Onew~ wrote:Xanga wrote:Onew~ wrote:Are you guys talking about the "sniffles" or a normal cold?A normal cold, sniffles does go away. You can as I said before try to cure a cold, but the sickness with never leave the rabbits system.
Hmm, really ? I read in a book a while back about sniffles being incurable. Then again, it was written in the mid '90s, hehe. ouo
"Snuffles" is incurable in many cases, very hard to full get rid of. (not impossible, but rare). It usually ends up being chronic. My little guy caught it from a show once (was SUPER mad about it too since all rabbits are supposed to be healthy before showing. URG! Some people....) and he has never gotten over it. That was over 7 years ago now and he still gets mild flare up. (he will be 9 in april)
From any vets I've talked to it is almost never fully curable. It can sit dormant in their system for years and years without any symptoms but if the rabbit gets stressed it "springs" into action. So a rabbit may look normal and healthy, but it can still carry/have the virus.
You can give them antibiotics to "calm" down the symptoms and make them bearable and livable but it will not cure the problem completely in most cases. These antibiotics are also very expensive (especially if you have to keep buying them in severe cases...) and many rabbit owners/breeders just aren't willing to fork out money for something that may, or may not fix the problem. It seems unfair, and cruel in some peoples eyes but sometimes "culling" a rabbit is in the best interest of the owner/ and or other rabbits that they may have.
This bacteria can spread like wild fire to other rabbits (and even some other animals) so it's NOT something you want to keep around.
I keep my guy even though he has it simply because he is only a pet now (I do not breed or show anymore, he is my only rabbit). His symptoms are mild and he lives just fine with it. Plus I also have the finances to get medication if needed when his flareups do get bad.