Ear Mites!?

[MountainBuns]

So recently I have been monitoring Caroline and she seems to have something wrong with her! She will flop her ears while running and shake her head vigorously a lot. She has also been very lazy. She scratches her ears often as well. I think she could have ear mites but I do not want to rush her to the vet and then have nothing wrong with her. Other than this she eats and poo’s regularly, I feel like she needs more exercise so I’ve been asking around for toys, I might settle for some tunnels where she can run in and hope this helps with her getting exercise. Do you guys think she might have something wrong or am I just being over-protective of my bun? Thanks!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Try to take a flashlight and take a peek in her ears. If there are ear mites, there will probably be black debris and redness. Ear infections or excess ear wax can also cause ear scratching and head shaking.

[MountainBuns]

Her ears appear clean although it seems as they used to be more pale and are a little more red. I am very concerned though because when I woke up she was hunched up next to her veggies which she usually loves but recently she has been putting her veggies in her mouth then dropping them. She barely ate any veggies. She was hunched up and when I got down from the bed to see her, she took longer to get to me. I sat with her quietly and observed her and I heard what sounded like a little tooth grinding. I told my dad but he keeps saying that she is fine, when he knows nothing about rabbits!  Poor girls probably in pain.

[tobyluv]

You should schedule a vet visit. It’s hard to fully check out a rabbit’s ears unless you have an otoscope, as a vet will have. If Caroline is dropping food out of her mouth, is sitting hunched up, and is grinding her teeth, there is something wrong and she needs to see a vet. She may have molar spurs or some other tooth/mouth problem, and likely is in pain. This can all lead to GI stasis and needs to be addressed before it worsens.

[Bam]

Some buns do grind their teeth spontaneously when they’re feeling extra relaxed, but that’s most common with really young rabbits. It’s very difficult to say if something really is wrong with Caroline from your description – sometimes we are being too paranoid. But if she’s leaving food she normally likes, that is an observandum. How old is Caroline?

I’m thinking this could perhaps be an ear infection, caused by bacteria. That can make it painful to chew because the nerves to the jaws exit so very close to the ears. Is she eating her other food?

[MountainBuns]

Caroline is about 4 years old, she will be 5 in December. She does eat her pellets and runs around for them. She wont eat as much hay as before though.

[MountainBuns]

Phew, Im starting to feel a little better about Caroline. She was very active this morning and did lots of binky’s. I got licked a lot and she let me pet her. She also ate a whole ton of hay.I gave her pellets which she ran across the room for and she her veggies over night. I did see some head shaking but not as much. I made her new toys and she loves the hay roll.

What the!! I swear as I typed this she ate a flipping toothpick. Ok I just grabbed it from her. She bit it in half and was munching on it. Whats should I do!?

[Author]

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