Ear infection over months

[Erinbauer91]

Hi!

so I need some help.

I have a lip mix named Mocha.  I adopted mocha about 6 years ago when he was thought to be between 2/3.  The whole time I’ve had him he’s had chronic ear infections.  Typically treated with baytril orally. they pop up 2-3 times a year.
So this time things have been a little different.

in June/July I brought him into his regular vet for what I knew was an ear infection.  They swabbed him and it was. The vet told me the name of the bacteria but I can’t remember it.  He did say it’s very stubborn and he went with a topical medication that he packed into Mochas ear and it released itself over two weeks. After two weeks we went back for a check up and there was still some bacteria in the swab so he packed it againZ. Went back two weeks later again and it was feee and clear.

about a month later we went back to the same vet and I requested oral antibiotics since it had come back so quick. He prescribed baytril, but was kind of giving me push back as I had asked for something different since I’ve read a lot about how baytril isn’t the best option.  I continued the course and when the two weeks were up I took him to get a second opinion.
the new vet cleaned his ears and prescribed Bactrim.  After two weeks again I could tell he still had an infection so she refilled the Bactrim prescription for another 4-6 weeks.

we’ve now been on this Bactrim run for 3 weeks and he is still having crusty junk and pus.  The second vet did state that she was unsure as his ear canal was very tight and inflamed but it was possible he had a tumor inside his ear which could be what continuously causing the ear infections. I just don’t understand why they’ve always gone away but this one we can’t get rid of.  Any support? I don’t want my poor boy to keep taking antibiotics that aren’t working.

[LBJ10]

If he was younger, he probably would have benefited from an ear canal ablation. There used to be a couple members here with chronic ear infection bunnies that had this done.

Baytril is a commonly used antibiotic. It’s safe and it’s effective against a lot of bacteria (broad spectrum antibiotic). Bactrim is also broad spectrum. I don’t have any personal experience with Bactrim, but I know there are some bacterial infections in bunnies that are resistant to Baytril. That being said, it isn’t unusual for a vet to try Baytril first since it “usually does the trick”. If it doesn’t work, then they simply try another antibiotic.

As for why the infection is resistant now? Either A) The bacteria causing the infection has become resistant to Baytril over time; Or B) The bacteria causing the problem now is a different bacteria. It was probably always there… it just wasn’t a problem before. A different bacterial was. Something may have triggered this “new” bacteria and caused it to grow out of control.

[Erinbauer91]

Do you have any suggestions on the best course of action?

[LBJ10]

You said the first vet did a swab? Was there a culture or did they guess what the bacteria was?

If it were me, I would finish out the course of Bactrim. If an actual culture wasn’t done, then perhaps it would be useful to see what the bacteria is and what it is sensitive to (hopefully something that is rabbit-safe!). At the very least, you will probably need to try a different antibiotic. If his eardrum is still intact, then an antibiotic ear drop could be used as well. However, if the eardrum is ruptured, then this would not be recommended.

[Erinbauer91]

So they did a swab and looked at it under a microscope and said it was a cylindrical bacteria and I believe it started with an A-but that’s all I can remember.  The vet did say it was a very stubborn bacteria.

I do believe in his last visit the vet did say the eardrum was ruptured

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