Help! Scabs on outside of bunny’s ears

[HoneyBun]

Hi everyone!

Honey turned 1 years old in July. She’s a Holland lop and she’s pretty much been free roaming my house since I got her. She rarely goes outside and has been pretty healthy other than a case of the snuffles when she was 6 weeks old.

She’s been molting recently which is pretty apparent because of her fur lines and visible new fur underneath her old coat. She’s always had a little flakiness on the outside of her ears when she molts, but the vet said it wasn’t anything to worry about. Recently I found two scabs/crusts on the outside of her ear (one on each ear). I was thinking maybe it could be ear mites but the scabs are in the outside of her ear not in the inside. They almost look like little bumps and are dark in color. The inside of her ear is pretty clean. She also hasn’t had any contact with other animals. Her skin underneath the fur on the outside of her ear is a little blackish (which is common when she begins to grow new fur). She does have a couple of scratch marks on her ear from scratching. I do cut her nails every month.
Could it just be that she has extremely dry skin on her ears? Or could there be something more serious?

I plan to take her to the vet- but I worry because my vet doesn’t seem very adept with rabbits and he’s the only one in my area that claims to know exotic pets. Any help would be super appreciated!!

[Bam]

She could have scratched her ears and caused the scabs?

Has she been vaccinated recently? Scabs on ears are a rare side effect of some of the vaccines.

Ear mites as you say occur on the insides of the ears. Fur mites can occur on the outside of the ears and look like dandruff. They can form scabs that are the same color as the skin and easier felt than seen.

Some rabbits do get very dry skin during molting. You can brush the ears gently with a soft baby brush to get the “dandruff” off.

[DanaNM]

Sounds like it could be fur mites? Most rabbits have fur mites but their immune system keeps them in check, but then sometimes they flair up.

Treated pretty easily with Revolution, just be sure never to use a product containing fipronil (frontline) on bunnies!

. . . 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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