Rabbits can develop cold symptoms or “snuffles” when they come into contact with another animal carrying an infectious bacteria. The bacteria involved are usually Pasteurella spp or Staphylococcus spp. These bacteria are extremely common and a cold will usually only develop if the rabbit has a somewhat weakened immune system or other underlying issues. Many young rabbits will also develop their first colds after weaning from their mother and coming into contact with the wider world.

A Normal Rabbit Cold

Minor cold symptoms can include raspy breathing, sneezing, a slightly runny nose (not enough to mat front paws,) watery eyes with a minor amount of clear discharge, and some head shaking from ear irritation. These symptoms are not life threatening and may be treatable at home with natural remedies that boost a rabbit’s immune system and help to reduce the symptoms more quickly. Once the rabbit beats their cold, they will have increased immunity for the future.

When to Get a Vet Involved

If you are noticing more severe symptoms, especially for more than a few days or worsening very quickly, it may be time to head to the vet. Severe cold symptoms in rabbits may include, nasal or eye discharge that is thick and cloudy white or yellow, enough discharge that the rabbit is losing fur around nose or eyes, lethargy, constant raspy breathing that you can feel in the lungs, and breathing with their mouth open because they are so stuffed up. You should also check your rabbit for malocclusion (overgrown teeth) to see if this is part of the problem.

If your rabbit is not moving at all or has not been eating or drinking for more than six to twelve hours (while awake.) This is an EMERGENCY situation and needs urgent care. Reference our article “What to do if Your Rabbit Stops Eating,” to take immediate action and get to a vet ASAP.

Treatment Options

The prescribed treatment for “snuffles” is antibiotics for a course of 14 + days. As we all know, antibiotics can cause further health issues and detriment to immune function, and should only be used as a last effort to save a severely sick rabbit. But visiting a the vet could help you rule out other underlying issues contributing to the cold symptoms. If you are unfamiliar with checking a rabbit’s teeth or feel you could use more advice from a professional, do not hesitate to visit a rabbit savvy vet in your area.

If you feel comfortable treating a minor cold at home, I will share some of what I’ve learned over my years of raising rabbits in this article. When I treat colds in my rabbits, I avoid jumping to antibiotics as an initial solution and instead use natural remedies to help boost their immune systems so they can get better faster. I’ve outlined some of our most used, safe, and effective practices below.

Housing and Litter

First let’s touch on some housing issues that could possibly be working against you. If your rabbit is often sitting in dirty litter or over a dirty tray, this could be causing irritation because urine contains ammonia. Breathing in ammonia is harmful to the entire respiratory tract. The same should be said for using any type of litter containing cedar, which is also extremely irritating. Some rabbits can be allergic to certain litters as well! Try completely changing your litter to see if alleviates your rabbits symptoms.

Echinacea

Echinacea is an immune booting super herb, also known as purple coneflower. It grows well in North Carolina, so we actually have a whole field of it growing in one of our gardens, giving us access to fresh Echinacea leaves for most of the year. Many immunity boosting teas for humans contain this herb. For rabbits, it can be used fresh or dried. If the rabbit is young and not yet eating fresh foods, it’s better to use it in its dried form, mixed in with their pellets. They can be dosed with approximately one teaspoon a day of dried leaves and stems. Adult rabbits can have 5 or 6 fresh leaves a day or a tablespoon of dried leaves mixed in with their pellets.

Dandelion Greens

Another immune boosting superfood! Dandelion greens can be found fresh at your local market or health food store. Or perhaps you may be able to forage some, but make sure you collect fresh dandelion in an area where no toxic sprays have been used. Dandelion is super high in vitamin C and contains many other vitamins and minerals. This one may not be appropriate for very young rabbits since it is fresh greens. If your rabbit has just started to eat leafy greens, you can add one or two leaves of dandelion at each meal. An adult rabbit who often eats leaves and veggies can have 5 or 6 fresh leaves per meal.

We are currently testing a few more remedies in our rabbitry and will release more information about them as we see their effects. We have seen a lot of success with grape seed extract but are still testing dosages.