My lop-eared rabbit, Tula, was her normal perky self this morning when I fed her – she scarfed down her veggies and hay as usual, and was very excited about food. We were having an after-breakfast scratch session, but when I went to scratch the base of her right ear (something she normally likes), she jerked her head and almost seemed like she was going to nip at me. She NEVER bites or nips. I tried again, and she jumped up and ran into a box. I tried to get a closer look, but she managed to get away again and go under the bed. By that time, I had to get to work, so I decided to just leave it until I got home tonight.

I have a feeling this might be an ear infection and will check for pus/smelliness/redness tonight when I get home. However, I was just trying to gauge how much of an emergency this is. Should I pay big $$ for the after-hours emergency vet, or can it wait until tomorrow and I can take her into her regular vet. She was eating and behaving normally this morning (aside from the reaction to touching her ear). She didn’t seem to be in particular distress, except when I kept harassing her.

Thank you so much for your help!