Calling All Those Who Have Lops- a Request

[JemimaH]

Went to the vets AGAIN today and it's not the news I wanted - despite a weekly flush (where a lot comes out!) it's still building back up and is bothering him, bless him. He's going in tomorrow afternoon for an anaesthetic, x-rays and swabs But hopefully we can find out what's occurring in those floppy ears of his!

Sarah mentioned abscesses being a possibility - what are these? Sounds stupid, but can they be removed? Are you aware of anything else that else could be causing it, Jane?:wave:

 

[mini lop1]

jane forgot say mabels ears where checked and fine at her dental and also dental check up :wave:

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Went to the vets AGAIN today and it's not the news I wanted - despite a weekly flush (where a lot comes out!) it's still building back up and is bothering him, bless him. He's going in tomorrow afternoon for an anaesthetic, x-rays and swabs But hopefully we can find out what's occurring in those floppy ears of his!

Sarah mentioned abscesses being a possibility - what are these? Sounds stupid, but can they be removed? Are you aware of anything else that else could be causing it, Jane?:wave:

Abscesses are encapsulated pockets of pus. If they occur in the ear a lump can often be felt at the ear base.

Once infection is present in the lop ears it can be very difficult to eradicate due to the structure of the ear. Abscesses are not always present and pus in the outer ear does not always mean that there is infection in the middle ear. Antibiotic choice is better if done based on culture and sensitivity testing. It is also usually preferable to treat with both topical and systemic antibiotics. The course frequently needs to be long, sometimes months rather than weeks.

There are surgical options, some very invasive. Each case needs to be assessed individually, surgery may not be appropriate for some Rabbits.

 

[Jack's-Jane]

jane forgot say mabels ears where checked and fine at her dental and also dental check up :wave:

Thanks Lisa............and Mabel !!

 

[JemimaH]

Abscesses are encapsulated pockets of pus. If they occur in the ear a lump can often be felt at the ear base.

Once infection is present in the lop ears it can be very difficult to eradicate due to the structure of the ear. Abscesses are not always present and pus in the outer ear does not always mean that there is infection in the middle ear. Antibiotic choice is better if done based on culture and sensitivity testing. It is also usually preferable to treat with both topical and systemic antibiotics. The course frequently needs to be long, sometimes months rather than weeks.

There are surgical options, some very invasive. Each case needs to be assessed individually, surgery may not be appropriate for some Rabbits.

Thanks. The vet was understandably vague, apart from mentioning abscesses - can't feel a lump, however, and we've both (vet and I) had a good feel. He was on Marbocyl for the original pus and that did clear it up, but it was only a week's worth of meds and, as you say, it was in the outer ear. Really hope this doesn't turn into something that we can't get rid of

Grrr - so frustrating. Thank God for insurance!

 

[Miss Binky Bunny]

Mine's a lop and has had an ear infection. We hadn't had her long and I'd noticed she was scratching her ears a lot and had a tiny scab on the outside of one of them. That cleared up with a little rabbit antiseptic cream. No signs of mites which I kept checking for. Then she started to occasionally lose her footing when she jumped. About a week or so before her appointment, on going to stroke her ears, she pulled away.

Thanks for posting this thread. I will ask the vet about the possibility of spinal problems. They did check her movement as she was running around on the 1st visit.

 

[GrahamL]

Biscuit had his checkup and vaccination on Thursday, sorry i forgot to post on Friday.

He's absolutely fine, lost a bit of weight but nothing to worry about.

His ears were A* - very clean, no serious wax build up, just enough for it to do its job and no puss or anything nasty at all in there.

 

[Fellie]

Took Bug for her vaccinations yesterday and vet checked her ears...Bug has obviously been scratching at her ears as there are a few nicks in them - we've now started treatment for mites (will be posting another thread about that) - but apart from that, all clean and fine.:thumb:

 

[MimzMum]

One thing I have also noticed, is that when he sits, he really sits back into himself - if that makes sense? I look at other photographs of bunnies sitting and they all seem to be fairly 'spread-out', whereas Alf sits right back and has his front paws almost pressed against his chest. It's kind of hard to describe, but when I see other bunnies sitting they have themselves more forward, like their spine is more horizontal, whereas Alf seems to deliberately push back. No wonder he's got sore hocks (mild, but still there)!

He's not even three yet, though, and I thought arthiritis only tended to occur in older bunnies?

Just back to this thread now, sorry.
JemimaH, Mimzy also does this. Scrunches himself up. Doesn't look at all comfy. He's had early onset arthritis from about the age of three.

I have begged my vet to give him more pain relief but as good as she is, she doesn't seem to think he's too bad off. I even took a video to show her, both of his posture and his ear scratching. When he's at the vet's though he's so animated that perhaps she doesn't see it.
All three bunnies are due for dentals sometime within the next week or so. I'm going to push for more pain relief, thank you, Jane.

All three bunnies came back with supposedly no mites and only waxy buildup in their ears. But I've been having welts and itching for a good two to three weeks so I'm assuming something is biting all of us. Lesions on Jenna's ear as well as Fiver's. Nothing on anyone else's. Mimzy's chronic ear gunk is back but she felt it could wait till he was under GA because he is notoriously difficult to clean out while awake. In fact they'll all be getting a good clean up. :thumb:

 

[Angie65]

I never heard of this Jane for years, until you asked me to do it with CC.

I get all my buns ears looked at now at vacs time & all during neuter. I've had a couple of frenchie fosters with problems, so worth doing. Also - incidentally Marty McFly. He had an ear infection early on & got spotted when I randomly asked the vet to check & again at the dog groomers. He's checked every 6 weeks now

 

[Springfield24]

Jane I had my two at the vets today as a follow up from Lola's (non-lop) bad tummy last night. I asked the vet to check Springfield's ears again just out of interest and he said that they were totally clear, no waxy build up or redness. Straight away thought to update here

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Jane I had my two at the vets today as a follow up from Lola's (non-lop) bad tummy last night. I asked the vet to check Springfield's ears again just out of interest and he said that they were totally clear, no waxy build up or redness. Straight away thought to update here

Thank you, glad his ears are OK xx

 

[Miss Binky Bunny]

A thought, is it more normal for ear problems to clear up for a short time, long time, or never?

 

[MimzMum]

Mimzy, Pip and Fiver all have their dentals tomorrow (another lovely early morning wake up call for me...ugh!) but a few days ago I was watching Mimzy shake his head and dig at his ears with his feet and I couldn't take it anymore. I am not 100% confident cleaning his ears, but I did have a look down them and was horrified at what I saw, so I got out a few of those long swabs and just grabbed what I could see without having to reach into any tight spaces.
Here's what I got :shock:

This stuff is thick and formed to the curves of the start of his ear canal. It's full of broken bits of fur and just nasty...bleurgh!
Could something like this have been what caused Mimzy's head tilt in the first place? By harbouring pathogens, I mean. And you would not believe how much more there is in there but it'll have to be professionally removed. :shock:

They will be skin scraping tested for cheyletiella at the vet and whilst under their GA's they'll all have ear cleanings. But this is the worst that Mimzy has been and he gets this goop constantly. What could cause something like this? (BTW, this is from his "up" ear!)

 

[HappyHop]

Both rabbits checked.
One rabbit had a bit too much wax in one ear and I have been given Genticin to be administered twice daily.

She is not too happy about it though.

Not heard of this medicine and cant find anything online about it ??????

 

[JemimaH]

Back to the vets later for me, as well!

He's still really itching at his ears - the vet said a little bit would be normal, but I'm not convinced this is the normal level of itchiness as his membrane heals. It's been nearly six weeks since his procedure. Surely he shouldn't be itching as much six weeks later?!

He's also got a funny strip on his ear - like when it's wet, but it's not wet and hasn't been wet. I wonder if he's scratched some of the fur away because it's itching him so much