I am a little concerned about Kirby's scratching

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kirbyultra

kirbyultra

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Kirby had a little scratch on his ear that got a bit red a month ago when I went on vacation and my brother was bunny sitting. It went away after a few days but when I got back 6 days later I noticed that he made a habit of scratching his ears. I wasn't too sure if it was still bothering him but I cannot visibly see anything wrong with his ears.

Kirby started shedding a little wee bit a few weeks ago shortly after I returned from vacationand he's been shedding more and more as the days go by. His last winter molt was more or less the same. Lots and lots of fur slowly coming off and his mood just seems more down than usual from the dragged out furriness. He's a very vain bun :p

This time around, I noticed that hescratches his ears a lot. I can't say for certain but I feel like I see him scratches his right ear a whole lot more. He'll do it a couple/few times an hour at night so hard that I can hear the scratching every time he does it (I am in the room but usually turned to the PC working). But it's not just one ear, I just happen to notice the right side more. It's a real passionate *whackwhackwhackwhackwhackwhack* of he ear with his hind leg. But I don't see any redness. Nothing on or inside the ear.

I groomed him extra yesterday night because I knew he had a lot of loose fur. Today while I was petting him I noticed an area near his neck on his left side that looked like it was showing too much of the color of his fur that is close to his skin (I don't remember what that is called...). He is black on the outside in the fur inside is gray, so I saw a patch a gray. I kinda dug into it a little and saw that I could brush aside the fur there to see a bit of skin the size of a dime, but it's not bald. I did the same digging somewhere else on his body but wasn't able to easily see skin. The skin is not red.

He grooms himself all day long, as I said he's a very vain bun :hearts. He spends all day doing it and more often now than ever. I don't know if he is just overgrooming that one spot or whether yesterday I overgroomed him with a brush, though I don't think it was me. I usually groom his bum area more than the upper half because he does a pretty good job of that himself.

I don't really think it's fur mites. I don't see anything unusual on his skin or fur. The shedding is very gradual and overall, not patchy. He has not been outside. The only bun that's been in and out (my mom's place and the vet's) is Toby, but neither of them have ever been really outdoors. I don't think he could have caught anything.

Do you think he is just grooming intensely from the shedding? I've been sneezing a bit from h is fur being all over the place. Maybe that's what's bother his ears? :ph34r2Do you think it's any cause for concern?
 
If he is scratching his ears more than usual, it could indicate ear mites. They could be way down the ear canal where you cannot see them. Since your post reveals that Kirby has not been outside but Toby has, but not really. I would suspect that Toby picked up the mites from somewhere and gave them to Kirby.

When I found out that Prince had ear mites, I was hoping that Sweetie didn't have them, but she does have them. They can be transmitted rabbit to rabbit, and other ways as well.

I would get Kirby and Toby to the vet and have the vet check them both for ear mites. If one or both have ear mites get them both treated.
 
Hmmm ear mites? I took Kirby to the vet in mid-June for a case of sneezies and the vet looked deep into his ears. She even said he was blessed with very large ear canals which made it easy to examine and generally good for him as air can flow nicely. Nothing suspect at all even then. Immediately after a 10 day course of baytril, I went on vacation. When I came back from a 6 day vacation is when I saw him starting to scratch his ears. Can vets visually see ear mites through a scope and a regular ear check or is there some other test to diagnose? I would be happy topreempt ear mites if it was reasonable to take him tothe vet for these symptoms. He really does have big holes in his ears I can look straight down with a flashlight and there's nothing much to see :?Just white skin as far as I can tell...

And, I should clarify: I shouldn't say that Kirby has NEVER been outside. He was in fact an outdoor hutch bun before I got him. He was outside till about October 2008. I've had him since November 2008 and he's been an indoor bunner since. That was so long ago though. Can ear mites lay dormant for so long and then suddenly flare up? Toby doesn't scratch his ears at all, and he also has clean uppity ears. :?
 
Prince had mild/minor ear mites for about 4 months before he had to start on the injections for them. I believe that they can lay dormant for a while but I don't know for how long.

The vet can see the mites with the scope that they use to check the ears. Ear mites look like white tiny dots to the naked eye.

Some rabbits are not bothered by ear mites when they are mild/minor.

Some rabbits can get rid of ear mites. Their immune system can get rid of them if they are mild/minor enough.
 
Hi Autumn, I did look through the library :D Some links are broken btw... But after reading the links I'm still not sure if Kirby has any mites :?...

I want to take a better look at him tomorrow morning with better light and see if anything is there... I might be able to get him to the vet next week.
 
Try to get him to the vet on Monday. The sooner the better.

Ear mites are hard to see. Just remember what I told you they look like. You should be able to spot them, if not do not hesitate to get him into the vet.
 
It would be worth getting him checked out at the vets just to be on the safe side.

In terms of the area close to the skin, a lot of my moulting bunnies have that in the areas where the fur has come out but the new fur has not grown very much. Did the skin look healthy? Dandruff? Red or scabby or anything else strange?
 
Yeah, I would guess ear mites. If the skin isn't red or scaly, it's not fur mites, but ear mites can be so deep in the ear that they can't even be seen with a scope. It's sometimes just easier to do the treatment for them if you suspect them at all.
 
If it is ear mites should I ask my vet to treat both buns, would I have to bring them both in? Do I have to clean the house? Drat :( I think I'll try to get Kirby to a vet one day next week
 
I would ask to treat both, and I'd steam clean the carpet and upholstery. If they don't come into contact with fabric, don't worry about it. Part of the reason I have a Bissel Little Green!
 
At the hospital where I work we had a rabbit come in today with an absolutely horrible case of ear mites. Each ear was literally filled with the dead skin that flaked off. It looked like some kind of cookie made from puff pastry had been shoved into each ear. and it was spreading down his neck towards his back.
We all wore gloves to work with him and you could see the mites on our gloves.

I didn't see the people drop him off, but apparently they said that the rabbit isn't caged but runs on their property. In my opinion, there was no excuse for waiting this long to take the animal to the vet.

Basically what I'm trying to say is, if left untreated the problem will get much worse and more noticeable. They're easy to treat though. A simple injection of ivermectin from your vet will clear them up.
(Don't worry, I changed clothes and showered before coming anywhere near my own rabbits at home.)
 
Ear mites are certainly a possibility....as are other issues. And yeast should be considered since he was on Baytril (which isn't a really effective drug for rabbits....very oldschool). But some things about ear mites. It is not always possible to see them thru an otoscope and certainly not the naked eye. If I have any thought of ear mites....we swab and slide it under a scope. No doubt with that diagnosis. Ear mites will not self resolve. They will continue to be there and to reproduce until the adults are killed, the hatchlings are killed and a final third (at least mop up round) of drugs. The only exception to this drug protocol is Acarexx which is a one time treatment that will cover the life cycle of the mite. Mineral oil will not eradicate mites long term as it does not address the thousands of eggs. Many skin parasites will enter your house on your shoes (and other body parts). Many species of mites (and ticks too) can "track down" a host by sensing carbon dioxide that is given off by the animal. Many of these parasites are in grass...deposited by passing wildlife. They hitch aride as you walk thru the grass. I can tell you from recent experiences in the woods chasing a wallaby and a Cooper's Hawk....it is a banner year for these bugs. Many mites and ticks are very small and barely visible. We have also had a rare case of what appeared to have been intestinal parasites. We have a rabbit (she is nearly 10 years old) that would scratch to the point of bleeding....and that can lead to collateral infections. We even did a fungal culture. Every test we did was negative but she continued to scratch. I noted that she seemed to be in light stasis when the itching was at it's worst. We treated with Panacur, the issue resolved and has not returned. Granted, that was odd...but something to consider.

Randy
 
All of this has certainly scared the wits out of me. I have an appointment for Kirby on Thursday night. I still don't see anything odd at all in either buns' ears. Kirby's the only one who has scratched excessively. Toby is normally grooming. I really hope it isn't mites. I still am not convinced Toby brought any with him and I highly doubt Kirby had any from November 2008 when I got him as this is very new behavior.

I don't do any hiking and I don't live near any sort of wild life or so much as a blade of grass. It's very cement and urban stuff here :p That's not to say it's impossible that someone else in the apartment building brought something back and the mite hitched a ride on me in the elevator or something but I think the chances are slim to none.

I don't know, it's hard to really wager a logical guess in my opinion. But having heard everyone's concerns and responses, I will take Kirby to the vet and make sure she doesn't just take a look with the light thing in the ear, but does a swab and looks at it with a scope. But if it isn't mites then I don't know why Kirby is scratching :?
 
ra7751 wrote:
And yeast should be considered since he was on Baytril (which isn't a really effective drug for rabbits....very oldschool).
Click to expand...
Just wanted to highlight Randy's comment on yeast here- It is common, and can be VERY itchy. It often is hard to see, if seen at all with a scope very deep inside the ear. Typically an anti fungal will take care of this problem. Yeast is often considered secondary to mites but can be a primary problem. If treating for mites I would also treat for yeast.
 
I didn't quite catch what Randy meant when he said that :) Does Baytril caust yeast to build up? (the Baytril was for his sneezing) Is it naturally occuring in bunny ears and the Baytril caused some sort of imbalance?
 
The only thing I can think of is yes, some sort of imbalance. There might be bacteria that keep the yeast population minimal, but Baytril kills those, and then the yeast get out of hand?
 
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