Continous ear scratching

[binkbunny]

My bunny is a 4 month old dwarf angora. He keeps scratching his ears and shaking his head. Any ideea why? I took him to the vet for a control, but the vet said everything was perfect. He has no mites or anything in his ears and the back of his ears, under his fur, the skin is pink as it is everywhere else.

Should I worry?

 

[aj82]

Well if thee vet says he is fine that's great. Did they check for an ear infection?

 

[mariethomas]

Not sure about the head shaking but my bunnies have done this since I brought them home. They can be playing or just sitting and randomly do it. They scratch their ears and little bodies. From my experience they've always been fine and have had no ear infections. Hope your buns are okay.

 

[JBun]

Occasional ear scratches and head shaking is normal, but if this seems to be an abnormally common behavior for your rabbit, where it is happening quite frequently and causing quite a bit of irritation, then there is likely some sort of problem. Most often this type of behavior is due to mites or an ear infection. Was a skin scrape done to check for mites? Was only a visual exam done to check the ears, or was a swab done to check for bacteria, or xrays to check for an inner ear infection? If it hasn't ruptured into the ear canal, there may not be visible signs, and an xray would be necessary to detect it.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

 

[binkbunny]

The vet performed a visual exam and also used a cotton swab to check for any uh, filth I believe. It was just as clean as it entered the bunny's ears. Not sure if that means that she checked for an ear infection.

Also, I've noticed this morning that there is a sort of small bump under each of his eyes. Tiny, really. I tried looking but his fur is really long and I couldn't see much. What could it be?

I'll be taking him for another check up this month, but I just want to make sure from now.

 

[selbert]

Mites are microscopic, so a visual test for them doesn't always work. Sometimes mites don't leave the common 'dandruff' sort of stuff. My little girl was checked and then a couple of days later started losing fur due to mites, another trip to the vet it was! I would recommend going back to the vets and insisting a scrape test to be done, especially if there is a new symptom.

I hope you find the cause soon! Best of luck.

:brownbunny