[Gpdd] [HEALTH] Guinea pigs and rabbits - Bordatella

[DebJonSara at aol.com]

When I obtained my very first guinea pig, Bafreur, I read in several French  
books that if one wanted a companion for a male guinea pig but did not want  
babies or fights, a rabbit was the best option, so I bought Calin, a dwarf  
lionhead, and kept them in the same large cage until Bafreur developed scabs on  
his mouth. These were nothing to do with the rabbit, but caused by acid in  
windfall pears on which he had been gorging himself as a free range piggie, but  
they led me to research guinea pigs on the Internet, find this forum and read 
up  a lot on Guinealynx and so on. I read that one should never keep rabbits 
and  guinea pigs together, so bought a bunny friend for Calin, Bisou, and 
acquired a  young male friend for Bafreur, Claude. Initially Bisou was kept in a 
cage in the  house, but once introduced to one another, the rabbits were kept 
in a hutch  below the piggies in the barn overnight for a while, and in 
separate outdoor  runs during the day.
 
Bisou sneezed from day one. The vet said it was a dust allergy, and I had  to 
admit my house was dusty - housework has never been high on my list of  
priorities. But when Calin also started sneezing, I roamed the country from vet  to 
vet trying to get an accurate diagnosis and trying all kinds of treatments,  
none of which worked. An excellent rabbit website called Rabrefs 
(_http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html_ 
(http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html) )  advised getting the vet to do a nasal culture, which I 
did, and it tested  positive for bordatella (which I think is the same bacteria 
that causes kennel  cough in dogs, but don't quote me on that!). We tried 
various treatments, but by  now the condition was chronic. The vet was unable to 
spay Bisou because of the  risks with the general anaesthetic and her upper 
respiratory infection, so  eventually I took her to live in the UK, where a more 
experienced vet was able  to spay her, and she lives happily in the Lake 
District, still sneezing  away.
 
Long before the bordatella was diagnosed, my Bafreur developed an upper  
respiratory infection, which killed him in spite of desperate  treatment. I have 
always wondered whether Bisou had given  bordatella to Bafreur. I asked the vet 
about it, and she said he would have  become ill immediately after she moved 
in below him if that was the case, and it  has to be said that Claude never 
showed symptoms of upper respiratory infection  whilst living above her. The 
rabbits were separated from the piggies as soon as  I got the bordatella 
diagnosis, of course.
 
So in answer to your question, a deep nasal culture from the rabbit (done  by 
a rabbit-savvy vet, of course) should tell you whether the rabbit is a  
carrier. 
 
I personally would be cautious about the vaccine described by Virginia  
Richardson in her book. My sister and daughter took Red Dandy to her when he was  
ill. She anaesthetised him to examine his teeth (which any rodentologist will  
tell you is a no-no, especially if the piggie is sick) then wrongly diagnosed  
cystitis. She also said many male piggies she castrated died as a result of 
the  surgery, whereas I am told the Cambridge Cavies Trust has never lost a 
piggie as  the result of a castration. Thus I would have limited confidence in 
her as a  vet, or in advice she gave.
 
Rabbits are wonderful animals and I really miss having my three, who  
eventually ended up as houserabbits during the winter. But I did find them a lot  
more difficult to care for than the piggies, and more destructive in the house.  
I have resisted the temptation to take on another!
 
Good luck with your decision - I know there are a lot of discarded bunnies  
in shelters desperate for loving homes like you could offer.
 
Debbie