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Advice needed - ear amputation :(

o-Chloe-o

Mama Doe
So we took Jessie to the vets for the 6th time last night for her bitten/infected ear. We have been giving her a course of baytril (3ml a day) and cleaning the wound once a day. The vet said she was expecting to see more improvement and has now ordered penicillin for her (will most likely be going for the injection tonight).

Has anyone else had this, the vet said its very strong so there is a chance this is going to upset her digestive system, but this is the last option before amputating the ear altogether. We want to save her ear if we can :( Has anyone else been through this, does the penicillin work?? The vet said that she is worried the infection may now be travelling up the ear closer to her head :(

If it comes to it, how will she cope with one ear??? xx
 
Ah I see :wave: Well, if she does need an amputation she will be absolutely fine, plenty of buns survive with one or no ears :thumb:
 
Thanks, the vet said she would cope but I just worry :( have you had any experienc of penicillin in rabbits? Xx
 
Thanks, the vet said she would cope but I just worry :( have you had any experienc of penicillin in rabbits? Xx

Yep, i had to inject it into Ginger for a good few months.

Its imperative that they do not have it orally or swallow ANY, as it can cause, at best, a very very problematic GI tract problem, and at worst, death unfortunately. I'm not saying that to scare you, i'm saying it so you have all the facts, i'm sure the vet will explain the issues to you.

Sorry to hear the issue with the ear :(
 
thanks Graham. The vet said it will be an injection so she wont be having it orally - would she have trouble eating do you think? How did Ginger do with it - was everything going in and out normally? :? xx
 
thanks Graham. The vet said it will be an injection so she wont be having it orally - would she have trouble eating do you think? How did Ginger do with it - was everything going in and out normally? :? xx

I wouldn't think so, it's just an anti-biotic - she may get a bit of an upset stomach as its quite a strong abx, but apart from that, totally normal, for her anyway!
 
ok thanks. The way the vet was going on she made it sound quite dangerous to be honest, so thats a bit of a relief! Well fingers crossed this will do it and she can keep her ear :( xxx Which reminds me, gotta call them again to make another appointment!! :roll:
 
Ok so just spoke to them, its going to be a daily injection, they will do it for us tonight and then we will go back tomorrow again for them to show us how to do it ongoing :(
 
ok thanks. The way the vet was going on she made it sound quite dangerous to be honest, so thats a bit of a relief! Well fingers crossed this will do it and she can keep her ear :( xxx Which reminds me, gotta call them again to make another appointment!! :roll:

Always bear in mind that vets are obliged to point out the possible risks and negative effects of any medical or surgical intervention into an animals physical welfare. In almost all cases, the risks are greatly outweighed by the positives, or the vet simply wouldn't consider whatever technique they use.
If it comes to amputation, Im absolutely positive Jessie would cope just fine. Of course any G.I procedure carries risks with animals just as it does with humans, and no doubt your vet will warn you of all the possible risks involved should it come to this. However, if it means an end to chemical/medicinal treatments that may be ongoing and possibly with little affect, then surgery has huge, extensive positives.
My Benjamin has had to go under G.I a few times in order to save his life, and in his case, the risk of G.I was quite steep because of his brain being damaged already. I always knew that Benj in particular had quite a high chance of dying under G.I, but at the times involved, he would've died without the needed treatment. Last time, he did react extremely severely to the G.I, but as I said, Benjamin is an extreme case anyway. However, (and please GOd, dont let there be a need ever again, please please please...) if it is a case of he very may well NOT survive another G.I (which is more or less a given certaintly now) BUT, without it he has no chance at all, then I would take that chance.
I wouldn't worry too much about Jessie managing with only one ear if it comes to that, I really cant see that it would have any long term affect on her, other than wiping out the need for treatment after treatment. And that can only be good :) x
 
If you are giving penecillin I would want the bun on a good probiotic such as biolapsis or similar just as extra precaution. You need to be vigilant regarding their tummys as there are risks but I wouldn't hesitate to use it in any of my buns if necessary.
 
If you are giving penecillin I would want the bun on a good probiotic such as biolapsis or similar just as extra precaution. You need to be vigilant regarding their tummys as there are risks but I wouldn't hesitate to use it in any of my buns if necessary.

:thumb:
 
Thanks for all of your advice, Jessie is currently on bio lapis, the only way she will eat it is if I soak her pellets in it… Probably making her overweight but I guess if it’s the only way she’ll take it…  She had some fibreplex before which was easier (although more expensive) I think ill just get that again maybe… sometimes I wonder about how rabbit savvy my vet is as the only reason we started going is because a couple of weeks ago we moved house, and this happened only a few days later so I literally googled the closest vet and went there.

She does know what she is talking about I just wonder how much experience she has had with rabbits, and then I worry about the surgery. Hopefully it wont come to that… Just as an example she was talking us through the options, but they didn’t have ‘ear amputation’ on their system for rabbits which leads me to believe it hasn’t been done there before. We have been to this vet 6 times *tonight number 7* and we didn’t hang about at the beginning either so genuinely thought all this would be behind us by now…

Anyway, I will try not to worry so much but its hard isn’t it, I love Jessie so much and hate to think of her suffering. I am pleased to hear that she could be totally fine with one ear, its silly really but I thought their ears helped them balance and stuff – I must be wrong if a rabbit can live with no ears…:roll:
 
If your not sure about the vet and experience with small furys i would say get a second opinion. When I got 3 piggies I went to the bet because one had a scab on her nose. I suspected ring worm (from the pet shop) and the vet told me I was rong and gave some medication for a different infection. I kept going back and then one day I had to see a different vet (who took an intrest in small furys) and she instantly said ring worm...by wich point all the others had got it coz the vets advised me not to spit them up. Luckly the pet shop was paying the bill because the vet said that it was because of them they got it but I was so glad there was that second person who had an intrest. I now make sure all my pets see her as they are all of the small fury sort.

Hope it clears up soon!!!!! :)
 
Just noticed loads of typos in that... sorry I should have looked back over it before I posted... you get what I mean tho.
 
thanks dont worry about typos i do them all the time :lol:
well we went again tonight and saw the other vet in the practice this time, who has been there about 12 years so fairly certain she knows her stuff!!! I didnt know but she checked Jessie over when she was there yesterday too so I kind of have a second opinion already - but her opinion is the same in that we need to try this penicillin and hope it clears up and if not, her ear will unfortunately need to go :( I actually think her ear looks marginally better today anyway, and the vet said the swelling near the top of the ear has gone down a bit so everything crossed this penicillin really will do the trick. We just have to be really careful of Jessie making the wound worse by scratching it so we need to keep a close eye on it. If it becomes excessive we have a buster collar as an ultimate last resort before surgery if she just wont leave it. Both the vet and I are really reluctant to do this so i doubt very much it will come to it!! I got her some of the fibreplex as well instead of the other one as she does prefer it.. expensive taste!!:roll: Thanks for the get well wishes xxx

Oh and I must say aswell they have stopped charging any cosultation fees for this as well now, which is absolutely amazing as I am going there at the very least 2-3 more times i would say, shes back again tomorrow and the next day for the injection, then we are being shown how to do it ourselves... xx
 
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