Help! Ear infections & Male Bunnies

[FCStanley]

Hi guys,

around a month ago I posted about my little guy Stanley, who had been seeing a vet regularly due to ear issues. Thinking maybe it was mites I got 2 different opinions and was told by both it was a chronic ear infection. He was on Penn G and meloxicam for a month but the vet said that the Penn G wasn’t helping and the only other option was surgery. I did consider this, but the vets told me no matter what surgery they do, it won’t ever fix the problem 100%, they also said because he’s only little (5 months from the time it was first caught, he’s now 7 month) it will forever be an ongoing thing.
The vet told us we can keep him on Penn G/meloxi for maybe as long as a few years, but Stanley very obviously hated the needles.
we decided to take him off Penn G, keep him on the meloxi as it’s a pain killer, and when his ears become obviously irritating/ noticed he was in pain, we would take him in and put him to sleep (vet said this would be a kind thing to do, otherwise it will forever be regular vet checks, lots of meds and also lots of money. I didn’t want to put this little baby bun through that)

this was a little over a month ago. A few days after stopping the Penn G, his zoomies came back. His ears are obviously irritating him as he has been scratching and shaking his head, but he is back to zooming (he hadn’t done any since starting the injections) and eating and everything as usual.

I guess I don’t know what the next steps would be. Should I try to take him off meloxicam and see how he is with no medication? Do we just continue to monitor and make sure he doesn’t seem like he’s in any pain? He isn’t neutered as he vet wanted to wait until his ears cleared up before he went under, but his ears haven’t cleared up and she thinks they will forever be a problem, so we haven’t had him neutered as we are sort of playing this whole situation by ear.

I also took in another bunny, he is a male, roughly 4 years old, neutered. He was found dumped and was completely matted.
Stanley and the new bunny are kept separate ( new bunny has his own bedroom, Stanley has his bedroom but is also free roam)
will I ever be able to introduce them and have them not fight? I’ve read alot about how 2 males won’t get along, especially if one is still intact.

I’m hoping anyone can give me some advice on either of these situations. I feel completely lost as I don’t know what to do with the 2 males, I don’t know what to do with Stanley’s magic ears which have just seemed to get better off the Penn G?

 

[LBJ10]

Have you tried a different antibiotic? Pen G could be used for an ear infection, but there are other antibiotics that might work. It really depends on what the bacteria is and what it is sensitive to. As for the surgery, what kind was it? Are they wanting to do an ablation? Some people on BB have had luck with that procedure, so I wouldn’t completely rule it out.

I imagine the Pen G was probably just wasn’t doing much except making him feel unwell. That’s probably why he seems to be feeling better now that he is off of it.

As for bonding 2 boys, it can be done. But yes, both need to be neutered. It would be inadvisable to try to introduce them when one is still intact.

[DanaNM]

I also am wondering why there was the jump to Pen G, does he have an abscess deep in his ear? A culture can identify which antibiotic will work. And agree more info on the surgery would be helpful.

I would not stop the meloxicam. It is important to manage pain in rabbits so they don’t develop other problems (like stasis) on top of everything going on. If he does have an ear infection it will get worse if untreated.

And yes he would need to be neutered for bonding. Perhaps if you go forward with the ear surgery they can neuter at the same time, as neutering is a very straightforward procedure.

. . . 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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