Is this normal?

[Rambobunny]

I previously posted about my vet giving my rabbit xeno 450 for parasites after lots of itchiness and some head shaking.
She did a check on his ears and said they looked healthy with no signs of infection or ear mites and did a skin sample but couldn’t see any mites.
I gave his first dose last Thursday and I’m regularly checking his behaviour. He seems to have itchy days - today being one of them with head shaking involved. I was told I should notice a difference after the second dose and third dose if it’s parasites but wanted to check if this wax was normal? Do you need to clean it at all? Advice would be much appreciated.

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

hmm I dont see any mites in the photo either. might want to have his inner ear checked. my bunny did have head shaking and itchiness before, no mites also but we were prescribed some ear drops

 

[JBun]

You actually should be noticing an improvement within a week after the first treatment, if it is mites causing the problem and they haven't developed a resistance to the antiparasitic being used. It's only been a few days since you first treated though, correct?

 

[Flipgirl24]

Mites are microscopic so difficult to see with just your eyes. Call the vet if you aren't sure. The vet would be the best source of medical information.

 

[Rambobunny]

You actually should be noticing an improvement within a week after the first treatment, if it is mites causing the problem and they haven't developed a resistance to the antiparasitic being used. It's only been a few days since you first treated though, correct?

Thank you I gave him the first dose last Thursday. He seems to be head shaking more than usual and wasn’t sure if the wax in lining on his ears was normal or an indicator of something else

 

[Rambobunny]

Mites are microscopic so difficult to see with just your eyes. Call the vet if you aren't sure. The vet would be the best source of medical information.

Thank you the vet did check last week for mites but couldn’t see any but prescribed the parasite treatment anyway to rule this out

 

[Rambobunny]

hmm I dont see any mites in the photo either. might want to have his inner ear checked. my bunny did have head shaking and itchiness before, no mites also but we were prescribed some ear drops

It’s just the lining of the ear is waxy so not sure if this is normal or causing the head shaking. What did they say your bun had when the prescribed ear drops?

 

[JBun]

The ivermectin will kill the mites right off, once it's absorbed into the rabbits system, which happens pretty quickly. So there really should be some improvement within a day or two. If not then your rabbit could have some debris stuck down there causing the irritation, which an ear cleaning may be needed to flush it out. Or the mite treatment isn't effective and you need to use a different one like Stronghold(selamectin). Or like I mentioned in your other thread, it could be an ear infection.

If your vet only said it wasn't an ear infection by checking the external ear canal for pus , that doesn't rule it out completely. Rabbits can get inner/middle ear infections with no pus or indication in the external ear canal. It's all inside the inner/middle ear. For inner/middle ear infections, it would take xrays to rule it out.

If this persists and you didn't originally see an experienced rabbit vet the first time, I would recommend seeing one for a second opinion. I mentioned the Beaumont clinic in your other thread, or you can look on the RWAF list for other recommendations.

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

It’s just the lining of the ear is waxy so not sure if this is normal or causing the head shaking. What did they say your bun had when the prescribed ear drops?

They said there was some waxy build up with a bit of bacteria...? something like that. He stopped shaking after two weeks of using the drops

 

[Rambobunny]

So thought I would update on this. Yesterday I noticed a rather large scab in hidden in the fold of his ear but luckily had already booked an appointment with a vet recognised by the RWAF. After thorough checking and examination he concluded that he didn’t have mites or an infection and said that must have done something to himself to cause the injury in his ear and this was what was causing him to itch and head shake. What he’s done as a free roaming bun I have no idea! Also the amount of ear wax is normal. He said to finish the parasite treatment and keep an eye on the scab and if any more lesions appear. I will have a follow up appointment in a month to check in.
He didn’t feel it was necessary to check for allergies yet as he is still a very young bun and normally takes a little time for allergies to develop but this can be reviewed if he’s still scratching in a months time.
It was a very long day for Rambo yesterday as it took an hour to get to the vet and had to wait 40 mins for our appointment as they were running behind due to emergencies.
He’s not very happy with me, but I’m just so glad I took him there so he can have a thorough check. I just hope he gets better as I hate to think he would be in discomfort He is still flopping and binkying every day which I hope is a good thing.
Anyway, thought I would update in case there are other parent buns who have a similar issue. I also wanted to thank people for taking their time to comment on my post and recommending me to see a recognised vet!