flaky skin?!

[bunnycutie]

 so, i was holding buttons when I noticed really small, flaky pieces of skin on his ears. i rubbed them and the skin fell off. all thats left is really small bald patches. you can barley see it.  he doesn't have this any where  else on his body. i am very worried. is this a infection or is it some kind of weird ear molting? is it normal? just so you know ahead of time, vets are out of the question, unless it is super urgent. is there anything i can heal it with? has anyone had this problem? please help!

[bunnytowne]

Were the flaky pieces on the furless inside part of his ears?  Could be early sign of mites.  Does he itch his ears a lot?  Ear mites is the only thing i can think of.   Unless he got sunburned there.    Usually mites have dark mite poop type reddish droppings as well.  the mites are white though.

[BunnyLiz]

Id guess mites too, but I dont have experience with them. If it is mites, id imagine a vet visit is needed. Ive heard that some vets will work out payment plans. But for now posting a picture of it might help.

[bunnycutie]

it’s only on the outside of his ears. and there is no poo. he doesn’t scratch them any more than normal(for grooming).

[MooBunnay]

I would watch him very closely for signs of him shaking his head a lot, or scratching his ears a lot. This would be a sign of some kind of ear parasite, which is the only thing I could think of that would cause the flaky skin. Parasites or other mites definitely need to be treated because bunny’s ears are very sensitive, and any infection or other problem that is left untreated can become very serious. Was this a one time occurrence or is he still getting the flaky skin? Ongoing flaky skin issues could be the result of a lot of different issues and it would be important to get your bunny to the vet.

[bunnycutie]

it was a one time occurrence and he hasn’t shaken his head at all. i don’t know if its his mood or whatever but now he is holding his ears flat to his back. im kinda scared because he is my first bun ever.

[bunnycutie]

update: he is holding his ears normal now, and has been for the past few hours. he is not scratching or shaking his head.

[wendyzski]

Is your bun also in the middle of a shed?  Pepper had somethign similar in the midst of a prolonged shed – flaky skin on the outside of her ears where the fur was thinnest.  My vet said it was just dry skin, and gave me palm oil supplement that is usually used for birds to put on her food for a couple of days and it cleared right up

[KatnipCrzy]

could it have been sunburned?

[MooBunnay]

If you aren’t noticing anything else out of the normal, possibly it was just a skin irritation. Bunnies holding their ears flat back is very common, mine do that when they are tired or just relaxing. I’m glad you are keeping a close eye on your bunny though, so that you can have a good idea of what is normal, and what is not normal.

[bunnycutie]

he’s fine. i just got too worried.

[bunnytowne]

Glad to hear he is fine.  Sometimes they get dry skin too.  As for being a worry wart join the club.  Bun parents are kept on our toes.

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