Possible ear mites or ear infection?

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taylor_wt

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Hi everyone,

The past few days I have noticed my bunny (2 year old Holland Lop) has been occasionally shaking his head. It’s not to the point where it’s excessive but I do want to keep an eye on him. I did my best to take a look in his ears tonight and didn’t see anything abnormal, but the lighting wasn’t great so I’ll take another look tomorrow. I did a little bit of research and the possibility of ear mites came up. However, he’s an indoor bunny and my only bunny so are ear mites still a possibility since they are spread between bunnies? I do have a dog in the house but they aren’t around each other and my dog hasn’t had any ear-related symptoms.
I’m sure it could probably be the start of an ear infection, too (although not sure why this would happen). This is all new to me though since he is my first bunny - any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
While an ear infection or ear mites can be a cause for excessive head shaking and ear scratching, it's also possible it's just a build up of ear wax causing irritation and your bun responding in this way. If it continues and/or you're concerned, it would be a good idea to have your vet check the ears. They may just need cleaning out. This is especially the case for lop eared rabbits who can have a harder time keeping the wax cleaned out on their own. It might be a good idea to just go ahead and book a check up and an ear cleaning regardless.

MediRabbit (ear mites in rabbits)

Medirabbit (ear infection in rabbits)

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Ear mites are possible even without other rabbits around. They can be transferred from things like contaminated hay, or from your dog being exposed to them outdoors and tracking them back in, while your dog is not actually being affected by the rabbit ear mite itself. Often ectoparasites will be species specific and the ear mite that affects rabbits doesn't usually affect dogs or cats.
 
While an ear infection or ear mites can be a cause for excessive head shaking and ear scratching, it's also possible it's just a build up of ear wax causing irritation and your bun responding in this way. If it continues and/or you're concerned, it would be a good idea to have your vet check the ears. They may just need cleaning out. This is especially the case for lop eared rabbits who can have a harder time keeping the wax cleaned out on their own. It might be a good idea to just go ahead and book a check up and an ear cleaning regardless.

MediRabbit (ear mites in rabbits)

Medirabbit (ear infection in rabbits)

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Ear mites are possible even without other rabbits around. They can be transferred from things like contaminated hay, or from your dog being exposed to them outdoors and tracking them back in, while your dog is not actually being affected by the rabbit ear mite itself. Often ectoparasites will be species specific and the ear mite that affects rabbits doesn't usually affect dogs or cats.

That’s very helpful! Thanks for all the info!
 

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