Ear mites turned ear infection?

[Sidthebunny]

Hi guys! my 9 month old mini lop has ear mites. I took him to the vets 6 weeks ago and they confirmed it after seeing scabs and mites in his ear canal. Yesterday, I took him back as he was still itching and his treatment was over. They looked into his ears and said there were still some scabs in his ears, but overall not as much as 6 weeks ago. They gave us more ivermectin spot on treatment thats scheduled to be put on tomorrow. Today I saw him scratching a lot. he tends to scratch inside his ears, cheeks, neck and forehead. He also bites at the fur on his shoulders near his ears as well. Maybe it was an uncomfortable scab, as he was going on for a good few minutes flapping and licking his ears! Anyway, I was just wondering whether it’s normal for the treatment to take this long. Ear mites die in 3 weeks, so I expected it to be done with by now. Because of COVID, we can’t be with him whilst he’s getting checked out by the vet, so I didn’t really see the severity of the issue inside his ear. Is it possible he maybe has an ear infection now? Should I have pressured my vet to take x-rays of bun’s face? I haven’t noticed any signs of head tilt, and his face looks pretty symmetrical, both sides seem to be working (sometimes he twitches one cheek and not the other, but I’m not sure if that’s normal or not). He doesn’t get angry when I touch on the top of his head (where I can feel the tubes that lead to his ears, idk what they’re called aha).  Am I overreacting and panicking about an ear infection he probably doesn’t have? He’s my first pet so I get stressed even when he does the littlest of things, which is probably why I’ve posted around 10 forums in the space of a month lol!!! He’s eating a lot and running around still, but sometimes I think that his sudden jumps and flappy ears can be caused by surprising discomfort… thoughts?

[LBJ10]

It sounds like the mites are still there. It usually takes more than one dose of Ivermectin to treat ear mites. Ivermectin does not prevent eggs from hatching, plus ear mites can survive in the surrounding environment for 3 weeks. That’s why the follow-up doses are necessary and the bunny area needs to be thoroughly cleaned.

There are reports of possible resistance. So if the Ivermectin doesn’t work, you could try another treatment like Selamectin.

[Sidthebunny]

@LBJ10 thank you so much for the reply! I put the spot-on treatment on him once every two weeks for six weeks, so basically three times. But it still seems to be bothering him, which is why I am slightly concerned. I am putting another dose on him today and I will repeat the process of putting it on 3 times. I will hopefully have the time to decontaminate his whole enclosure as well, as I usually do a few times a week anyway. If he still seems bothered by the mites by the end of the upcoming six week time period, do you think I should consider that he has a secondary infection? Or should I just stick to choosing a different treatment for the mites?

thank you so much for your help! 💕

[LBJ10]

The symptoms you’re describing do not align with an ear infection. It probably wouldn’t hurt to have the vet look though. If you need to try a different ear mite treatment, it’s best to wait a bit after you finished the previous treatment. At least if you’re using something in the same family (which Selamectin is).

[Sidthebunny]

@LBJ10 thank you!! You’ve been a massive help to me and my bunny!!💕💕

 

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