Can rabbits get allergies?

[butte]

here again to ask about jojo. his pen is in a bedroom isolated from the rest of the house because we have cats and jojo is incontinent (old age i assume, he just wont use the litterbox for his pees anymore so he is on puppy pads) but he gets time to run around supervised each day. i noticed occasionally when he comes out his ears get really red and hot, and i figured it must be because its hotter out here. today i noticed that it happened again but when i went to touch his ears he flinched away like they were in pain, and was struggling when i tried to examine him. this has never happened before, not even when he had ear mites and head tilt. he doesnt appear to have the flaking he had before, there are no cuts or scratches and he doesnt particularly scratch them more than usual.

i applied some tresaderm in case it is mites again but maybe something else is causing it? it only happens when he comes out to the living room but nothing has really changed besides the kittens getting older. is he allergic to them maybe?

 

[butte]

just to update, after applying the tresaderm and putting him back in the bedroom for a while, his ears no longer appear red and he isn't flinching or jerking away when i touch them. so i have to assume either the tresaderm helped or there is something about the living area that set off that reaction that the bedroom doesnt have. its really concerning to me but i am glad it's only a temporary state at least.

 

[JBun]

Rabbits can have allergies, but it's not considered a common health issue. Usually reddened ears will have more to do with a rabbit having a higher body temp, and the blood flow to the ears increases to help the rabbit cool down. But it can happen for a rabbit to have a dermal reaction from contact with an allergen, or a respiratory or systemic reaction to an allergen inhaled or ingested.

Since you suspect a possible allergic reaction, it would definitely be good to keep an eye out for it repeating, to see if it actually was a reaction or something else. There are medications that can help with symptoms due to allergies. And if you have any concerns a severe reaction could occur, it's advisable to consult with a knowledgeable rabbit vet.

https://rabbit.org/veterinarians/