My rabbit’s ear has been droopy (on and off) for like 5 days. Is that normal?

[cinnamon-droop12]

 

I own a female Cinnamon who I rescued from my backyard and for the most of the past few days, its right ear is drooping.

Cause for concern?

P.S : WE took it to a […] government vet hospital like 2 days ago and the vet held my rabbit by the ears while checking it (the vet wasnt very useful and told us that its ears droop all the time and that its normal and also just told us the gender)

*edited my moderator DanaNM

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, how long have you had the bunny?

Does it look like it may be a lop? Young lop rabbits ears don’t flop over until they get older, so maybe that’s what your vet meant?

Ear mites can also cause ears to hang down, but usually that’s only in very severe cases, so there would be other signs that I’m sure the vet would have noticed, even if they weren’t a rabbit expert.

We are having issues with pictures still, but if you add a pic to your profile, it should appear in your media library, and then you should be able to add it to your post.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I would definitely suggest finding another vet who is rabbit-experienced AND qualified, which means an exotic vet specifically, rather than a “regular” vet.

In contrast to ear drooping, ear curling can be a blood circulation issue.

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.

[cinnamon-droop12]

photo :: https://ibb.co/D475Fpn

[Azerane]

Tough to tell for sure from the pic, but the rabbit looks reasonably young and like it could have lop mix in there. Lops, and especially lop mixes may go through a growth phase where one or both ears lop, then are upright, then lop again etc. Lopped ears occur due to the shape of the crown, that changes as they grow so you don’t always know how they’ll end up until they finish growing.

Having said that, just to clarify the ear was lopping before the vet visit when he held her by the ears? If not I’d be concerned about soft tissue damage. Definitely do not see that vet again for your rabbit. A rabbit should never be held by the ears.

[DanaNM]

Omg I totally missed the part about the vet holding the bun by the ears! Definitely find a new vet!

if you search for exotics or small animal vets you will hopefully find one.

That said the bun looks quite young, so it could be the ears starting to ‘lop’

 

. . . 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.  

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Yikes, it’s shocking that a vet would treat a bun like that! 🙁 I hope that a proper rabbit savvy vet can shed some light on this, and on your rabbit’s sex as well. It can be difficult to see in young rabbits.

If your bun is indeed part lop and healthy, he/she may go through a very cute phase that’s called “helicopter ears”, or “bunway airlines”. It’s a halfway phase between straight-eared and lop where the ears stand out like a little airplane 😀

[cinnamon-droop12]

@Azerane

yes the bunnie’s ears have been also drooping before the vet held it by its ears

 

ps. i took a vet appointment for the bunny(the appointment is for today)

[jerseybunnies]

That picture looks like there could be lop mixed in. There are “helicopter buns” which are bunnies with one ear up, one ear down. Since the bunny is young, they could still have control in one of their ears, which is why one of the ears is only sometimes lopped. You might end up with two ears up, two ears down, or one ear up, one ear down.

I agree with the others, no vet should hold a rabbit by their ears.

How was the new vet appointment?

These are just my suggestions. Please seek an experienced veterinarian if you have medical needs / questions. Thank you! 

[LBJ10]

Sometimes stuff gets mixed in there, even with “pure bred” bunnies. I agree that it looks like some lop is in there. Bunnies with a little bit of lop can usually control their ears, but may allow one or both to lop when they don’t feel like holding them up.

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