Mimzy has bluish ears-U/D infection-post #12

The last time this happened was during his head tilt two years ago when he'd been on high doses of metaclopromide for about 6 months.
He hasn't had this med since then.
Last night I noticed a definite blue tinge to his ears. It is pink lower down towards the canal. It seems to be worse in his upward facing ear.
I thought perhaps he was just cold and turned the heat up last night. This morning he seemed fine and the ears were their normal colour.
Tonight they are blue again. And I am worried about his breathing, which I wouldn't call laboured...just different. He has always shown a high respiratory rate and I always have his doctor check his heart and lungs. But he seems to be taking deeper breaths now after a period of stress.

I don't own a good stethoscope and not certain what I'd be listening for if I could get him to hold still enough to use it.

His lips don't particularly look discouloured (they are normally a bit purplish) and his tongue seems a nice pink. There is no nose pointing or open mouth breathing going on.

He doesn't seem overly distressed, no more than he usually is during cleanup or having a bum bath, which we did tonight. But I'm just not happy about the ear colour.

We've suspected he might have been brewing a thymoma for the last few years but haven't ever seen anything on x-ray. He is about 7 or 8 years old and I suppose I should expect to see some heart trouble going on by now.

I'm worried for my little man. Not sure when his doctor is next in, but if things escalate I'll have to take who I can get.

Any advice would be welcome. Thank you. xx

Oh no, poor little Mimzy I'm sorry i can't advise you, but I'm sending millions of vibes his way xxx

Thanks ripminnie. I hope Olly is doing better btw. I meant to comment on his thread.

One other thing is he may be grinding his teeth occasionally. Not certain if it's that or purring but it seems a bit loud for the latter, he's just recently had a dental and shouldn't need one again for another month I think.

I watched him just a few minutes ago, it's been about an hour since I cleaned his pen and he's still taking what I think are deep breaths for him.

Can anyone tell me if there's anything I can do to make him comfortable until I can get him an appointment? He currently takes .4 ml of metacam twice a day for his arthritis. Could he be in pain and that's what's causing the odd breathing? He is really good at hiding illness unless he's going into stasis which is quite recognizable, though I don't see him having that kind of trouble currently. He is eating and pooing/peeing well.

Without being able to listen to his heart and lungs and observe his respiratory rate/effort it is difficult to give specific advice. What you describe does sound to be more cardiac related, but that is only a guess. As I said, only an examination could elicit more accurate information. I hope that his Bunny Savvy Vet will be available soon xx

Thank you Jane, I hope she'll be there soon too.

I took a few videos with my mobile but I don't think they show very much that is helpful.

Not sure I will sleep much tonight for worry.

Poor little fellow. Sorry, I can't really offer any advice but we have our paws crossed for you here.


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I think you need to ring the vets. Tooth grinding is a sign of bad pain. I don't know anything about the blue ears, but I would definitely want it checked out asap.

I hope he improves soon.

sorry i can't offer any advice but sending lots of vibes and hope you can see a vet soon. x

I'm in luck. This weekend his vet is pulling a shift. They squidged me in. He is being his usual stroppy self so I hope he will do okay on the long road in on Saturday.

Thank you for all the vibes, they are much appreciated.

Sending vibes for Mimzy. Hope all goes well with the vet visit and you find out what is going on xxxx

(((Mimzy)))
Good luck at the vet MM. Hopefully there is a simple explanation. Ill be checking in for an update.

We're back from the vets.
It looked at first like a wasted trip. Doctor found him to be in great shape and of course the blue tint wasn't as noticeable. She took an xray anyway and sure enough...he's got a lung infection...very minor but she's put him on 3 weeks of baytril and we'll reevaluate then.
He still shows bladder sludge although not as bad as in February but my vet won't flush him or express him. She says it's a normal amount but his whole bladder is white. Will the baytril take care of that too? Having dealt with kidney problems myself I sure don't want him having them.

The worst part of today was getting home and finding the left front tire on the car totally flat! I'm lucky I didn't have a blowout! :evil: But there goes my town car till we can fix it. :roll:

Ah well...perspective. Thanks to everyone for the vibes as Mimzy's heart is sound and that's stellar news!

Poor Mimz

Did the Vet suggest trying a different abx ? I am only asking as I know Mimzy has had a lot of courses of Baytril over the years and I am wondering if there might be some abx resistance now :?

The Baytril wont clear the bladder sludge, but it might deal with any secondary bacterial infection. I guess if the Vet wont express the sludge then it will be important to try to maximise his fluid intake and significantly restrict his dietary calcium intake.

I dont know how mobile he is these days ? Immobility certainly adds to bladder sludge issues.

Sending bribes for the brave little chap

Im sorry to hear of the infection but good for you picking up on something so early!
(((Mimzy)))

MM, I'd read on medirabbit once about use of liquid magnesium helping some cases of bladder sludge?
I don't know how you'd feel about trialling that though... With a history of dysbiosis and your suspicions about water/mineral content.

Thank you, Jane Yes Mimzy has had many baytril courses but surprisingly he seems to do well on it. Something about baytril actually encourages his water consumption and also regulates his bowel. Kind of the opposite reaction you'd expect from abx in a bunny's system. It takes care of his infections nicely if he has an extended course. It would be nice if it came in a bunny friendly flavour however. :? I think we have tuna or chicken this time. :mrgreen: Either way he took his dose beautifully for me last night after having a long nap yesterday afternoon. The trip in and out of town definitely takes more out of him than it used to. But he sure loves seeing his favorite vet and despite our differing opinions on his care at times she is excellent with him.

I'll continue to encourage mobility (I was discouraged that she didn't feel he needed more pain relief at this time because I feel he could use it) and keep that water going in and watch what veggies he eats. He has a penchant for all the wrong ones of course but I'm hoping to introduce him to some different ones this summer when produce is a bit nicer and more varied in our stores. We have abysmal selections overwinter.

Jerz thanks for checking in on him here. I've never heard of the magnesium supplement but I'll look into it. I kind of wish I'd thought to ask for sub q fluids to keep on hand at home but he is feisty enough I'd have a heck of a time getting them in. So far his wee has been clear and plentiful since reintroducing his water bottle in addition to his bowl. It does have an occasional off smell to it which I hope is something the baytril will take care of. Since he is unable to use a litter box that I can empty frequently I wonder if his own urine smell in his enclosure has caused the infection? We're finally replacing our washing machine this week so I can rotate his floor towels more often again (Don't recall if I mentioned the washer breaking down a month or two ago, we've had to take everything to our local laundromat every few days since March...expensive!). I also hope I didn't make him sick (and cold) by opening the windows as soon as it was warm enough to do so this season.

Hi MM :wave: Olly's xray showed his bladder all white too, my vet thought it definitely needed flushing :? But maybe it isn't affecting Mimzy as much as it was Olly. He was given trimethoprim instead of baytril, as Olly too has had lots of baytril, and this antibiotic is more geared towards bladder infections. I am very glad he's still feisty though! Sending lots more vibes xxx