What is this thing in my rabbit’s ear? Has anyone ever encountered this?

[Barush]

TL;DR A skin rash/bumps in my lop rabbit, his sister doesn’t have it, so probably not mites/nothing contageous. Does anyone recognize this?

On 17.7. I noticed some unusual raised bumps or a rash inside my 5-year-old lop’s ear. He hasn’t been scratching more than usual and is otherwise acting completely normal — eating, playing, and behaving with his usual energy, so the discovery really caught me off guard. If I didn’t routinely check his ears, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed. His sister, who shares the same space and is always by his side, shows no signs of the same issue and appears perfectly healthy.

He has, however, been sneezing more than usual recently. We’ve had a very dusty batch of hay, and we also switched to a new litter brand that even made me cough a bit. I’m wondering if this could be some kind of allergic reaction? Aside from the sneezing, there’s no runny nose or other symptoms, and like I mentioned, his behaviour hasn’t changed.

I looked up information online, and to me it doesn’t quite look like ear mites – he’s barely scratching, and his sister remains unaffected. That gives me some hope that it’s not something contagious like mites, as I’d expect her to show symptoms too if that were the case.
[video width="768" height="576" mp4="https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/Video-17.7.mp4"][/video]
Does anyone here recognize what this might be? Could it be an allergic reaction, possibly irritation from scratching due to the new litter? Or even dry skin? I have since switched back to the old litter. I think it’s slowly improving too, but it’s still there. 

I’m in a really difficult situation at the moment. I don’t have any family support (I had to go no contact due to abuse towards me), my ex-partner I bought them with recently left, and I’ve just started studying. I feel terrible, but I can barely afford to eat now as is, I even had to skip eating several times a week as is, because my situation is so dire. I feel awful even writing this, but a vet visit would be upwards of 300€, which I simply can’t afford right now and would need to pay off for 5+ months.

Of course, I won’t let him suffer – if the rash gets worse, more inflamed, or doesn’t start to improve soon, I will of course take him to the vet. But in the past, we’ve had situations where a vet just told us to monitor things and come back if they worsen. So if there’s any way to avoid that initial visit while still keeping him safe and well, I’d be incredibly grateful for advice or shared experiences.

Thank you so much in advance! ❤️

[caption id="attachment_1997583" align="alignnone" width="300"] 17.7.[/caption]

ear two

[video src="https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/Video-17.7.mp4" /]

LATEST, 23.7.

[caption id="attachment_1997589" align="alignnone" width="300"] 23.7., today (very zoomed)[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_1997590" align="alignnone" width="177"] 23.7., ear 2[/caption]

video, 23.7 https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/video-23.7.mp4
video, 23.7. ear 2 – https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/video-23.7.-ear-2.mp4

 

(Videos checked by moderator Bam)

[Barush]

The formating is somehow all over the place, sadly. It didn’t look like this when I posted it.

But basically the first two pictures are how it looked on 17.7., both ears. Since the video didn’t show up (first ear, taken on 17.7.) I will post the link again here, if you’d like to check it – https://binkybunny.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/Video-17.7.mp4

The following pictures are the latest pictures taken on 23.7. – First is the first ear, second is the detail of the first ear, and then there is the picture of the second ear.

Hope this makes it easier.

[LBJ10]

The clustering reminds me of itch mites. Some people (and presumably animals) are unaffected by itch mite bites, while others have a pretty intense allergic reaction. Something like this could explain why the other bunny seems unaffected. Have you noticed any bites on yourself? Itch mites can sometimes get into batches of hay.

The other thought would be fur mites or similar. They can be present on bunnies and not cause any issues until something happens that allows them to be opportunistic (usually stress or weakening of the immune system). Again, this would explain why one bunny is affected while the other is not.

[Barush]

Thank you for your kind reply, I really appreciate!

Hmm… that would really look similar-ish, like the itch mites.  At least in the initial stages, perhaps it looked similar. Although now it looks more and more like dry skin, so I’m somewhat confused. (not like fur mites though) The thing is he is really not itching excessively at all, either – which I though would be a sign of mites.
Also, now, today finally the ear two looks almost normal, so strangely, maybe it was just an allergy. There’s some dryness left in the other ear, but hopefully it will clear out soon too.

I’m not affected at all.

Anyway, I guess I will have to keep monitoring it, and if it doesn’t improve or if he seems to be in pain, I will of course take him to the vet. But yes, it’s very strange indeed. I noticed some older posts on this forum mentioning ear dryness, but none of the people really uploaded a picture, so I can’t even say if it could be just the dryness now, or something else entirely. But it somewhats calmed me down, that at least one of the ears looks significantly better already. I don’t want to jinx it, though.

[LBJ10]

Usually when people talk about dryness on the ears, it’s flaky. Like dandruff.

If he seems OK and it is improving, then I don’t see any reason to rush him to the vet. It could have been some kind of reaction.

[auntie]

Bunnies are very sensitive and because of changes made in their diet or litter being used.
my bunny had ear mites and he was scratching and when I would just gently pat his ear he would whimper in pain and flinch away. He also had a lot of black stuff in his ear. Have you taken a flashlight and looked into his ear?

im not sure what litter you switched to or currently using but I’ve been using Small pet select- small animal bedding recycled paper pellets. I have it auto shipped from amazon. I pay $35.07 that’s with tax

I would continue to monitor your bunnies ears and watch his behavior. Also try touching his ears if it doesn’t go away it wouldn’t hurt to take your bunny to the vet.

[Bam]

I agree with auntie that earmites are very painful. They usually start deep in the ear and work their way up, so try to look down the ears with a flashlight. Ear mites typically cause thick crusts that are extremely painful to the touch.

It’s not typical for fur mites either, they tend to be at the base of the ears and att the nae of the neck, down the back. They cause patchy hair loss and “dandruff”-like skin flakes.

I’d go with monitoring for now.

(I’m guessing you’re in the US, not Australia, in Australia selamectin (Revolution, Stronghold) is OTC, but its prescription only in the USA. And now our standard public service message that we add every time we mention anti-parasititics for buns: Never use any product containing fipronil on a bun. It’s deadly toxic to them. It’s sold OTC under a variety of brand names, fipronil is the substance name.)

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