Ear - Illness?

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Suspect: Ear Mites ???

Evidence: Began Friday (Feb 1st)

-Magic was pinning back his ears to his head; and he's never done this before. About 2-3 weeks ago, maybe less, the temperatures were low, in the freezing areas, and the water froze, but lately it's been warming up a bit.

Do you think the cold may have to do with him pinning his ears back? He almost does it like a horse; he pins them back and just holds them in place, and looks quite scared, nervous, not happy, really. I'm worried about him and I've told my mom that we'll probably need to call the vet. So, does this seem like ear mites, or cold or fear or what? I've never seen him do this before, and it's worrying me. I tried looking in his ears at the 4-H meeting to see if I saw anything, but he just wouldn't let me look.

In the past, he's had trouble with his left ear when it was first tattooed, but I don't think that could effect both ears, could it?

Emily


Edited to Add: Forgot to mention, my cat, Charlie has ear troubles too, possibly ear mites, which we've been trying to get him an appointment too, but the dog lately has been going every 2 months for her skin illness, so Charlie's next to the vets, or actually a special animal care place that costs really low; anyhow, do you think he could have given whatever he has to Magic? Charlie is never around Magic because Charlie just thinks his bunny-brother is the most horrid creature on earth, but, is it possible?

Emily

 

[Spring]

Is he pinning them back when you go to pet him? Or is it all the time?Generally this is aggressive "Beware" body language, and I've seen bunnies do that to warn you that you'd better back off or you'll be cruising for a bruising.. or a bite . I have not dealt with ear mites before, but it's quite common and I'm sure others will help you out with this!

There's lots of information aboutear ailments/ear mitesin the RO library .

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=29507&forum_id=10

 

[Haley]

Its hard to say without seeing what he's doing, but if it were me I would have a vet look at it. They should be able to get a better look and see whats causing this. Ear problems are nothing to mess around with since they can lead to a lot more severe problems if not treated right away.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Thanks guys. Well when I was out feeding, he showed another sign of ear mites - he started scratching his ears. :shock:Immediatley when I came back into the house I grabbed a rabbit book and found some information. It says that if the case is caught early (which it is) to remove any wax, crusty stuff and put a little bit of mineral oil in the ear, not in the canal, but just in the outer ear, where the ear mites are at, etc.

I am going to bring him inside (because I need to get him away from the other bunnies) and check his ears; if it looks like ear mites, then I'll clean them the best I can, and carefully, and I'll also put some mineral oil in, again carefully. Otherwise, I'll take him to the vet if it seems to be something else, but also to be on the safe side, we'll probably take him to the vet anyway.

Emily

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Spring, nope he's not doing it in an agressive way; he's a very loving, shy boy and he's never agressive like other bunnies are, such as pregnant does, etc. He nips only sometimes i guess when he wants attention, and when you offer him your hand....

Emily

 

[Haley]

I just wanted to mention a few things- yes mineral oil will kill the live mites by essentially drowning them, but it wont kill the eggs. So it takes care of the problem temporarily and then you have mites again when the eggs hatch. You need something from the vet like revolution or invermectin to eradicate ear mites.

Also, I know your book says to do this but Ive read a lot of stupid things in books that look legit (like "you should always pick your rabbit up by the scruff of his neck!")... please please do not scrape off and pick at the crusty stuff around his ears, if there is some. This will cause his ears to bleed and it is very painful for a bunny. Vets knowledgable in rabbit care will tell you to treat for the mites and allow the crusty area to come off on its own.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Yeah I know Haley, I wouldn't do that. It says you can let the crusty stuff fall off on its own by putting some Mineral Oil on it, too loosen it up. Here is the ENTIRE script from the book "The Rabbit Handbook" by Karen Gendron:

Ear Mites:

"Ear mites are caused by a contagious, microscopic, spiderlike bug. A rabbit with ear mites will have a lot of crusty material on his outer ears. The ear mites that infest rabbits' ears are called Psoroptes cuniculi. It is not the same type of mite that cats and dogs commonly get. Cats have been known to carry the Psoroptes mite and pass it on to rabbits.

Rabbits with ear mites often scratch at their ears and shake their heads. A simple infestation caught early may be treated by cleaning the discharge from the outer ears and applying mineral oil. More complicated cases need to be treated with medication, usually ivermectin, dispensed by your veterinarian.

Symptoms: Flaky discharge in the ears, scratching at the ears

Cause: Psoroptes cuniculi mite from another infected rabbit

Treatment: Mineral oil applied to the ear; medication from your veterinarian

Prevention: Keep infested rabbits away from other rabbits."

Right now I'm getting ready to go and get Magic. Do mites live outside the ears? Like, if I put another bunny in his cage will she get it? And will her old cage be infected? I have a playpen I can put Magic in, in my room if the cage is infected. Tomorrow I'll have to clean the cage, and clean everything else.

I believe this infestation has been caught early, which is good. I think Magic may have picked this up from a rabbit at the last rabbit show That just makes me so mad. I take extra precautions to make sure my animals are healthy for shows, and then someone shows up with a sick animal and it spreads Grrrrr! I wish ALL shows had vet checks, even 4-H shows, ARBA shows, etc. not just fairs!

Emily

 

[Haley]

Yup, mites are highly contagious. Usually when you treat a rabbit for mites, you should treat any bunny with whom he has come in contact. Mostbreeders would probablyrecommend treating the entire herd if he's been in the same area with them.

I would take him to the vet and have them take a look. If the vet confirms its mites, see if they will give you enough medicine to treat anybun he has come in contact with.

For now, keep him away from other bunnies. Also, you will want to clean out his cage very well and disinfect it. Probably a good scrubbing with bleach would be best, just be sure to rinse/wash it very thoroughly with hot water after you use bleach.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Haley, Thanks!

He's up at the house right now, in the playpen; it's as secure as I could get it, but no animals can get inside, and he's to shy to try and escape (unless he jumps) so that's good.

He has food, water, a carrier to relax in (which will be cleaned/sanitized after use) and some towels over a thick bed of newspaper - just in case he potties on the rug; but I will put some shavings in the carrier tomorrow so that he can use it as a potty if he wants, otherwise I'll just put a towel in it. He's hopping around as I type, checking things out. He is right below my fishes, so he'll get lots of attention, lol. Plus I made sure I got him a water dish, cuz his water bottle would keep me up ALL night! Im just hoping him bouncing around won't, but I could use a little noise....except for his digging which he's doing right now. hehe.

I'm going to check his ears after I make shure the kennel door is shut so he can't escape into it! Lol.

Emily

 

[bunnybunbunb]

Ears might are quite easy to treat let alone know if they have them. Just look in the ear. If there is any crust then they have themI check mine's ears at least once a month. I rarely bring knew rabbits in so I have never had it in my herd(only rescued rabbits that have had it). The oil works very quite.

 

[naturestee]

It's also possible that he has an ear infection, not mites. Or there is a secondary infection caused by the mites. Rabbits with ear infections don't always get head tilt, some just flick their ears a lot, scratch, or hold their ears differently.

If you can't see evidence of ear mites- crusty brown/red stuff in the ears, I'd take him to a vet. They can get a better look with their scopes, and if there are no mites then they can treat him for an ear infection.

Same with the cat. My cats had ear mites when they were babies but you could see a little bit of crusty stuff with the naked eye. Then about a year ago Eve started scratching her ear again. I brought her to the vet and it wasn't mites, it was a yeast infection in her ear. Cheap meds, cleared up really fast.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

thanks bunnybub and naturestree. I will have to look again at his ear, last night I looked but it was hard to see, so my mom said to use a flashlight So i'll do that today. I did see a little bit of brown stuff in his ear, but I couldn't tell if it was crusty stuff or not, so I'm hoping if I check again, I'll be able to tell. I'm sure a magnifying glass would be pretty handy too, hehe.

He doesn't seem to be bothered by the ear right now (i stayed home from school cuz he kept me awake ALL night long! ) and he's bouncing around having a good 'ol time.

He's eating/drinking like normal; poos are normal too and soare his behaviours, except for favoring his ears.

Emily

 

[ra7751]

Couple of quick comments here. First for ear mites....the best treatment I have found is a kitten drug that contains ivermectin....it's called Acarexx. It comes in a package with two ampules...one for each ear. Unlike many other meds, there is no requirement to clean the ears and this is a one time treatment.

Naturestee mentioned something that most people, including vets, don't even think about. Yeast infections. Lops, especially Hollands, are very prone to yeast. If you look back on some of my previous posts regarding ear infections, you will see I mention performing a cytology. That procedure is like a mini-culture. It can't identify the precise bacteria...but it will show if there is bacteria, yeast or both in a particular situation. It is not terribly expensive and can save the expense of a full culture if no bacteria is found.

Randy

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Thanks Ra. Well his ears are better now; we determined it to be cleaning. He HATES the sound of us cleaning cages, using scrapers, etc. Cuz today when we were cleaning he did thesame thing and I hadn't noticed it since Sunday when we were cleaning some things out and the first time it was noticed was on friday, whilst cleaning cages.

His ears are good, not scratching anymore, no yucky crusty stuff inside; but I'm still on the look out and if I notice anything else he'll go to the vets.

Emily