Good thing I wanted to do a baseline check with the vet – he could not confirm but suspects ear mites. I did notice the rabbit scratched a good bit, particularly one ear, but nothing crazy and no brown wax I had seen so far. But the vet said whiite stuff, that looked to be moving. Couldn’t reach far enough with a qtip to get it out and see it on microscope slide.

But we’re treating anyways. One injection of ivermectin today. And I have to go back in 10 days for another. Yikes, since the vet is an hour away. Vet said I could take a syringe home and do the injection myself, but he wasn’t sure the meds would stay good for 10 days in syringe. He also thought the injections were better than the drops, and less hassle. What do you guys think? I am trying to arrange someone else to take Koji back for his second shot – I can’t do it that day, or any day at all that week. I could have someone pick up the syringe and bring it to me fresh (I have a lot of experience doing injections in animals, so he was comfortable with that), that would be easier than stressing the rabbit out with another 2 hours in the car, but the vet also said sometimes rabbits need a third injection and checking the progress when they do the second can help determine that.

I’m glad I caught it before it got nasty, though. I’m just surprised – had him for 2 weeks, and he’s not seemed in distress nor did I notice any buildup. I guess ear mites progress slower than I thought? I’m not sure how he could have picked it up once he got here, as he hasn’t been around other animals, and my understanding was it was passed animal to animal or sometimes on straw… but he hasn’t had straw around either. Is there something else that might cause itchy ears (also the rabbit got agitated when the vet was trying to swab them, so I’m guessing they’re tender too)?

Obviously, this vet is new to me. He is HRS recommended, and he seemed okay. I just want to see what other peoples experience have been in treating ear mites.

On the plus side, Koji has perfect teeth, good body condition, and sounds and feels normal aside from the ears. And we got an offical weight – 2lbs 2 oz! I did forget to ask for age estimation confirmation, but I guess I will do that if we do bring him back in for the second shot vs doing it myself. Not really that important, but if we do get a number 2 I’d like to shoot for around the same age.