I’m sorry in advance if this post is really long. I’m very overwhelmed and sad about my bun right now. Could really use some advice and good vibes for the little guy…
My rabbit Pepper is a holland lop, about 1.5 years old. He’s not really had the most charmed life. When he was neutered at ~6 months old, the vet gave him an injection of Baytril and unfortunately hit his anterior tibial nerve. He had a hind foot drop for months but thanks to his youth and spunkiness, he’s now regained almost full function.
About 1 month ago, we noticed that Pepper was scratching his ears. I’m sorry to say that I did not realize as soon as this started that it could be a sign of infection; he was still eating and pooping and binkying with gusto. Within a couple of weeks this worsened to the point that Pepper had scratched himself BALD and RAW in front of both ears and of course even we could not mistake that for normal behavior. We immediately brought him to the vet who ended up sedating him and doing a full otoscopic exam. What he found was not good – Pepper had bilateral ear infections with visible pus in the right ear and likely a ruptured ear drum. I feel so awful for letting it get to that point .
When we went to go pick little Pepper up from the vet, he was prescribed metacam and baytril. We asked that they administer the antibiotics and pain killer prior to us leaving. Unfortunately the nurse missed a decimal point on the administration instructions and gave Pepper 10x the indicated dose! His going home after a brief procedure turned into a 4 day stay requiring daily labs and IV fluids administered through interosseus access. Luckily he did not develop a stomach bleed or end up with kidney damage.
Cultures from the pus did not grow anything out so we’ve just continued with the Baytril hoping that’s the right thing for Pepper. Serologies just came back and the titer was high for Pasteurella. I feel so horrible for my little guy. Does this mean a lifetime of ear infections, head tilt and abscesses? I’m so sad and scared for him. Does anyone know if lifelong antibiotics act to supress further infections? Clinically Pepper is eating better and pooping well. He’s a bit more withdrawn than usual but he also HATES getting Baytril and is starting to avoid us.
Also the vet wants to draw repeat titers this weekend to make sure they’re not getting higher. Not sure that makes sense to me, anybody ever hear of this before?
Anyway, if you’ve read til this point, thank you for your time and patience. Any guidance would be so appreciated. Thanks