Ear Infection :(

[Nibbles_NZ]

I was trying to examine Baxter and happened to look in his ears and was not happy with what I saw!  He has a brownish crust in his inner ear. The whole canal as far as I can see is blocked with the crusty stuff. I didn’t notice any mites or discharge. I didn’t notice a foul smell but I didn’t get close enough for that either.  There is definetly something going on. I googled what the signs were for an ear infection and it said that head shaking, scratching and constant grooming of the ears are all signs of thier ears bothering them. He has been doing all of those things for a couple of weeks at least. I didn’t think it was abnormal for a rabbit. I feel so bad for him now I am calling the Vet first thing tomorrow.  Does anyone know what this may be? Have you experienced this before and is there anything I can do until he gets to the Vet?

[Sarita]

Sounds like mites to me.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I didn’t see any mites. It really looks like dead skin but there is obviously a reason it is there. There could be mites under the crusty stuff that I seeing. Looks like we are back to Vet.

[BunnyLiz]

Im really not positive, but I dont think you can really see mites. They are teeny tiny. But mites would be my guess too.

[Nibbles_NZ]

You can see mites. They look like black dirt. I’ve seen them on other animals. My brothers dog had them pretty bad when he got him. It’s sad though. He was hurting you could tell

[Nibbles_NZ]

I am just a little worried because it came at a bad time Not that it ever comes at a good time but we just paid for his neuter and this week isn’t a week we can swing another vet bill. I do have a $30 credit there though. I could use that but it wouldn’t be enough. I am going to call and see if he will let me pay him on Thursday. I hope he does. I can’t let Baxter go for 3 more days like that. I don’t want it to get any worse or for him to be hurting. He doesn’t act like he is in any real pain but you know how rabbits are. You just never know how serious it is until you get them to a Vet. I can tell that it is uncomfortable for him though. Poor boy!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Okay, I just looked up more info on mites and saw some pictures and it is definetly mites. I just hope they are not too bad.

[RabbitPam]

If you have a credit at the vet, I would definitely call and ask for an arrangement. Probably a little meds would clear it up if you caught it early. If the vet didn’t see it during his neuter, than it’s early I think.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I called them and they are getting us in at 11:30 today. They are going to use the credit and let me write them a check that they will untill thursday. That makes me feel a lot better. It looks uncomfortable but not severe so I hope it is early enough and will be easy to treat. thanks!

[Beka27]

Oh wow. Poor guy! Let us know how his appt goes.

[Nibbles_NZ]

I am very happy with the results.The Doctor squeezed us in even though he was in the middle of a surgery. Then he stopped to take a look and checked his neuter site. He had to test it under a micro scope because it didn’t look like mites to him either. Turns out, it is.They weren’t that bad at all. They put a topical med on the back of his neck. His neuter is also healing very well Then they only charged me for the med. I still have a credit there and I didn’t have to write a check. It’s a good day!

[Beka27]

Sounds great! What a nice vet! Glad you were able to get some meds for him… hopefully they’ll clear up!

[mocha200]

glade he is ok!

[Nibbles_NZ]

Yes, he is a very nice vet and I really like his staff. They are very helpful and caring people. They are always telling me how beautiful they think Baxter is They haven’t seen a whole lot of Bella. I have high hopes that they will clear up soon. I am so glad he is okay and it was a wieght lifted that I could get him in so early and have the means to get him the proper care that he so deserved. I was worried about it all night.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Off the subject but before I had my bunnies I thought rabbits were cute and all but wasn’t really interested in them too much. I didn’t think of them as pets much. Now that I have my 2 I wish everyone knew what great little critters they really are. A lot of people really don’t believe that rabbits have feelings or a personality and I think that is sad for them. I am not completely crazed over rabbits in general I don’t think (??) but the ones that I have I am. lol I just feel so lucky to have them.

[KatnipCrzy]

Has Bella been treated also?  You don’t want them passing the mites back and forth and having to pay for more treatment than necessary if they were both treated at the same time.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Bell is not around Baxter at all. I wash my hands after petting Baxter or handling anything in his pen. Bell’s ears are clear and there is no sign of them. The Vet said if there are any signs than we will treat then. Baxters are starting to clear pretty fast. The crusty stuff that was blocking the ear canal is gone. It is still a little irritated around it but it is looking better.

[RabbitPam]

Finding a good vet that works with you is like finding gold.
Excellent experience, and you know what to watch for in Bell just in case.

You are preaching to the choir when it comes to advocating bunnies as pets. We all discovered how wonderful they are, although we know that they are not for everyone, and learned to caution folks who aren’t interested in the level of care or having them inside. (We are, after all, house rabbit slaves.) My parents are the cutest, telling stories of their grandbunnies for years now.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Baxters ears look a lot better! Almost 100% better! Bell (not sure if I want to keep that name) is not showing any signs at all for them. His ears are clear

[BinkyBunny]

Yeah! That’s sounds great. Just keep a close eye on Bell’s ears.

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