When a rabbit has a snotty nose it can be a scary situation. Rabbits do not have the capability of breathing out of their mouths, so when your rabbit has a snotty nose it can be difficult for them to breathe. Snotty noses, also known as snuffles, can be extremely contagious. It is important to quarantine the sick rabbit from the rest of your herd.
I want to start by stating that I am not a veterinarian or any sort of expert on this topic. But as a show rabbit breeder for several years, I have run into a few situations that led to me researching and writing about this topic.
At a Rabbit show
The first time I ever saw a rabbit with a snotty nose was last year at a rabbit show. A very good friend of mine had bought out someone’s rabbitry in order to help her daughter get started showing lionheads. Unfortunately her start out in our breed was rather heartbreaking and expensive because ultimately she had to cull every single one of those rabbits. The rabbits were fine until the stress of traveling caused them to be symptomatic. The common practice for handling this situation is usually to cull in order to protect the rest of your herd, especially when you are talking about dozens of rabbits.
When my friend had to cull her entire herd of lionheads, she told me that they were probably going to walk away from showing this breed. Her family shows several other breeds of rabbits, but it broke my heart that she was thinking about walking away from lionheads completely. Thankfully she changed her mind and began establishing a completely new herd, and now she is very competitive on the show table.

It happened to me
In April of this year I purchased a few bucks from someone up north in order to add some new lines to our herd. These rabbits are phenomenal, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to help Peyton with breeding for a specific color that she has been dreaming of. Unfortunately it happened to me! One of these rabbits started blowing white thick snot all over his face about a month after we brought him home. I immediately brought him into my house to get him away from the rest of the herd, but I honestly thought I was going to have to cull him. It had Peyton and I both in tears. When I contacted the breeder we purchased from, he was pretty upset as well. The rabbit had been fine all of his life, and then suddenly after moving down south he wasn’t.
Research and Getting Advice from a veterinarian
If it had been any other rabbit, I probably would have culled him immediately. But Peyton and I didn’t want to give up on him without doing our research and getting advice from a veterinarian. Finding a veterinarian that treats rabbits is no easy feat. But sometimes our little country livestock vets down here in the south can be a huge help. Livestock veterinarians are used to seeing this sort of thing. Our vet gave us some antibiotics to treat our rabbit with a snotty nose, and thankfully he is no longer symptomatic.
Important Facts About Snuffles
During my research and after seeking advice from our veterinarian, I learned a few important facts about snuffles. Those of us who breed and show rabbits have a tendency to be very judgmental toward someone who has a rabbit that pops up with snotty noses. Or if we are a breeder that sells or gifts a rabbit to someone else and that rabbit later shows signs of a snotty nose, we may find ourselves on the receiving end of that judgment. But here’s the thing… It can happen to anyone at any time. Don’t think that just because one of your rabbits is healthy in your barn that it can’t suddenly show symptoms at a show or someone else’s barn that you sold to. Let me explain.
Pasteurella
According to petmd.com, the most common cause of snuffles in a rabbit is by coming into contact with a bacteria called pasteurella. A rabbit’s first contact of pasteurella happens at birth when they are exposed to it by their mama. EVERY SINGLE RABBIT is infected with pasteurella because it is passed onto a litter by their mom. I don’t think that everyone realizes this. I know I sure didn’t. But if a rabbit becomes symptomatic, this means that their immune system is not strong enough to fight it off and keep it at bay. Even treating it with antibiotics may only work for a short time. You can never truly get rid of the pasteurella bacteria.
reasons for symptoms to show up
According to Steven D. Lukefahr, James I. McNitt, Peter R. Cheeke and Nephi M. Patton in their book “Rabbit Production” there are several reasons for symptoms to show up suddenly in your rabbits. The main causes of snuffles to rear its ugly head are dirty bedding, poor ventilation, bad air quality, inappropriate diet and stress. Now I will tell you that I keep an extremely clean barn. We clean our cages no less than once per week. Our cages are on wheels to make it easy to pull them away from the wall. This allows me to mop the walls and the floors which I do quite often. I keep a scrub brush handy to scrub cage floors when necessary. My barn is equipped with a ventilation fan installed low to the ground (because ammonia is heavier than air), and I have a mini split air conditioner and dehumidifier.
Snuffles has never been an issue in my barn. My veterinarian believes that the stress of moving to a new barn from up north to the south was very stressful for him. He got a new home, new environment (Louisiana heat and humidity) and switched to a new feed. He was quarantined his first week here, but it wasn’t until I bred him that he became symptomatic.
Some Breeds Are Predisposed
One interesting fact that I learned from PetMD is that some breeds are predisposed to this bacteria. Netherland Dwarfs, Mini Lops, Lionheads, and Flemish Giants are four of the breeds listed on their website as being predisposed to snuffles. They did not elaborate as to why this is, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Treatment with antibiotics such as Baytril, Doxycycline, or Azithromycin is the only effective treatment for snuffles, but it may not work completely for all rabbits. Lowering stress and keeping a clean environment is vital. I would highly recommend you check out this article written by Maria Zayas DVM to learn more.
I recently wrote a post about things that I keep in my emergency kit for rabbits. There are a few products that I have fallen in love with to help boost immune systems such as Immunize by Oxy-Gen. This is a food topper that I add to their food for about a week prior to traveling to a show. Picking up germs at a rabbit show is inevitable so I want to give my rabbits the best defense possible. I also give our show rabbits Core Nutrition Silver and Bounce Back both before and after a show. This helps to lower their stress levels as well as aid in keeping them eating and drinking properly. All three of these products were suggested to me by other breeders who have been breeding and showing a lot longer than us. Up until this one particular rabbit, we have never had a problem with a rabbit having a snotty nose.
Final Thoughts
A few final thoughts to sum up this article… First I am not a vet. But I was determined to save our rabbit. There is no guarantee that he will not have another outbreak in the future, but luckily he will not be one that we ever take to a show. Every rabbit carries the pasteurella bacteria. Thankfully most rabbits never have an outbreak. Keeping a clean barn and a stress free environment is your best defense. But when traveling to a show or moving to a new barn and environment, stress happens. Some rabbits just have stronger immune systems than others and are able to keep an outbreak at bay.
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