Ear Infection Recovery + Seeking Additional Advice

[Em]

This day last week I noticed one of our rabbits seeming a bit off. I decided to keep an eye on him, and he seemed to be perking up. The following day however he woke up with a slight head tilt. It was barely noticeable, but I noticed that when he tried to walk in a straight line, he would just slowly drift to the side – almost like watching a drunk person trying to pass a sobriety test. His appetite at this point was severely depressed, but he would still eat some leafy greens and grass on his own – won’t touch hay or pellets. Anyway, he went to a rabbit savvy vet who discovered he had an ear infection and they flushed his ear, and prescribed him with a little over a week long course of the standard baytril & metacam.

Ever since he had his ear flushed, his balance has been completely whack and his tilt worsened. I pick him up and he rolls, to the point where at one point I thought he was seizing. He is still acting alert, will nibble some grass and fresh vegetables, but he is not eating near enough to sustain himself. He has lost 600g in a week; I should add that he’s 4 years old and is (usually) an almost 5kg French Lop, but this is still extremely concerning and I am so worried about him. I’ve been trying to syringe feed him, but even in a burrito he is borderline impossible to restrain and spends the whole time biting the towel or head butting everything. He stresses himself out so much that makes him roll even worse, and makes his heart race and breathing sound panicked. I give him a break when he does this, but then naturally, we come nowhere near of achieving our goal for amount of food force fed by the end of the day (because he ends up needing so many breaks).

Getting almost 3mls of meds into him daily is a struggle though we manage, but force feeding him enough food on top of this (following the 8-15ml/kg rule) is proving an almost impossible task and I’m worried I’m making him worse given by how stressed over it, which is in turn making me stressed because I worry I’m not helping him.

Is there anyway I can make feeding him less stressful? Has anyone got any advice for dealing with a large, stubborn rabbit who hates it? And approximately how long does it take an ear infection to heal/when should I be expecting to see results?

I’m just so stressed. At first I was relieved it was an ear infection given that we could at least treat it, but now I realise how naive I was.

[jerseybunnies]

Hi,

I had an old rabbit named Cotton and he got GI stasis and a UTI… he had tons of genetic issues from bad breeding (he was a rescue) and no vet we went to could find out what was wrong / what to do. Anyway, for feeding I created a “bunny burrito” — I took a very large, thick towel and I placed my bunny on top, his front paws 2-3 inches from the long side lining of the towel. I folded the towel over three times until it reached over his paws as I was holding him in. Then, I took one side of the towel and folded it over his body before taking the back end of the towel and folding it up and onto the left side of him to secure his bottom. Lastly, I folded the left side over. Those instructions were probably pretty bad, so I apologize! You can probably find a video online. I just had to customize this routine since my rabbit was on the larger side. Perhaps later if I have time I will take a video for you with my baby holland lop — the size of the towel can change per size of rabbit 🙂

**Make sure that the burrito is not loose enough for the rabbit to slip around and hurt themselves but not tight enough to squeeze or injure him/her**

At the feeding part, my rabbit enjoyed the critical care. So, I just squeezed it out onto either the tip of the syringe or on my finger for the first couple of days and immediately lapped it up. Then, I’d be sure to put some on the end of the syringe. Next, as he was in the burrito, I would lean down (he was on a table) so that I could see where his mouth was. Then I’d take the syringe and gently insert it into the SIDE OF THE MOUTH. Once there, I pressed lightly on his side teeth until he gave in and once it was in his mouth, he tried chewing it and stuff but once the delicious critical care came out, he was nom nomming away. After a couple days of this, every time he’d see the syringe he would be so excited. He stopped struggling. He loved it!

Fortunately, I have no experience on ear infections for rabbits. A quick visit from Dr. Google says that improvement with meds should be seen within 10 days. This is an average and all buns are different — just try not to force it on your bun and don’t be frustrated if you see him stressed or refusing. This is a hard time for him.

It would be good to feed him in a familiar place too. That way he will feel more comfortable.

Good luck, send updates, and feel free to ask more questions! Hope this gets more replies too.

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[Em]

Definitely not frustrated with him; just concerned that I’m upsetting him (even though I exercise extreme patience giving him his critical care and meds, making sure to constantly reassure him, attempt distractions, and give him plentiful breaks) and making him stressed which I’m concerned is making him feel worse than he already feels. I’m also really worried about his weight loss, the 600g loss is just very noticeable when he’s handled; he a lot more bony and I’m just so worried about him even though he’s otherwise carrying on as normal. I think I’m more so frustrated at myself that I can’t seem to get a technique to get him to consume enough food to fill his poor little belly. 🙁

I appreciate your advice though, thank you! Perhaps my burrito was poorly assembled lol, but he’s very difficult to manage alone with his size (i have help with him in the evenings, but morning and afternoon we’re solo). Even with his feet trapped, he spent the entire time head butting and biting the towel. I’ll have to try your technique and see if I have better luck.

My other two think it’s their birthday and try and steal the critical care. But the one who needs it hates it, and despite trying to get him used to having his mouth messed with since he was a baby, he absolutely hates anyone trying to even dare touch his mouth let alone force him to take something he doesn’t want to take. He’s such a sweet bun otherwise, but he doesn’t take kindly to syringes apparently. The ear infection is also making him experience vertigo on top of it, so he’s just not in the mood for eating in general – most he eats is a handful of fresh greens by himself.

Hopefully he feels a lot better soon. I had read a lot of conflicting time frames for recovery, so I’m really hoping it will be sooner rather than later. He’s just so miserable.

 

ETA; Also, does anyone with Lops recommend using ear cleaning drops as a preventative for this stuff in the future? He is my only lop (i am a lionhead snob), and I thought I was doing enough by keeping his ears clean and giving them a wipe (I’ve had him since he was 10 weeks old; this is his first infection at 4 years old) – but he got an infection deep in his ear anyway. Are ear cleaning drops as a preventative measure even a thing?… I just can’t imagine having to go through all this again.

 

[DanaNM]

Sorry you are going through that, it sounds so stressful. I haven’t dealt with an ear infection like that myself, but hopefully some others will chime in.

Have you talked to the vet about the continuing balance issues? Is he on an anti-inflammatory? I’ve just wondering if something else may be going on. I know that cold water hitting the ear drum in humans can cause vertigo, but it usually resolves quickly.

If you mix his CC with some banana, will he eat it then?  Some bunnies also like CC more if it has some canned pumpkin mixed in. You can also try making critical care “cookies”, because lots of bunnies don’t like mush, but like the cookies. There are some recipies online, but the basic idea is you mix it up to a doughy consistency, make little biscuits, and then bake at 200 F until they are nice and dry.

If he is eating a bit of grass, I would keep offering as much fresh grass as you can, if you can get it.  I would also just keep offering him favorite and different greens as often as you can. My bunnies also will eat more hay if I hold it up for them, so you might try just offering handfuls of hay throughout the day, and hand feeding pellets. You also might try sitting on the ground with him, and offering the syringe then, rather than picking him up.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

If the ear infection has reached the middle ear, it would be visible on x-rays. Surgery to flush out the bulla if its full of pus could be an option. You would need a good rabbit savvy vet for this, which isn’t always easy to find.

He should be on a painkiller, because ear problems are painful. Meloxicam is an anti inflammatory painkiller that rabbits often find quite tasty.

 

 

[Em]

He is going back to the vet for a check up when he finishes his meds in just a couple days. Vet said it is 100% an ear infection, because when they looked deep into his ear (wasn’t visible otherwise, it’s deep into his ear canal) it was full of pus which is why they had to flush it. He basically went to the vet with a slight tilt, and came back with an extreme tilt (not extreme to the sense where his head is at a 90 degree angle, but to the point where it is noticeably tilted and his balance is very wobbly – but bless him, he tries). I read after the fact that flushing makes their tilt temporarily worse for a few days (it’s been 5 full days since his appointment), and flushing his ear was necessary any so I’m of course not mad it was done, but it is a 100% confirmed deep ear infection.

He’s on metacam also (anti-inflammatory, I’m sure most bun owners are familiar with it). He is on the 1.5mg/kg dog version dosed to 20kg once a day. That’s all he’s on; baytril (1ml morning, 1ml evening) and metacam (20kg dog dose once a day).

I have made him several varieties of critical care; apple, banana, lettuce, kale, carrot, and nope. He hates all of them (the other two are loving it, of course – go figure). I placed it in a bowl and he won’t even touch it. He might take a cookie version, though – I hadn’t really thought of that, but he did take a couple pea flakes as a treat this afternoon so hopefully he might be feeling up for it.

This morning he had 6mls of critical care (that took almost a full hour to get into him with breaks), a small pile of fresh grass and some dandelions, and this afternoon he finally took a nibble of some hay and about two full leaves of lettuce… but I still occasionally hear his tummy rumble, so I know he’s hungry but has no appetite to eat. I have hand fed him multiple times, and we’ve got about a 20% success rate doing that before he’s had enough and doesnt want it anymore.

[DanaNM]

That’s great he’s eating a bit on his own, that sounds like a good amount.  Hopefully he starts feeling better and better.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Could you mix Critical Care with a slice of mashed banana? That’s the way to make everything go down here. We froze banana slices and take one out every time our bun has to take meds. You can thaw it in the microwave for a couple of seconds when you need it, and it’ll become mushy and easy to mix with meds or with his food. Our Breintje hated his pain meds, but he always cleaned his bowl of mystery banana mush.

[Em]

Thought I’d give an update; he’s feeling a lot better and has been gradually getting his appetite back. He still won’t eat pellets, but he’s eating hay again, more fresh produce, and a small amount of oats – he’s gained back 200g of the weight he lost, and while he still feels boney, we’re at least heading the right direction. Head tilt has also lessened and he seems a lot more energetic – so good progress all around! I’m still giving him critical care and so far our record is 20mls in one day. Not much given he’s a Frenchie but hey, I’ll take anything at this point haha. The other buns have been giving him plenty of grooming sessions also which I think is aiding in lifting his spirits a little.

[jerseybunnies]

Yayy! I’m so glad to hear that 🙂

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[DanaNM]

That’s really great!

Pellets are often the last thing to come back when a bun starts getting its appetite back. Seems they know what’s best for them (hay!). 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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