Ear Mites.. Problem. Please help. Sorry its long.

[michellexgix]

My female rabbit Willow has ear problems. I got her when she was 8 weeks old in May. She was born on the 10th of March. Every since I got her she was head shaking but her ears seemed clean.
Anyhow, two/three weeks ago I was holding her and saw that her ears had huge hard clumps in the two of them. It was really bad. So I took her to the vet then and she had a look, tried to clean them out and couldn't as she wouldnt let her. So the vet put her on Baytril and then asked to bring her back in two days time, which was that Monday for an annestectic and to clean out her ears properly.

So she got them cleaned out and I kept her on the baytril for one week, she got it twice a day for a week. The vet said when they got cleaning it was clear that it was ear mites and they were living in the hard clumps and that. So she gave her an injection of ivermectin.

But I noticed after that, she had dry skin on the opening to the ear and in the ear. Maybe because of what they used to clean it or something? And then four days after the ear cleaning I always saw some more gunk building up, only a small bit but I thought that she wouldnt have anymore because she was treated for mites and it was so soon after a full ear clean.

Two days ago I took a bit of the gunk out and it was soft this time rather than when it was hard before.

Shes due another injection Monday and then in another two weeks again.
It will be two weeks this Monday since she got the ear clean.

I'm just wondering can anyone give me any advice on what to do. I know it can't be normal for ear gunk to fill up again so soon after an ear clean and because she was treated for mites.
Vets here aren't experts in rabbit care, I thrust my vet of course but they dont see rabbits on a regular basis so anyones advice is welcomed.

Sorry its long.

 

[Sweetie]

The gunk build up could be wax building up in her ears. There is a cleaning solution you can use, I think that it is called epi-otic. It is a ear cleaning solution that will clean your rabbit's ears. I have something similar to that and it is called euclens otic cleanser. I use that to clean both of my rabbits ears and they are very clean. The ear mites should be gone by now if you caught them early enough. The second injection should clear the mites, but if not then there will need to be more injections until the ear mites are gone. You might want to clean your whole place if the rabbit is indoors to get rid of all the mites. Mites can live in carpet and other places as well.

 

[michellexgix]

Ok, thank you for answering.. The ear mites were pretty bad. She had them since her old home the vet suspects as my three boys dont have any and shes kept well here, inside, not in contact with other rabbits etc.

Thank you, so would ear wax build up the quickly? Does that mean I will need to clean her ears out regulary myself? If so do I just put the solution in and the wax come out itself or do I need to use cotton wool etc?

Shes getting another ivermectin injection this monday and then in two weeks again.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I use a solution in my mini-lop's ears twice a month, just a couple drops because she tends to get wax build up. I don't put q-tips or anything in the ears, just the drops and smush the base of the ear around a few seconds and she shakes her head. This keeps it in check so the vet can clean them properly once or twice a year. I can never see anything though without a scope to look into her ears. Sorry I can't remember the name of the stuff the vet gave us, but they should be able to provide a good solution.

 

[michellexgix]

Ok, thank you minilophop