Flaky ears

[Rebecca]

Hello again,

I have a 10 month old Holland Lop named Annie. Just to provide you guys with a little background Annie suffered from a ear/respiratory infection a couple months back 🙁 Our vet at the time misdiagnosed Annies ear infection as a fungal infection and prescribed a spray (which was recommended for dogs)…  long story short the spray treatment totally brunt Annies ears to a crisp. She lost a-lot of her ear fur, and the skin on her ears were like raw.

Her ear fur eventually grew back and it looked normal up until this past Friday. On Friday, I noticed her ears appeared flaky/scaly as well as appeared to be a blue/purple tint. As well it looks like her hair is thinner. (This is on the external part of the ear, where her fur is)

She is not excessively or abnormally scratching at them which is good. As well as she is eating/drinking and pooping normal.

I took her to the vet (our new vet!)  yesterday because I was obviously concerned. The vet did an examination, as well as some further tests and they all came back negative. No sign of ear mites, fur mites, fungal infections, ear infections etc… Moreover, the vet said Annie is in great condition apart from these flaky ears. The vet suggested this is a result of when her ears got chemically burnt from the fungal spray (that our old vet prescribed). Our current vet explained that rabbit skin/fur can take months to fully heal. So we concluded that what Annie is experiencing now is just part of her ears healing/shedding from when they were damaged. The vet suggested she might have sensitive/dry ears since that spray situation which might have also triggered this.

I 100% trust our vet, I was just reaching out to see if anyone has had a similar experience/ or advice:)

As well, Annie is also molting for her first time right now so would that explain why she is experiencing this… Like is it normal for bunnies to molt hair on their ears???

Thanks!

[Wick & Fable]

Yes, rabbits will molt ear fur too, though it’s usually not as noticeable because the fur is so short. I think your new vet’s explanation is very plausible– it takes a while for rabbit skin to get back to norm after something happening, and flaking tends to be a natural part of that process, just like with humans.

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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