emergency basis, you get seen by whoever's on call, and they make the call as to whether they call in one of the exotics specialists.

We used to use them exclusively when we lived there.

I can't do anything tonight. My choices are (1) get up early, drive 2.5 hours to Saskatoon, wait an unknown length of time to be seen by a non-specialist on a statutory holiday without an appointment and see if they think it's worth bothering an exotics vet to come look at him, or (2) wait 24 hours after that, and take him to the only local rabbit vet as a walk-in emergency, if he seems to need it vs (3) waiting *another* 24 hours for his Wednesday-morning appointment.

Do any of you have experience with respiratory infections? I've read of pasturella and the generic "snuffles", but none of our buns have had this particular kind of problem before.

His chest seems fine - I've survived two serious bouts with pneumonia, so I know the "rattling / crackling chest" noises - but I'm just plain worried.

I would love to hear just about anything from anyone with knowledge or experience with this.

🐰

Thanks...

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@Satori @Byronrabbit @BunnyMama

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts on this. It's a really weird situation, because he doesn't give any cue at all that anything's wrong, other than the sneezes. He ate his entire salad this morning in minutes and is not lethargic or anything (well, no moreso than lazy George usually is... 😉 ). When I posted this last night, it was really late, when I tend to worry more.

I don't think I'd be capable of taking his temperature with a thermometer, but he doesn't feel the slightest bit warmer (or colder) than usual anywhere, from eartips to paws to nose to tail.

I think we're going to keep a close eye on him today. If he shows the slightest sign of getting worse, I'll pack him up and drive to Saskatoon.

Thanks again. It's a good feeling having you people around.

@Satori @Byronrabbit @BunnyMama

... and I'm off to Saskatoon. Wish George luck!

Thanks!

@cazabon @Satori @Byronrabbit

I hope George is back to his normal magnificent self and you all are busy catching up on your naps after your road trip. Here’s another truck-load of bestest thoughts.🚚

@Byronrabbit @Tardis @Satori @BunnyMama

Thank you all - I know others responded elsewhere in the thread, so they're not tagged above - for your good wishes and concern. I have good news to report: George is okay, and is likely to fully recover.

It was a bit of an adventure, and George was in the hospital for six days & nights. There were some scheduling issues that meant he stayed a bit longer than he might have, like a CT that couldn't be done until the next day, adding a night to his stay. There was another procedure that was delayed after he'd been anaesthetized, so he had to recover from the anaesthetic and then do it all again the next day.

Needless to say, I had not originally intended to be in Saskatoon that long. I only packed three days' clothes, for example 😉 . And I had no access to the internet, because I'm a freak who doesn't have a cellphone. I'm sorry for any worry the lack of updates gave any of you.

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#George #vet #veterinary #veterinarian #UofS #USask #WCVM #WesternCollegeOfVeterinaryMedicine #rabbit #bunny #HouseRabbit

@Byronrabbit @Tardis @Satori @BunnyMama

The staff at the Small Animal Clinic all loved George. Most of them had never seen a rabbit that big and were shocked. They all knew him by name, even receptionists and such that I'd never talked to. They thought he was very friendly (it comes from being dumb...) - one vet called him a big teddy bear.

The diagnosis was an upper respiratory infection - basically, in the sinuses - of indeterminate cause. A CT showed no tumours, masses, foreign bodies, or anything else related to it. They did decide his teeth needed clipping, and when they did that, they found two of the tiny grinding molars were basically toast and they pulled them. I can't believe how small they are - from cap to root is maybe 10mm, and around 3mm wide. They offered them to me, and my partner loves that kind of stuff, so we have them in a test tube...

George is much improved, and has a treatment plan. His sinuses/breathing are much better. He's on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and needs to be nebulized (aka put into transparent plastic bunny jail) twice a day - just saline, no drugs in that. That's to help keep the remaining fluid in his sinuses, well, fluid, so he can get rid of it.

The staff were all fantastic, and spent as much time as necessary for questions etc.

If you want more info about the U. of Sask's Veterinary Medical Centre, it's here:

https://vmc.usask.ca/

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#VetClinic #VeterinaryClinic #TeachingHospital #PetHospital

@cazabon @Byronrabbit @Tardis @Satori

My goodness, what an adventure!!! I’m so glad George is getting better. Big sigh of relief all around. I can imagine how glad you are to be back home. 🤗

@BunnyMama @Byronrabbit @Tardis @Satori

I'm extremely glad. I get to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a week. After George's improvement, that's high on my list of things I'm #grateful for.

George is a little less #thrilled. He clearly likes being home, but he doesn't like that the "grab George and give him #yucky #medicine and then put him in #bunny jail" routine is continuing here. Here is a photo of George in the home nebulizer chamber for the first time (he got this treatment at the Small Animal Clinic too).

Top money-saving tip if you ever have to #nebulize an animal - or maybe a small child - at home like this. A dedicated #nebulizer device that can be hooked to a hose will cost something like CDN $90. But all they are is a high-pressure fan / air pump that blows air through a reservoir containing water, with a gentle heat applied to the water, so the air moving through picks up water vapour (and whatever else is dissolved in the water). The air goes out the hose to the mask (for adults/older children) or chamber (for young children, pets).

You know what other device does that? A #CPAP machine. Since approximately all middle-aged men need one, and since you're supposed to have a spare in case your machine fails, you can use one for this purpose. Crank the #humidity setting to max, fill the reservoir with the water/etc you need to administer, and #voila - nebulizer for zero dollars.

#zero #dollars #viola #TopTip #MoneySaving #hack #LifeHack #save