Patina’s ears are flakey

[Lucy]

so, yesterday we went to Red Door’s Spa Day. I got both bunny’s nails trimed and filed, and they showed me how to clean out their sent glads. Oh that was so stinky!

Anyway, they noticed flaking on Patina’s ears. I noticed it also the day before and thought nothing of it. When  we got her from the shelter her ears were flaking also..

Anyway they told us it could be mites and to look out for them. But there were no other blad spots anywhere else on her or on him. And since her ears were dry and flakey before, and then went away, and then came back, I was wondering if anyone has seen this before or has gone through it? I think it just might be the dry air and her ears are sensitive to it. Do you think there is anything I can put on her ears to help them get some moisture?
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[BinkyBunny]

How long have you had Patina?  Would it passed the time the shelter would be responsible for testing for mites?   Does she shake her ears alot or scratch them?  Also, do notice any flakes or anything on the inside of her ears?

[Lucy]

we’ve had for about two months.. I don’t know if it’s been too long or not..

No, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her shake her ears.. and she doesn’t scratch them often.

Nothing is going on inside her ears. it’s only on the front part. Her ears are very thin- a lot tinner than Fujoes, so I thought maybe that was why.. also her ears fold long ways- you can kind of see in the photo.. she only has the flakes on the front.. not on the back

[Gravehearted]

my first thought is mites too – since the flaking is usually from that. I wonder if bunnies can get flakey from dry skin too?

[Lucy]

are there other symptoms of mites? I mean, no fur is missing at all expect flakey skin on the ears.

[Gravehearted]

you can’t see mites generally, and they’re contagious. fur loss is common, but that’s once it’s more advanced.
it might be fur mites, rather than ear mites since they’re less itchy. The good news is that it’s easily treatable with revolution that you can get from your vet’s office.

[poopy]

I can’t remember if you are a science major. Why don’t you swab the inside & outside of her ears and take it into the lab and look under the microscope. See if there are any mite shells.

It could just be dermatitis. Medusa has a small patch of what I think is dermatitis on her back neck. The head of the rescue group over here said that lops tend to get that, but she didn’t know why.

Oh do show us more pix of your buns…Patina is so cute!

[BinkyBunny]

Hi Fujoe – Gravehearted is right that it might be fur mites, not ear mites.   But there is no way to tell unless a vet checks them out.   Fur loss usually doesn’t happen until it gets very severe, and like gravehearted said, fur mites aren’t as itchy.  

I haven’t heard of just dry skin on a bunny.  Doesn’t mean that doesn’t exist.   If that is the case, it may be due to a prior poor diet….??       I’ll ask around about that at the rabbit rescue tomorrow since I am going there.

[Lucy]

thanks binky- I appreciate it. I’m going to email Tony at Red Door about it, if they had noticed anything, or if she has them before. I know that she had flakey ears when we got her, but I thought nothing of it because her ears so so thin. Like half the thickness of Fujoe. I mean, after Fujoe’s vet visist last friday, I can’t afford to take her to the vet right now. I need to get another paycheck- I started a new job, so who knows when that will be..

[Lucy]

ya… I’m on my last year at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I’m not a science major. sorry

[jellyrose]

We have just had our rabbits treated for fur mites with ivermectin injections- our vet said that she finds topical treatments don’t work as well. The flake looked just like Patina’s ears. Edward had them on the back of his neck and was starting to loose his fur there….. since the treatment he has really perked up as he had been a little subdued before. It’s hard sometimes to find the money for vet bills (bunny treatment can be so expensive ), I’ve just spent over $400 on ours to treat various respiratory/ear infections! Are your bunnies insured? Maybe you could claim back some of the costs?

[jellyrose]

Oh I just thought…. we had a very old bunny Benson who died just before we moved to America. He had the same flakey ears for a long time, was treated for mites (ear and fur) which didn’t work. Our vet there, who was very into alternative treatments, suggested that he might not be getting enough omega oils in his diet and like Poopey said could be dermatitis. She told us to try adding 1/2 tsp a day of ground linseeds to his pellet feed. It worked pretty well. Maybe you could try it before an epensive trip to the vet?

[Lucy]

wow- thanks for the advice jellyrose!

I did email Toni- she told me that Patina doesn’t have a history with mites, though she was treated when the shelter first got her, as all of their bunnies do. She did tell me that they can give Fujoe and Patina Revolution at the shelter, but it would be better to get it checked out by a vet.

On my first post I said it was only on the front of her ears… now there is no more flakeing on the front, only in the back. It seems like her skin is sheading. I’m going to keep an eye on it. If it continues then next week I can take her to the vet.

The ground linseed sounds interesting. I might call the vet and ask if she knows anything about it. Was he a big bunny?

I can’t believe I didn’t get insurance before…and who knows when I’ll have time to do it. after school maybe?

[BinkyBunny]

VPI pet insurance, the one I have, doesn’t cover parasitic stuff, and I think many pet insurances are like that.  But if it is just dry skin or some skin issue then they would cover it.  Silly

Anyway, I did talk to the owner of the rescue group and she did say rabbits can get dry skin.  Can be due to diet and/or stress, or some other medical issue.    So if it’s not mites, then maybe it is just due to all the changes that she’s been going through these last few months – to a shelter, from a shelter to a new home, bonding, etc etc etc,  and who knows what kind of diet she had for so long.

 

[poopy]

Ok so it sounds like mites definitely do have alot of flakes right?

*Sigh* I am still trying to figure out what is going on w/ Medusa’s dermatitis. Its been 4 mos. since she had the fleas! By itself its fine- just a dime sized scab. When Pookers was around the area was getting red from too much grooming. But now I have started obsessively grooming and picking at the area (I can’t help it! When I run my fingers through and feel a scab I have to pick at it!) I hope she wont have the “small bald spot that lops get” that Michelle the rabbit rescuer was referring to. I also looked at her skin under a blacklight to test for ringworm and it was negative. I am trying to decide whether I need to take her to the vet now or wait. I don’t want to take her just for that since her condition has been the same.

Let us know what happens w/ Patina- You could just get some Revolution and put it on and see if it goes away.

[Lucy]

Just letting you guys know that everything is fine with Patina. Her flakes are totally gone. I didn’t do anything to them I really thing that her ears were sheadding. Because now she’s starting to molt. That’s what happened the last time I noticed the flaking… her ears flaked and then she started to shed the rest of her fur. It might have to do with how thin her ears are. She has very little fur on them (all of the time).

I’ll keep an eye on them and see if anything else happens. But there is very little scratching occuring on Patina or on Fujoe and no blad spots on either on them.

[BinkyBunny]

YEAH! I am glad that so far it just seems to be her quirky little shedding thing.

[poopy]

Posted By fujoethebunny on 05/05/2007 3:49 PM
Just letting you guys know that everything is fine with Patina. Her flakes are totally gone. I didn’t do anything to them I really thing that her ears were sheadding. Because now she’s starting to molt. That’s what happened the last time I noticed the flaking… her ears flaked and then she started to shed the rest of her fur. It might have to do with how thin her ears are. She has very little fur on them (all of the time).

I’ll keep an eye on them and see if anything else happens. But there is very little scratching occuring on Patina or on Fujoe and no blad spots on either on them.

Thanks- this is good info to know so that I won’t immediately freak out if I see flakes on Medusa’s ears. I still haven’t had a molt with her yet and I’ve had her since December…I’m waiting!

[Gravehearted]

glad to hear the flakes went away on their own!

[Author]

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