Lots of gunk in Bunz ear

[I have sweet furry bunz <3]

Last night I went to pet my Bun and he jumped a bit when I touched his ear. I touched the other and he was ok.

So I took him out and looked and there was quite a build up in there 

Of course I cuddled him and then took him for me to investigate the ear, set him in a towel so he would feel safe.

His ear is a bit swollen and it was obviously a bit painful, I looked up some stuff on what to do.

I got a small cup of warm water, very little peroxide in the water and q-tips.

I worked on the ear for over an hour, got a lot of gunk out but decided to give him a break. He was being very good. I talked to him through the whole thing. He would jump when it started to irritate him, I would comfort him after that then he would close his eyes and relax.I did this again today.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to give a bit of background. My question (s) are.

1. when is it imperative that you have to take them to a vet?

2. is it ok for me to take care of this myself? i have a lot of experience with animals and rescues and generally have always just handled most of the not so emergent stuff myself. I mean how dangerous is it to clean it out over a couple of days?

3. after i get done, i put him back and he digs in the ear for a bit. he seems to get some out too doing that, i assume i loosen it up with the water, but it does have a tiny bit of peroxide. like 1 part per 3 parts water.

he is still eating great, playing, he’s not being aggressive.

this is my first experience with buns so i dont wanted to get some opinions? suggestions? advice?

thanks!! He is the black and white in the pics, the little black one is shadow.

[LongEaredLions]

What cute bunnies!
Unfortunately, I think taking him to the vet would be your best option at this point. While it sounds like you are doing a fine job cleaning his ear, you are likely only treating the symptoms, and possibly not the cause of the buildup. This kind of thing can be caused by mites or ear infection, which might require prescription ear drops. I wouldn’t reccomend putting any type of liquid in the ear without consulting a vet as this could cause more irritation and possibly infection. Keep us updated!

[LBJ10]

I’m curious to see what this “gunk” was. If it was crusty, my first thought is ear mites. If that is indeed what it is, then it can be treated at home with Ivermectin or Revolution. I would recommend having a vet confirm it is ear mites though. But if you don’t take him for a formal diagnosis, it is safe to use Ivermectin or Revolution to see if it helps (in some countries, these must be purchased from a vet). If it isn’t ear mites, then no harm done. However, I worry about it possibly being something more serious and treatment was delayed because of the treat/wait and see approach.

Here’s what MediRabbit has to say about ear mites:
http://medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Parasitic/earmite/Psoroptes.htm

[I have sweet furry bunz <3]

thank you for your posts first off!

the gunk was crusty, it pulls out pretty easily after being loosened.

i do want to take him in, just wrong timing of course, i will have to wait till next week got hit pretty hard with stuff and i can’t afford it. i’m pretty ashamed to say that but that’s why i was trying to take care of it myself, it’s almost completely out but i feel the same, i think i should take him at least to get it looked at.

but this is why i asked, so i will get the money together and take him, i wish i could take him now and pay next week that would be ideal.

i will call around for pricing and see how i can get it done.

i will keep you guys posted, thanks again!!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I agree with the others, swelling, gunk and pain = vet. Hope you can get him seen soon. Keep us posted.

[I have sweet furry bunz <3]

** update for today **

i just looked in the ear and the redness is gone BUT there is still some gunk in the ear. he doesn’t jump anymore when i touch it so i ASSUME no more pain.

i am still going to take him in to have it checked of course but i am very happy to see the ear doing much better than a couple days ago.

** EDIT TO ORIGINAL POST** I wanted to edit the post but thought it would be difficult to see, as i thought the ear was swollen i realized it’s not. looking at both ears together i realized that it wasn’t because it still looks the same and both ears look the same as far as size

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