• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Ear Mites

Fifibutton

Fifibutton

Wise Old Thumper
I am pretty sure Emrys has them. He reacted aggressively when I massaged his ears today. When I picked him up I noticed a brownish canker and dried blood creeping up his ears. He wasn't scratching but upon googling the condition well the pictures look similar to what he has. His appetite has not been affected and he seems normal and fine so long as no one touches his ears therefore I don't think he needs the emergency vet. I want to take him in tomorrow if I can.

What I'd like to know is:

I was reading about ear mites and read ivermection is often used. I still have Beaphar spot on phials which contain ivermection, can I use them on the back of his neck as usual in the (hopefully correct hope) that it will affect a part of the mite population and cause the canker crusts to fall off themselves?

What kind of treatment can I expect the vet to prescribe?

Do I need to clean his ears at all? I presume not but am not sure.

How much would a general ear treatment roughly cost? Funds are a little low atm but I can get a loan from my brother.
 
What treatment the Vet gives will depend on if there is also secondary bacterial infection. Vet may prescribe Ivermectin or a topical preparation such as Canaural

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p2-58-canaural-ear-drops.aspx

It's best not to try to remove the crusting as it will be very painful. Once the infestation/infection is under control the crusting should start to fall off. Then you can start to gently wipe it away with a sterile saline solution.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
What treatment the Vet gives will depend on if there is also secondary bacterial infection. Vet may prescribe Ivermectin or a topical preparation such as Canaural

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p2-58-canaural-ear-drops.aspx

It's best not to try to remove the crusting as it will be very painful. Once the infestation/infection is under control the crusting should start to fall off. Then you can start to gently wipe it away with a sterile saline solution.
Click to expand...



Thanks Jane, it did occur there might be an infection. This has never happened before. Emrys lives alone, the other buns are showing no signs just now. I don't know if it is significant but he is uppy ear, his ears rather large and broad and he lives outdoors 24/7. Mice and birds inhabit the garden but lately two rats have been sighted :evil: Could he have somehow caught something from them? There is no way they can get into his run but he does free range and pass over the ground they have passed over :?

I did think cleaning the ears is not the done thing but its good to have it confirmed. I'm not sure whether to go to emergency or not. If not is there anything I can and should do for him for tonight?
 
Fifibutton said:
Thanks Jane, it did occur there might be an infection. This has never happened before. Emrys lives alone, the other buns are showing no signs just now. I don't know if it is significant but he is uppy ear, his ears rather large and broad and he lives outdoors 24/7. Mice and birds inhabit the garden but lately two rats have been sighted :evil: Could he have somehow caught something from them? There is no way they can get into his run but he does free range and pass over the ground they have passed over :?

I did think cleaning the ears is not the done thing but its good to have it confirmed. I'm not sure whether to go to emergency or not. If not is there anything I can and should do for him for tonight?
Click to expand...

As long as he is eating and pooing OK and there is no sign of head tilt and/or nystagmus (flicking eyes) then he should be OK til the morning. It is best not to put anything in his ears until the Vet has examined him.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
As long as he is eating and pooing OK and there is no sign of head tilt and/or nystagmus (flicking eyes) then he should be OK til the morning. It is best not to put anything in his ears until the Vet has examined him.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jane, other than the ears he looks the picture of health and is acting normally. Is there any point in administering some Spot On do you think?
 
Also take your spot on with your to the vets so they can see what it contains. If I remember correctly one of the pet shop products is very similar to to Xeno but is a fraction of the cost so ask them to compare it if funds are low. I could be wrong but I am sure one of our clients did that.
 
Hope that you get on ok at the vet. Floppy had ear mites last year and it was totally out of the blue as well. A course of ivermectin and he was fine.
 
Thanks everyone for all your advice :)

I wasn't able to get the day off and take Emrys myself so my OH took him this morning. He was also asked to bring the beaphar in. The vet said the concentration of ivermection in the beaphar is too low to be able to fully combat the mites. Emrys got an injection instead. We've not been given cream yet as the canker is so thick the cream might not penetrate. The vet wants to wait a few days and see if the crusts fall off themselves. He also checked for any ear infection. At this stage it looks like there isn't one. But the worse ear is so thick with canker and Emrys really wriggled that it was hard to tell. He also bit the vet :oops: So we have to bring him back on Friday just to make sure about cream and infection again.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Did the Vet suggest giving him some Metacam as I expect his ears are a bit sore ?
Click to expand...

He got .2ml in the practice and he came away with bottle, same dose once a day. I've just been to see him, he is not a happy chap :( I've given him a heatpad and some parsley which he wolfed down. He isn't very used to being handled by the vet as up to now he was always healthy.
 
A wee update, Emrys was off his food last night and this morning and quite withdrawn so I took him in as an emergency appointment. He was given some fluids and critical care. Vet is also concerned metacam might have or will make his tum worse so he is off that just now. On the plus side we got some canaural ear drops which contain a steroid which should help with the pain. I got to look into Emrys' ear today with the autoscope and it looks the mites are having a party down there, ugh!

I got some photos as well and he even licked me bless him, I think he is feeling very sorry for himself. Vet also thinks the rats in the garden are the most likely source of blame. My dad wants to kill them even more now as Emrys is his favourite bun. I don't like killing but in this case it might be the only option as they have ignored the human trap completely.

All the other buns in the garden are going to get a cautionary dose of beaphar as well just in case.

DSCF5521_zpsd95da08e.jpg

DSCF5520_zpsffcf74ed.jpg

DSCF5518_zps8eb86756.jpg

DSCF5516_zps61499811.jpg
 
Fifibutton said:
Thanks Jane, I think it might be working already. He has been eating and pooping again :D
Click to expand...

The anti-inflammatory/analgesic effect does seem to kick in quickly. We have a lot of experience with sore ears here :cry:

I hope that Emrys is continuing to improve now and that his ears will clear up quickly xx
 
I gave him his drops this morning and one ear is almost completely clean! I was not expecting results so fast. He has been shaking his ears a lot though, I presume because of loosened canker and dead mites. I have seen any fall out or lying around his run though. He was also sitting hunched up this morning and looked ill in a stasis kind of way but as soon as I served breakfast he got stuck in, still shaking the ears occasionally. But apart from that I do think he is on the mend.

Thanks for all the support guys, it means a lot :love:
 
Fifibutton said:
I gave him his drops this morning and one ear is almost completely clean! I was not expecting results so fast. He has been shaking his ears a lot though, I presume because of loosened canker and dead mites. I have seen any fall out or lying around his run though. He was also sitting hunched up this morning and looked ill in a stasis kind of way but as soon as I served breakfast he got stuck in, still shaking the ears occasionally. But apart from that I do think he is on the mend.

Thanks for all the support guys, it means a lot :love:
Click to expand...

When are you back at the Vets ?

It might be a good idea to get his ear canals looked at again today as if the crusting has come away it may have gone in as opposed to out. So the Vet may want to flush his ear canals out to try to shift it as the more debris that gets stuck, the more likely secondary infection is, even with using canaural. The debris can form an impenetrable 'blob' and any bacteria under it will be inaccessible to the canaural.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Zigzag
Zigzag twitching head
Replies
15
Views
840
Pets mum
Pets mum
Leesa
Snuffles Protocol
Replies
1
Views
289
bunny momma
bunny momma
dex179
Head tilt but it's not E Cuniculi - Help!
2 3 4
Replies
70
Views
2K
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top