Ear infection

[OliverBun]

I’m fairly certain Oliver has an ear infection. He has a vet appointment for Wednesday afternoon, but they can’t see him any sooner. He has been scratching his ears/shaking his head for about 4 hours on a regular basis. He’s also holding his ear down. I gave him some mometemax (prescribed about a month ago to him) to help him out. However, he continues to scratch and shake his head.
I hate seeing him do this. Should I take him to the emergency vet? They say they are rabbit savvy, but they are expensive and I never feel like I get good care. But if it’s serious, I will bring him.
Should I take him? Or should I wait and see if the mometemax helps?

[Bam]

I would wait for the mometamax to take effect. It has anti-inflammatory properties (a corticosteroid) so it should be able to give him relief from the itch. Can you see any exudate (goo) in the ear?

[OliverBun]

I don’t see any goo but I do see some brown wax like stuff on the inside of his ear. Right by the ear drum.
How long will it take for the mometamax to give him some relief?
Should I give him reglan as well? As a precaution? He ate his breakfast greens and some hay, but I don’t want this to cause stasis.

[Bam]

I can find how soon mometamax will act, it only says “rapidly”.

If he’s eating and taking treats etc, I don’t think Reglan would be warranted, but if he’s very prone to stasis you’ll have to go by what your gut tells you. After all, you know him better than anyone. I have never used Reglan.

I wouldn’t use our emergency vets here unless a condition was life-threatening, I don’t really trust them to give the best care. If a rabbit is scratching his ears and I have the appropriate med at home, like you do, I’d try to keep my calm (which is not easy, believe me I know), trust the med I have and try to get the regular vet to fit him in on Monday. Unless he takes a turn for the worse, I doubt an emergency vet would do more than give him ear-drops, possibly an oral ab. But again, you know this little guy best and how to “read” him. 

Keep him comfortably warm and see if he takes treats, try to distract him from itching (sometimes an itch is “fed” by the act of scratching it), maybe the corticosteroid will do it’s work meanwhile. 

[LittlePuffyTail]

How is your bun today? I probably would wait to see the vet Wed. Not an emergency so you don’t want to have to pay those prices.

(((Ear Vibes)))

[OliverBun]

He seemed very perky last night and he seems very happy this morning. He has a huge appetite too. Also, significantly less head shaking/scratching than yesterday. I get so upset when I see him shaking and scratching nonstop for hours. I just want to do anything I can to help him!
He’s been eating and pooping and running around still the last few weeks, but less than usual. At his age (10 1/2 yrs) I always assume his lower activity is due to him getting older. However, his change in behavior since I gave him the mometemax makes me think that he was feeling kind of crappy and is now feeling much better!!
I’m only putting the drops in his left ears, since that was the one bothering him so much. My fiance wants me to put the drops in both ears. I worry about overloading him on antibiotics. Should I do both ears just to be safe?

[Bam]

In general you only treat the infected ear.

I’m so glad he’s feeling better! Of course you want to help him when he’s scratching his ear and looking totally uncomfortable, it’s so frustrating to see sth like that in your pet. It seems you had the exact right meds at home, which is so great =)

[OliverBun]

I’m a regular bunny pharmacy at this point!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Me too! I have a whole drawer full of bunny meds. Before prescribing something my vet always asks “Do you have any…..”

[Author]

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