• 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.

Update: Twiggy has a middle ear infection

houndour

Warren Scout
Twiggy has supposedly got this. Husband took her to the vet, but he didnt ask enough questions and I got the impression that if she doesn't improve with the injection she had today then it's very very bad news. I'm seeing the vet tomorrow night, so I know I can ask all my questions then. Just wondered if anyone else has had experience of this and the outcome?
 
Hi Hondour, sorry to hear your bunny isn't very well :cry:

Can you give us a bit more information - how it started, what the symptoms are, how they have developed etc, it's quite difficult from what you've said, to try and picture what could be going on. With a bit more info, we might be able to help a bit more :)
 
Bit of an update...

Twiggy has had an xray and she has got a lot of pus and muck in her middle ear (right ear). In the "bully" and the holes leading to it.

The vet said this is very difficult to treat and she has suggested for us to take Twiggy to a specialist who will have the tiny instruments to be able to maybe deal with this.

She says there are consquences and its likely if it's not already occurred that her ear drum may burst. This is turn can lead to to head tilt and balance problems.

Twiggy also has pasteurella, but has not yet suffered badly from it.

I feel all a bit confused at the moment. I hate to say it but money is an issue. We are insured with Pet plan. Can anyone see any reason why they would not pay up for this treatment? We've already paid £120 on xrays and jabs over the last week. God knows how much the specialist will cost.

The other issue is the gunk in the middle ear is likely to be a recurring problem.

We will definitely be taking Twiggy to the specialist...at least for him to give us his opinion on what he can do for twiggy.

Just wondered if anyone else out there has had experience with this...

Thanks,
Sam
 
I see no reason why Pet Plan wont pay up as long as you took out the policy BEFORE any 'ear related' problems were encountered.

The middle ear disease Twiggy has is likely to be due to the Pasteurellosis
I am not sure that there is much data on the success rate of Bulla Osteotomy to treat the build up of purulent material in the middle ear. It is certainly a major op' and a job for a specialist.

Janex
 
Thanks...

Have since been to the vet again and it was a different vet this time, who had spoken to my normal vet and they had spoken to an exotics vet too. The exotics guy has suggested an aggressive treatment of antibiotics and some eardrop which my vet have ordered for me and we get tomorrow.

I'm having to inject Twiggy myself to save the stress of travelling back and forth to the vet everyday.

They think the chances of treating the infection this way are minimal, but it sounds like they want to avoid having to do an op.
 
Well at least your Vet is willing to try systemic treatment for Twiggy.
I hope she will respond to the abx

Janex
 
Hi there,

Alice has had what started as an ear infection and this turned into an abscess. It's actually located at the base of her ear actually in her ear canal. The vet removed as much of the abscess as she could under a GA and left the wound open so the pus could drain. The vet tested the bacteria inside the abscess and it was a mixture of 2 - Stapphococcus and Serratia which were treated with daily injections of Baytril and Norodine.

Not really sure if it's the same thing, but the op cost about £130 and the aftercare has probably been about another £50 or so. Alice's wound is still open so it can drain and I'm cleaning it out 3 times a day.

If the antib's work without opening it up then I'd go with that. I don't think Alice has suffered too much, but it would definately be less stressful for you and your bun if you didn't have to operate.

Hope this helps?

Take care,

Gemma
 
This is what Old Lace had in both ears :cry: It is nearly impossible to get rid of due to the nature of rabbit pus and the limited number of antibiotics that they can tolerate. However penicillin injections regularly can keep it under control so they can live a good quality of life, with metacam to ease inflamation and any pain. Head tilt is a likely possibility. Lace had it quite badly, but she managed and obviously still enjoyed life even from a strange angle.
From what I have read the bulla osteotomy is an unproven technique, rather drastic and not at all guaranteed to work. It wasn't an option I considered, especially as Lace was 7 already when she got it.
 
Thanks for your replies. I keep getting conflicting opinions from the vets. My usual vet wants to carry on with the antibiotics and didn't seem impressed that the other vet was going to give me the ear drops. I forget the name, but she said it was a toxin and is holding them off until she speaks to the specialist herself.

Twiggy seems to have picked up over the last few days. Her eating is back to normal. Although her ear is still flopped. I'm still injecting her and also giving her Septrin by mouth.

I think I understand that this is not something that will be cured, but something that we'll have to try and keep under control. I got the impression that if it got to an inner ear infection then it was be best to put her to sleep. I feel so very confused at the moment. Right now she seems as happy as ever. She's bright, alert, inquisitive and aside from her ear laying flat she appears to have nothing wrong.

I'm just feeling really **** at the moment. We only lost eeyore a month ago. These things always seem to happen at once. :(
 
A middle ear infection does NOT mean an inner ear infection is inevitable. Twiggy may need many months of treatment but as she is already showing signs of improvement I would try to remain optomistic that the condition can be well controlled :)

Out of interest were the ear drops the other Vet wanted to prescribe called 'Aurizon'...... :?

Janex
 
Thanks Jane, that's cheered me up. The vets just won't tell me straight, it's all ifs and whens and maybes. I know they can't know the right answer, but I just got the feeling that they didn't think the outlook was all that good. Although my main vet did seem surprised and happy about the improvement Twiggy made this week. Shes due back saturday morning for another check up. I'll try and find out the name of those drops again. I don't think it was Aurizon, but my memory is terrible.
 
houndour said:
Thanks Jane, that's cheered me up. The vets just won't tell me straight, it's all ifs and whens and maybes. I know they can't know the right answer, but I just got the feeling that they didn't think the outlook was all that good. Although my main vet did seem surprised and happy about the improvement Twiggy made this week. Shes due back saturday morning for another check up. I'll try and find out the name of those drops again. I don't think it was Aurizon, but my memory is terrible.

Well I had a Bun who had chronic middle ear disease and the condition was successfully managed for over 3 years!! She did develop a Respiratory tract infection in the end and sadly passed away. But for 3 years she was perfectly content, not in pain and behaving like a 'normal' Bunny.
I think Vets feel obliged to prepare clients for the worst, but the worst does NOT always happen.

Janex
 
Thanks Jane.

I've been googling and I think the ear drops may have been gentamicin (aka garamycin according to the websites).
 
Back
Top