Rabbit Ear Infection Questions

[brow9930]

Hi,

Our 4 year old Holland Lop Winnie was diagnosed with an ear infection in both ears 2 weeks ago.  We’ve been giving antibiotics orally and antibiotic ear drops as well twice a day for the last 2 weeks.   We just had a follow up with the vet and there was improvement, but the vet indicated he could still see quite a bit of pus and redness in the ear so we opted to continue with the treatment for another couple of weeks at least.  Winnie is acting normally (and other than the stuff coming out of his ear and some ear scratching was acting what I would consider typical when he was initially diagnosed).  No head tilt or any external signs of an inner infection have been seen…possibly he was less active than he could have been for awhile prior to us noticing this but I wouldn’t say there was an extreme change in behaviour.  Last night for the first time in awhile he was running circles around the room and doing lots of binkys () all night so we take that as a good sign that he is feeling well.  

The vet clinic we’re going to is at a teaching vet hospital in the exotic animals clinic.  We’ve been advised multiple times by them that a CT Scan is highly advisable to check out the inner ear and talk of potential for ear surgery has been thrown at us if the scan shows an inner ear infection.  To me jumping to a CT Scan and talk of surgery seems extreme (added health risk to bunny and of course very, very expensive) without having given antibiotics a fair chance.  The vets have indicated that they suspect this could be a chronic ear infection for Winnie and that in time it is inevitable that he will have an inner ear problem with head tilt, etc. but again, to me it seems like an extreme prognosis to tell us that we need to look at a CT scan to determine surgery after only two weeks of treatment to be telling us our rabbit is likely to suffer from an inner ear infection until the end of his life…  

I have seen online that it could take several months of antibiotic treatment to fully clear up a rabbit’s ear infection and I suspect we could be looking at a long treatment in our case.  Most of what I see online in forums doesn’t seem to reference CT scans being done immediately for an ear infection.  Has anyone had a situation where they’ve seen an infection clear up after several months of treatment?   Do we need to really jump to paying $500+ for a CT scan at this point, or is it fair to try and clear it up medicinally first?  I trust that the vets we are dealing with are capable, but at the same time wonder if as a teaching hospital they are wanting us to go for a CT for teaching purposes rather than absolute necessity at this point.   I don’t want our bunny to be suffering, but he is acting happy and is not displaying discomfort so talk of surgery and everything just seems to be jumping ahead of things to me…but I am far from an expert on bunnies so anything that can be shared about others’ experiences would be appreciated.  

[Bam]

I have no personal experience with ear-infections, but I know that many of our members have. And it seems to be very true that they can take a long time to clear up and it is important that you get the right antibiotic, one that is effective against the specific bacteria involved in the infection. 

While waiting for others to see your thread and reply to it, here is an old thread (2014) about ear infections and ear surgery:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/133730/Default.aspx

(The member Megabunny ended up opting for the surgery and her bunny Gus did fine. You can read about that here: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/134036/Default.aspx)

[LBJ10]

Did the vet do a swab to see if it was bacteria or yeast? You want to make sure what’s being given will be effective for the type of infection. What is your bunny currently on? I know Megabunny is now doing injections because oral antibiotics have a hard time making it to the ear.

Honestly, I don’t think two weeks is enough time before saying it’s time for surgery. There are other options. I think surgery should be a last resort kind of thing.

[brow9930]

Thanks for the forum links – very helpful.

My bunny is currently on Enrofloaxin orally twice a day and Baytril-Otic ear drops twice a day. I’m assuming they did a swab to determine if it was bacteria or yeast, but couldn’t tell you for certain – lots of information was given to us so I’m sure I’ve forgotten pieces of it. That’s a good question though that I will try to check on. We’ve also been recommended to get an ear wash from the vet which we will follow up on tomorrow. It’s a bit of a struggle getting the medication and drops in…I can only imagine how much fun it will be to add in an ear wash for the poor guy!

[LBJ10]

Okay, so Baytril for both oral and ear drops. If it were me, I would continue doing what you’re doing. With Baytril, it can take a long time. With an ear infection, any antibiotic could take a long time really. Many recommend 4 to 6 weeks of treatment, but you should start to see improvement after a week or two. If it still isn’t clearing up, there are other antibiotics to try that might be more effective. Like I said, Megabunny was struggling with this for a long time and she’s now doing injections because the antibiotics make it to the ear better that way. You can certainly ask the vet about ear wash. It will help clear stuff out so there’s less stuff getting in the way of the ear drops. They also help dry things out and reduce swelling (depending on ingredients). Did the vet make sure the ear drum isn’t ruptured?

Honestly, the ear wash isn’t that bad. I’m currently using ear wash on Wooly and he is horrible to medicate. I tell people this all the time, he’s worse than any other animal I have ever tried to medicate (including the birds of prey I worked with at my old job). Forget about getting him to take anything orally. The ear wash, surprisingly, has an easier time making it into his ear. I just “sit” on him and stick it in his ear.

[brow9930]

The vet wasn’t able to check the ear drum unfortunately. They tried a scope when we went in two weeks ago but the ear was too swollen to get down there to see much. They are suggesting the CT scan to check things further and could have done another scope at the check up today but we left it for today. I don’t want to put him under too often for the scope as I imagine that takes a toll on a bunny’s system. His hearing does seem to be compromised (and possibly has been for quite some time and we didn’t realize) as he doesn’t react to loud noises. Good to know the ear wash may not be so bad – I can see where it could help clear the path for the drops.

[LBJ10]

His poor hearing could be due to a number of things, not necessarily a ruptured eardrum. Swelling and gunk in there, for example, would make it difficult for him to hear. Or if his hearing has been a problem since before the ear infection, it could be completely unrelated. My Holland is deaf and he was born that way. It doesn’t have anything to do with ear infections. Anyway, the reason I asked about the eardrum is because antibiotic drops can lead to ototoxicity if they are used on a rabbit with a ruptured eardrum.

If the swelling has gone down, the vet might be able to see in there now. If it were me, I would have the vet take another look at it. They can also determine if the current antibiotics are helping or if something else should be tried. I’d also ask about the ear wash. There are different kinds out there with different ingredients. But even saline might help reduce swelling and dry things up (like when humans use saline washes for their sinuses). I really don’t see the need to jump into surgery yet, unless the vet has a very good reason. Like you said, they may just be anxious to use it as a teaching example. But since antibiotics can take a long time with ear infections, I think 2 weeks is a bit premature.

[brow9930]

Thanks everyone – we’re picking up an ear cleaner from our local vet tomorrow (I hope) so we’ll start trying to add that into the mix and hopefully we’ll see more of an improvement when we return to the small animal clinic next week.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Hi….Momma of King of Ear Infections here My lop Bindi has had chronic outer ear infections for many years.

I highly suggest talking to your vet about doing a culture. That is your best bet to deal with a stubborn ear infection. If we’re dealing with an infection, my vet usually goes with Baytril Otic (sometimes oral as well depending on the amount of bacteria). If it doesn’t clear up or keep recurring we then do a culture. This is a sterile swab taken from the ear that is sent to the lab and given time to grow to determine what type of bacteria is present. There are several different types that can affect bunny ears and knowing which type it is will help make sure you are using the most effective antibiotic.

As for the CT scan. Not a bad idea if they are recurrent or very stubborn but the surgery is a pretty big deal and most vets reserve this for the rare bunny that is severely chronic with the infections. It’s basically restructuring the ear canal.

[brow9930]

Thanks for that suggestion – we go back a week from today so I will inquire about the culture.  We started the ear wash last night which has not been well received by poor Winnie but hopefully will help as well.  I’m noticing some bare patches under his ears now which I suspect may be from scratching after all these drops and washes.  Fingers crossed it all is helping!  

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