Ear Infection?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Tonight was grooming night and I was cleaning out Bindi’s (mini-lop) ears and I think he might have an ear infection. Usually I use a mini-flashlight to check his ears but I didn’t have one for the last few weeks so I haven’t been getting a good look in his ears. Tonight I looked in his ears and they were very dirty so I cleared the wax from the outer ear and his inner ear seems totally blocked with a white substance. It’s too far down to clean it out. This is a different colour than his normal ear wax. I’m going to call the vet in the a.m. for an appointment.

A few questions:

1. What causes ear infections?

2. What is usually done for ear infections? Ear drops or oral meds (crossing fingers for ear drops)

3. Are these fairly easy to clear up?

I wish Bindi would have picked a later date for this as I just spent $200.00 in the past 5 days on Olivia. Sigh….

[Sarita]

Most of my rabbits who have had these type of problems have been given ear drops.

I have no idea what causes this – some of my rabbits just seem to have more wax in their ears than others so it’s possible he just has more waxy build up than others.

Is he shaking his head alot?

[bunnytowne]

yes gets costly when they all decide to need vet visits around the same time. ouch

[rabbitsmba]

Lop eared rabbits are more prone to ear infections and often have more of a wax build up than an uppity-eared bunn. This is just because their ears flop down and are not so easily cleaned or ventilated. Usually ear drops do the trick.

If the build up is severe, you can get their ears flushed.

A good way to find out if ears are infected is to simply sniff the ear – stick your nose right in there and inhale – an infected ear should be pretty obvious. But even if you smell nothing, there might be an inner ear infection which is undetectable from the outside and harder to treat.

And try this with your rabbit – pull some wax out of their ear and offer it to them to eat. Usually they will gobble it down! I have no idea why but every bunny owner I know has tried this and been baffled with how their bunns “enjoy” it. EEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

[Scarlet_Rose]

It could be a yeast infection in the ear or other bacteria, even ear mites.  Most of the time ear drops are prescribed and it can take several weeks to clear up depending on the type of infection and how mild or severe the case is.  As to what you would be prescribed to treat it would depend on the type of bacterium.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/inner-ear-infection-vertigo-1.htm

Ouch with the vet bills.  Hopefully this will be all in a long while.
I also couldn’t help but add an article by Dana Krempels

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

[LittlePuffyTail]

Are infected ears usually red and/or swollen too? His ears look perfectly normal other than the whitish gunk in them. I know when my Shih-Tzu gets ear infections her ears look totally disgusting, all swollen and such.

Also he’s not shaking his head at all or scratching more than normal.

When he’s done his breakfast I’m gonna take another good look in his ears and then call the vet and see if she thinks I should bring him in.

[Sarita]

Hopefully it’s just ear gunk – just like people some rabbits ears are more prone to wax – of course if they aren’t cleaned regularly I imagine they could harbor all kinds of bacteria and infections.

I’m not sure that I would do a culture though unless this is a continuous problem and the medications don’t clear it up if the vet even thinks it’s an infection.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I called the vet and they can’t take him until Thursday afternoon but I’m on the cancel list for tomorrow. I hate when the vet is this booked but not all the vets there take rabbits.

I do clean his ears regularly but they are often dirty deep down and I can’t get it out. I’m hoping it’s just yucky ear stuff too because I read that ear infections can be hard to clear.

Does anyone have any lop ear cleaning tips? I just use a flashlight and q-tip.

[Sarita]

I would ask the vet to show you how – you have to be very careful that you do not push the wax and gunk down in the ear and cause further damage. The vet probably has some solution that they recommend to help clean too.

[wendyzski]

My vet and shelter both recommend OtiRinse weekly or bi-weekly for lops.  It was originally developed for dogs but is safe for rabbits.  You dribble a little bit into the ears and then wait to make sure it goes all the way down.  Then you let your rabbit shake it out and it helps keep everytying clean and dry.

I let it slide for a bit and Pepper got another ear infection after a year and a half.  Currently she gets a rinse and 2 doses of drops a day.  I hate bunnywrestling!

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