Ugh... what have I done - Possible ear infection?

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Susie570

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I've noticed my buck scratching at his ear a bit, and if I rub that ear he shakes his head, like it bothers him. This has been going on for several days. I've looking into his ear and I don't see any redness or anything, but he is a lop, so it's difficult to see way down in there. It's just on the one side. Ideas of what I should do to treat this potential ear infection?
 
He may have gotten debris in there :shrug: you can fill the cavity with oil, rub it a bit and let him shake and hopefully he'll fling the object out and if it's mites it may loosen their wastes and bring them up do you can see it
 
Thanks, I'll get some mineral oil tomorrow and try it. <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 17, 2015 1:08 pm -- <br /><br /> I put some mineral oil in his ear.... haven't seen anything, but now I'm afraid that licking the mineral oil is going to make him sick or something. :/
His face looks all slimy from flinging the mineral oil out. :( I wiped him with a paper towel, but it hasn't done much. I hope this doesn't hurt him (give me some reassurance, people)
 
Dood":1f1f3lax said:
It can act as a laxative but shouldn't disrupt his gut flora too much - it can even help clear out fur balls

Oh good... I was feeling a bit of panic setting in at how pitiful he looks with this oil all over him :p
Poor guy is trying to clean himself off and just smearing it around.
It won't hurt him to have the oil down in the ear canal will it? I can hear it squishing around in there when I rub his ear. Makes me worried that it will GIVE him an ear infection, if he didn't already have one. It's been going on for a while though, without seeming to get any worse, so I'm not sure what that means.
 
LoL the first time I treated for ear mites my poor buns looked like grease balls. :lol: :x In fact I ask about it here the thread is called greasy buns..If you want to you can dust him with corn starch and brush it out..it will absorb any excess oil..That is when I figured 1 or 2 drops sure goes a long way...
Try laying him on his back in your lap..oil should come right out.. if it's swishing there is to much..I think..
 
katiebear":1lur4mfa said:
LoL the first time I treated for ear mites my poor buns looked like grease balls. :lol: :x In fact I ask about it here the thread is called greasy buns..If you want to you can dust him with corn starch and brush it out..it will absorb any excess oil..That is when I figured 1 or 2 drops sure goes a long way...
Try laying him on his back in your lap..oil should come right out.. if it's swishing there is to much..I think..

I put him on his back and rubbed his ear with a towel. He seemed to enjoy that.
I don't hear it squishing around much in there anymore, so hopefully that will do the trick and just leave enough in there to help any possible issue there might be.
Thanks, all :) <br /><br /> -- Tue Apr 21, 2015 7:09 am -- <br /><br /> When I checked on his ear yesterday evening and the base looked red and inflamed (which it hasn't been before). What now? :( poor guy, I feel like I've caused this by putting to much darned mineral oil into his ear. It's there something I can do?
 
do you think it may just be irritation from rubbing it with the towel? Does he have any other symptoms other than scratching?

If it's red but he's not showing a lot of other signs of an ear infection sort - I wonder if just trying to clean out his ear has just irritated sensitive tissue and if so I'd think it would be a hands off wait and see sort of thing. If there's more than just a bit of occasional scratching I might be concerned that he may have an ear infection that may need other treatment.
 
Wheels":1qhlukez said:
do you think it may just be irritation from rubbing it with the towel? Does he have any other symptoms other than scratching?

If it's red but he's not showing a lot of other signs of an ear infection sort - I wonder if just trying to clean out his ear has just irritated sensitive tissue and if so I'd think it would be a hands off wait and see sort of thing. If there's more than just a bit of occasional scratching I might be concerned that he may have an ear infection that may need other treatment.

Well, the towel rubbing was several days ago. I haven't noticed him scratching or shaking his head, unless I mess with the ear. I thought it MIGHT just be irritated... but it obviously worries me since I know that Mini Lops are prone to yeast infections and that they can be serious. What I would really like to do is find a way to dry the ear out, if it's possible without causing him any further problems. :/

Isn't there an ear powder that is used on dogs and cats? Does anyone know if that would be safe to use on my boy? He seems to be acting fine so far... he's moving around, eating, being friendly and such. I'm just really worried now. :/
 
we used to get Zymox Otic for a dog we had with bad ears - it said it was for both cats and dogs so I would cautiously assume that it would be relatively safe for a rabbit... For our dog it kept her ears clear with a few drops and much easier than taking her to the vet all the time for Meds...

I don't know if it works in rabbits I've never had this issue - even with my passel of minis here in the swampy side of Arkansas.
 
You can check for a yeast infection by smelling his ear- it will smell like dirty socks. :sick:

I haven't yet had to treat a rabbit with an ear infection, but I have treated dogs and cats for infection and/or mites, and I'm sure the same procedure will work on a rabbit.

You can make your own ear wash at home. Mix a solution of 1/2 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of Rubbing Alcohol. Some people recommend distilled water, which is probably best since the minerals have been removed- but plain water is fine too.

The vinegar changes the ph of the ear which inhibits growth of yeast and bacteria. The alcohol helps to dissolve wax and has an evaporative effect. I like to pour some solution into a small squirt bottle or syringe (needle removed, of course) so I can warm the solution prior to using it- it is more comfortable for the animal and helps soften the wax if there is any.

Fill the ear canal with the solution, squeeze the base of the ear shut, and agitate it back and forth- you'll hear a sloshing sound. This will help loosen debris. If buns are like dogs, when you let go he will immediately shake his head, flinging fluid everywhere... so you might want to do this outside.

Dogs and rabbits have an "L" shaped ear canal so you can gently clean their ears with a cotton swab to remove wax and not worry about puncturing the ear drum. Always moisten the swab prior to cleaning the ear so it is less abrasive.

Since there is some redness at the base of his ear, you might want to just flush his ear once daily or every other day for a couple of days and hope that does the trick, since his inner ear canal may also be inflamed and thus more likely to bleed.
 
MamaSheepdog":1dc7rm39 said:
You can check for a yeast infection by smelling his ear- it will smell like dirty socks. :sick:

I haven't yet had to treat a rabbit with an ear infection, but I have treated dogs and cats for infection and/or mites, and I'm sure the same procedure will work on a rabbit.

You can make your own ear wash at home. Mix a solution of 1/2 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon of Rubbing Alcohol. Some people recommend distilled water, which is probably best since the minerals have been removed- but plain water is fine too.

The vinegar changes the ph of the ear which inhibits growth of yeast and bacteria. The alcohol helps to dissolve wax and has an evaporative effect. I like to pour some solution into a small squirt bottle or syringe (needle removed, of course) so I can warm the solution prior to using it- it is more comfortable for the animal and helps soften the wax if there is any.

Fill the ear canal with the solution, squeeze the base of the ear shut, and agitate it back and forth- you'll hear a sloshing sound. This will help loosen debris. If buns are like dogs, when you let go he will immediately shake his head, flinging fluid everywhere... so you might want to do this outside.

Dogs and rabbits have an "L" shaped ear canal so you can gently clean their ears with a cotton swab to remove wax and not worry about puncturing the ear drum. Always moisten the swab prior to cleaning the ear so it is less abrasive.

Since there is some redness at the base of his ear, you might want to just flush his ear once daily or every other day for a couple of days and hope that does the trick, since his inner ear canal may also be inflamed and thus more likely to bleed.

That makes me feel MUCH better, MSD! I did smell his ear and I detect a faint odor, nothing obnoxious. If he has a yeast infection, I think it's in the early stages so I should be able to treat it, with any luck. I don't want to do anything more aggressive than necessary (ie: fungal creams, antibiotics and such) which might cause a lot more problems than it would fix. This sounds like a gentle approach, although he's going to hate me for messing with his ear. :/ Sweet boy ran over and started giving me kisses this morning though, so I hope he forgives me.

Do you know what percentage of rubbing alcohol I should use? I believe it comes in 50%, and higher concentrations...
 
Syberchick70":26cc0gk0 said:
That makes me feel MUCH better, MSD! I did smell his ear and I detect a faint odor, nothing obnoxious.

:) That's good- ear infections smell really gross. You might want to smell another bunny's ear to see if there is any difference.

Syberchick70":26cc0gk0 said:
Do you know what percentage of rubbing alcohol I should use? I believe it comes in 50%, and higher concentrations...

I use the standard stuff that is sold at grocery stores, etc.
 
Someone on Facebook scared the crap out of me by posting this: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm?hc_location=ufi

-- Wed Apr 22, 2015 10:07 am --

Well, his ear looked about the same today... at least it didn't appear to be any worse.
I just used some of the ear wash mixture MSD suggested. He didn't like it, but I put some of the rinse in, let him shake most of it out, then held him on his back and used a towel to help drain out any excess (I don't really want him licking something that has rubbing alcohol in it). I'll try this for a few days and see if he shows improvement.

I'm also considering something called DSF Powder? Not sure of the name, but it seems to be something you can dust in a dog or cat's ear to help combat any sort of infection that might be present. I would think to use that a few hours after the wash, to give the ear time to dry out. Maybe the powder isn't necessary, I just don't know.

Poor guy. I guess it's always a question of whether to intervene and possibly make things worse, or just 'wait and see' with rabbits. :/ <br /><br /> -- Fri Apr 24, 2015 8:35 am -- <br /><br /> Just wanted to post an update...
I did the ear wash two days ago and have seen improvement since then. His ear might still be slightly swollen, but it no longer looks red and irritated around the base like it did before the wash and no longer seems sore when I rub it. I'm not sure if I should just leave it alone at this point, since it seems to be on a good path, or do another rinse since that seemed to help.
 
Syberchick70":j3fcs1k4 said:
I did the ear wash two days ago and have seen improvement since then. His ear might still be slightly swollen, but it no longer looks red and irritated around the base like it did before the wash and no longer seems sore when I rub it.

Yay! I am glad he is feeling better! :D

Syberchick70":j3fcs1k4 said:
I'm not sure if I should just leave it alone at this point, since it seems to be on a good path, or do another rinse since that seemed to help.

Go with your gut- I don't think it will harm him any to give it another rinse, but you could also just take the "wait and see" approach.
 
MamaSheepdog":3i8w8uz3 said:
Syberchick70":3i8w8uz3 said:
I did the ear wash two days ago and have seen improvement since then. His ear might still be slightly swollen, but it no longer looks red and irritated around the base like it did before the wash and no longer seems sore when I rub it.

Yay! I am glad he is feeling better! :D

Syberchick70":3i8w8uz3 said:
I'm not sure if I should just leave it alone at this point, since it seems to be on a good path, or do another rinse since that seemed to help.

Go with your gut- I don't think it will harm him any to give it another rinse, but you could also just take the "wait and see" approach.

Thanks :) It's scary to see anything worrisome with the rabbits, especially since there's no local vet I can trust. I feel like I should give him one more rinse, but I'm hesitant because I know how much he hates it and I don't want to stress him. I'll see if I can get one more rinse done and see how he does from there. I'm afraid if there was something funky in there, it will come back if I don't eliminate it completely.
 
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