drooping ear

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bunniekrissy

bunniekrissy

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So this morning I noticed one of Sonicka's ears was drooping downwards. When I got home from work it looked normal but then a little bit ago it was drooping again. I have never seen this before.

She does not have ear mites; I can't see anything abnormal in the inside of her ears. Should I be worried about an ear infection or does this ever happen just for no reason?
 
Are you sure that she was not doing theteeth grinding in pleasure rather than pain. ?


If the ear continues to droop and you believe that she is grinding in pain then she should see a vet ; she could have an infection

I'm not sure how you know that she doesn't have mites as it is not always apparent


 
I am not sure the grinding was from pain.

I was unaware that there could be ear mites without scratching and the usual yellow gunk in the ears? That is how I've always seen ear mites in the past. Her ears look clean and normal.

Thanks - I'll watch her and call a vet if it continues...

:(
 
It could also be an ear infection that's causing the drooping. Mites sometimes can't be seen by the naked eye as well, because they can be quite deep in the ear.
 
I called the vet and she recommended bringing her in to check her ears. She won't be in the office until monday after tonight ... so I made an appointment for this evening.

I am getting so stressed with all these bunny problems :(
 
Well, I ended up canceling the appointment. If something becomes more obviously wrong, I can get her to a different vet over the weekend. Her ears look pretty much normal tonight and she's acting normal. Hope it's nothing!
 
Sonicka went to the vet today because her left ear is now lopped completely much of the time, and she seemed a little bit lethargic. We tried a new vet because the rabbit vet at the office I just transferred Slippers to was not in today.

The vet examined her ears and didn't see any signs of mites or bacterial infection, but he prescribed an antibiotic anyway just in case it was something he couldn't see, deeper in the ear.

Her temperature was normal; her heart rate was normal; her stomach felt normal.

He told me basically the possibilities I already knew: ear infection, mites, what an inner ear infection looks like (head tilt), etc.

The antibiotic he prescribed is SMZ (oral). Does anyone know anything about it? I looked it up but didn't find anything specific about use in rabbits, except that it is safe for them (per the HRS page).
 
It's a sulfa drug that is commonly used for rabbits. Is SMZ all it says on the bottle. ?
it is not a strong antibiotic and sometimes cause GI upset so you might want to get some benebac.
if there is something going on with the ear you may be catching this in the early stages..hopefully it won't progress to anything else.
Randy doesn't liking using sulfa drugs on rabbits ; there are better drugs available but in this case since you are not sure what is going on it probably won't do any harm.
I hope thathe improves soon..
 
I do have benebac to give her. SMZ oral suspension is all it says. I have a lot of Bicillin for Slippers with lots of syringes if that would be a much better choice. But perhaps it's unnecessary since there was no visible inflammation.
 
It's pretty frustrating that you're not getting very good vet advice here. SMZ is safe, but like Maureen said, not the greatest. Bene-Bac with it is a must. Have you considered head x-rays? I just don't know. Did the vet do a skin scraping of the ear canal?
 
The vet did not do a skin scraping. The vet did mention x-rays or bloodwork if the antibiotics don't fix it. I didn't really like this vet though. He didn't know how to take her temp without flipping her over on her back with an assistant's help! I'll be taking her to the one Slippers saw last for any further appointments.

I suppose other possibilities are a tumor or abscess inside the facial region, or unexplained nerve damage. I read that at least in dogs there can sometimes be idiopathic nerve damage causing one ear to be held lower than the other, and there was mention of the same condition in rabbits.

Today Sonicka seems to feel fine. She comes running for treats, is eating, etc. I did see her shaking her head several times... more ear infection symptoms. But it is so confusing since there wasn't visible inflammation, and if it were out of sight in the inner ear she would most likely be having worse symptoms...
 
Oh, ok. That doesn't sound so good with the temp thing too--my vet has an ear thermometer so they don't have to do rectal. I hope the antibiotics help.
 
Hi My rabbit also got a similar problem. He fell just before it developed, but he also has a bit of digestive problem he is prone too when he eats too much dry food with seeds. I know he is not supposed to eat seeds (I read on rabbit sites) but my other rabbit choked and nearly died on dry pellets, he was minutes from death and was convulsing (my fiance did this maneuver like for humans and it came out! he did this three times before he could breathe well).. so I now give them a mix of pellets with some dry grass/hay (not sure what it is),sun flower seeds and some other cereals that I dont know a name for - I buy it at the pet shop and they said that many rabbits eat them and like them - they sell them as rabbit food.
Apart from his left ear that droops from time to time and smaller than normal droppings he does now he seems ok, a bit more withdrawn and rest and lies around more than usual as well. He eats ok. I also dont know what this is and has not taken him to the vet. He has nothing in his ear. When he fell he did not hit his head hard - but he fell from my fiance's hands when he was carrying him from about over a metre high (high for a rabbit) and hit his head on a soft part of the bed matress
 
Update:
Sonicka's ears seem better the last couple of days. I haven't seen it lopped anymore, though sometimes the ears look slightly less upright than usual. She's still acting fine.

As a side note for those of you who have been following the situation, Slippers' eye is STILL not completely better. I guess it's time for a culture. Th vet had said she would probably need to stay on the antibiotics for a month, but I would think if it were working there would be improvement in the first week. It's still a lot better than it was originally, but is just kind of staying at this stage...
 
Sorry, can you remind me how old is Sonicka is and her breed? Sometimes as bunnies age the cartilage breaks down a bit and they don't hold their ears up as well.

Dental issues like elongated roots can also cause an ear to droop. And it's not always easy to see middle ear infections. Just keep watching very carefully for any tilting or discomfort, change of eating habits, etc.


sas :clover:
 
Glad Sonicka is doing better. Too bad that Slippers' eye is still not healed. I hope doing a culture will give you the definitive answer to what antibiotic will kick that infection!
 
Pipp - Sonicka is a REW 5.5 lb bunny of unknown breed and she is about 4 years old.

I was joking that maybe she's just channeling Pepper's spirit. Pepper was my sweet half-lop boy who was my girls' bondmate.

Sonicka loooves her medicine though, which makes things easier. She just drink sit up out of the syringe without me needing to restrain her at all!
 
What kind of pellets does she get? I think that one downside of the movement towards restricting pellets and alfalfa to avoid weight issues is that its possible the lower protein counts can make the cartilage weaker.

Just a thought.

She's not very old, but she could have some lop in her breeding (and of course channeling Pepper). :)


sas :clover:
 
It is good she is better. Black is better as well. DOnt know what it may have been. I have started them on pellets again (watching his mate Red and portioning his pellets so that he does not gulp them).
 
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