Bunny allergies?

[beccamcnl]

My two mini lops have been with me for about 10 months and they are a few days shy of their first birthday (7/13). They have always been very clean girls, cleaning their faces and ears and feet. Over the months I’ve noticed that my one bun Bramble constantly licks and itches her ONE ear, but not the other. My other bun Bean, who does not itch like that, sometimes wheezes. I asked my vet a few months ago and he didn’t seem to concerned. Since then Bramble’s itching has gotten worse. I’ve noticed tiny bumps on her one ear ( about the size of a ballpoint pen tip, maybe smaller) one even started to bleed a little from her itching it. I changed the detergent I use and we don’t use fabric softener. I constantly change up the veggies they eat too. The only thing I can think of is it might be the wood stove pellets that I use in their litter boxes. I love how amazingly cheap it is and I don’t know what else is comparable to them that I can try. We have our 1 year check up on the 14th so I will follow up with my vet then. Any help would be great!

[Mikey]

I would try changing the litter if you think it could be that. My boyfriend and i buy cardboard based litter for our bunnies’ litter boxes. If you dont want to go out and buy cardboard based litter, you can buy cardboard boxes and shred them up to use too. Layer the top of the litter with hay so the buns arnt tempted to try and eat the cardboard if your buns are big chewers

Other than that, how dry is it the room your rabbits are in? Ive noticed one of my rabbits skin flakes on days its very dry in our apartment. We kick on the shower on high heat for about a half hour to make it more humid, and that usually stops the flaking. We used to have a humidifier, but it got clogged and we couldnt afford a new one, which is why we use the shower instead. I suggest this because dryness can also cause a rabbit to wheeze a bit if they arnt used to air that is more dry. It could also be the temperature if your place is a bit on the warmer side, that cou,d cause breathing stress and cause extra shedding causing your other bun to be itchy more often

[cinnybun2015]

Like Mikey said, you could try changing the litter. You can shred newspaper as well (soy-based ink newspapers only) and it’s nontoxic and safe and shouldn’t cause allergies.

[beccamcnl]

I got a 30lb. bag of Yesterday’s News on sale for $9.99. So we’re trying that with some Care Fresh natural bedding, so it’s softer for them. So far it looks like the itching has died down, but the bumps are still on Bramble’s ears. Just waiting for our appointment next Saturday to see what the vet has to say.

[Bam]

Even if you remove what caused the bumps, they must still heal like any other bumps, so the important thing is that the itching has gotten better. Hopefully the ear will be left alone now so the bumps heal.
I like the shower idea Mikey gave you, esp for the wheezy bun, you can sit with her in the bathroom and run up a good steam for 10-15 minutes or so when she gets wheezy. That’s a method vets recommend for congestion. Obviously don’t leave her in there alone, you should sit with her and check so she doesn’t get too warm.
I’m glad you got the paper bedding at a reasonable price, as Cinnybun says shredded “normal” newspaper is fine too, but a bit more work.
You can also switch hays, if this goes on. Some buns are actually sensitive/allergic to some types of hay, believe it or not If you have timothy now you can switch to orchard or oat f ex.

[Author]

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