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Advice - Dry ears, not mites

dortoto

Young Bun
Hi there

I was wondering whether someone has some advice for me. My bunny has been over-grooming his ears making it dry and scaly with a bit of hair loss from scratching. It started after he was malting and I am desperate for something that would help heal the skin. The vet recommended Sudacrem but this didn't work neither did the over the counter tee tree ointments. Someone suggested drops of olive oil however this didn't work either and I don't want him to digest the oil in any event because I am not sure how good it is for him. I also can't really stop the grooming....

Any advice would be great!

Thank you in advance
 
How do you know it's not mites ?

Been to the vet a few times and Ive since read all the information that I could get my hands on in relation to mites and other ear related issues..... The vet also said that bunnies who lives indoors are more prone to dry skin.

I forgot to say it's on the outside/top of his ears, the insides are hunky dory..
 
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It could be a behavioural problem

Could he be bored ?

I honestly have no idea, he is free to roam around the house except when I am out. I don't go out for long periods of time most weeks and I play with him so I don't know about boredom, how can you tell? And if it's behavioral what can I do about it? Any ideas?
 
I honestly have no idea, he is free to roam around the house except when I am out. I don't go out for long periods of time most weeks and I play with him so I don't know about boredom, how can you tell? And if it's behavioral what can I do about it? Any ideas?

Can you explain a bit more about his daily routine and his behaviour. Also can you post a picture to show how his ears look ?
 
Can you explain a bit more about his daily routine and his behaviour. Also can you post a picture to show how his ears look ?

Hi there... his daily routine......

Let out around 7.30am, sniffs around a bit and lie around waiting for me.. I am done and play with him around 9am, petting and giving him veg. He then goes into the other room and lies about for a few hours. Around 11am/12 he'll come to me in the living room, sniff about and I pet and play with him a bit, then he goes to the other room again and lies about or lies in his bed for a few hours. Around 4pm he is more active while I start clean the house and start cooking, he expects another bit of veg around this time so runs after me in and out between the rooms, then have his veg and lies with me in the living room whilst I finish dinner. During the evening he hops about in and out between the two rooms and possibly the bedroom but he isn't allowed in there really so I let him sniff about when I am in there otherwise not at all. I go to bed late because I study and paint, so he is up with me and around 11pm when my husband goes to bed he is up and down in the living room with me sniffing everywhere. Not all the time though, he lies a bit then comes for a pet a bit then sniffs around a bit, we go to bed around 2am. and so on.... if i move between rooms he is right behind me etc..

does that make sense?


 
My French lop is an indoors bunny and has this a bit. My vet said to just put some Vaseline on to stop them getting sore. As it is a bit thicker than Sudacrem it works well for Buster :thumb:
 
Hi there... his daily routine......

Let out around 7.30am, sniffs around a bit and lie around waiting for me.. I am done and play with him around 9am, petting and giving him veg. He then goes into the other room and lies about for a few hours. Around 11am/12 he'll come to me in the living room, sniff about and I pet and play with him a bit, then he goes to the other room again and lies about or lies in his bed for a few hours. Around 4pm he is more active while I start clean the house and start cooking, he expects another bit of veg around this time so runs after me in and out between the rooms, then have his veg and lies with me in the living room whilst I finish dinner. During the evening he hops about in and out between the two rooms and possibly the bedroom but he isn't allowed in there really so I let him sniff about when I am in there otherwise not at all. I go to bed late because I study and paint, so he is up with me and around 11pm when my husband goes to bed he is up and down in the living room with me sniffing everywhere. Not all the time though, he lies a bit then comes for a pet a bit then sniffs around a bit, we go to bed around 2am. and so on.... if i move between rooms he is right behind me etc..

does that make sense?



So when does all the over grooming of his ears take place ?

Is he a Lop Eared Rabbit ?

How long did you persevere with the Olive Oil ? I assume you were rubbing it into the dry skin, not putting it into the Ear Canals ?

Aloe Vera Gel may be another thing to try.

Has the Vet taken a skin scraping/ear swab to check under the microscope ?
 
So when does all the over grooming of his ears take place ?

Is he a Lop Eared Rabbit ?

How long did you persevere with the Olive Oil ? I assume you were rubbing it into the dry skin, not putting it into the Ear Canals ?

Aloe Vera Gel may be another thing to try.

Has the Vet taken a skin scraping/ear swab to check under the microscope ?


Aloe Vera sounds nicer to use. I'm going to try that. Buster had a skin scrape taken, but nothing to worry about, but Paddington does overly groom Busters ears we think.
 
I have actually tried aloe vera gel two weeks ago, this is something I bought at pets at home. I used it very sparingly because he had an upset stomach after the first day and I didn't want to take the chance. It is quite difficult to get the right amount onto his skin under the fur because it's quite sticky....and this also made him groom his ear even more.

I forgot to mention his grooming, it's frequent throughout the day... he is actually grooming at the moment! When I say he goes to lie down in the other room he lies, nibbles on grass and grooms, same when he's sitting with me he'll sit a bit and groom a bit.

He's a lopppy...

I did olive oil for about 4 days without improvement and nope not near the ear canals, only on top of the ears (outside).

I think the next thing is a skin scraping. I will have to insist on it because she told me last time that it's not necessary because it started when he was malting and that they get dry skin when malting.

I thought I'd mention that I did take photographs but it's not very clear, he has a shiny black coat and you can't really see the dry underneath. It flakes with a bit of hair loss but nothing at all like the pictures they have if you google rabbits with dry ears.
 
I think my rabbit is doing this too but around his neck area. It's scaly like dandruff.
I've checked him all over and no mites are visible. I'm searching what to do to!
 
I have actually tried aloe vera gel two weeks ago, this is something I bought at pets at home. I used it very sparingly because he had an upset stomach after the first day and I didn't want to take the chance. It is quite difficult to get the right amount onto his skin under the fur because it's quite sticky....and this also made him groom his ear even more.

I forgot to mention his grooming, it's frequent throughout the day... he is actually grooming at the moment! When I say he goes to lie down in the other room he lies, nibbles on grass and grooms, same when he's sitting with me he'll sit a bit and groom a bit.

He's a lopppy...

I did olive oil for about 4 days without improvement and nope not near the ear canals, only on top of the ears (outside).

I think the next thing is a skin scraping. I will have to insist on it because she told me last time that it's not necessary because it started when he was malting and that they get dry skin when malting.

I thought I'd mention that I did take photographs but it's not very clear, he has a shiny black coat and you can't really see the dry underneath. It flakes with a bit of hair loss but nothing at all like the pictures they have if you google rabbits with dry ears.


I'm sorry I will give aloe vera a go, I got confused with tee tree gel!!!!
 
I think my rabbit is doing this too but around his neck area. It's scaly like dandruff.
I've checked him all over and no mites are visible. I'm searching what to do to!

Yes Bob's looks like a bit of dandruff too. I am going to try aloe vera next. Vaseline was suggested with good results and if the aloe vera doesn't work I will try that.

Scratch that, apparently aloe vera is dangerous for rabbits. Does anyone know something about the gel being unsafe?
 
Yes Bob's looks like a bit of dandruff too. I am going to try aloe vera next. Vaseline was suggested with good results and if the aloe vera doesn't work I will try that.

Scratch that, apparently aloe vera is dangerous for rabbits. Does anyone know something about the gel being unsafe?

I have used Aloe Vera Gel numerous times on numerous Rabbits, as directed by my Vet. I have never heard of it causing any problems and I have never witnessed any problems from it in any Rabbit I have used it on. I would imagine a vast amount of the Gel would need to be absorbed/ingested to cause any problems.

http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB...sidue_Limits_-_Report/2012/04/WC500125013.pdf

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...v=onepage&q=aloe vera gel for rabbits&f=false

http://www.aloe4pets.co.uk/productinfo.html
 
I have used Aloe Vera Gel numerous times on numerous Rabbits, as directed by my Vet. I have never heard of it causing any problems and I have never witnessed any problems from it in any Rabbit I have used it on. I would imagine a vast amount of the Gel would need to be absorbed/ingested to cause any problems.

http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB...sidue_Limits_-_Report/2012/04/WC500125013.pdf

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...v=onepage&q=aloe vera gel for rabbits&f=false

http://www.aloe4pets.co.uk/productinfo.html

Thank you for that! I'm un-scratching aloe vera ;)
 
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