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Gutted for Xena. Finally some good news for my strong girl. :)

Vegan_Bunny

Warren Veteran
Noticed her eye was goopy (more than usual) and got some lacralube to use but it didn't help like it normally does. Last night I was sat with her giving her some cuddles and nose rubs and noticed her ears were squelching. My heart sank. I got her into the vets today and her ears were full of pus. The vet flushed her ears out and has prescribed 10 days worth of penicillin injections to do at home. I'm beyond gutted. I know this is likely the beginning of the end for her and my vet agreed.
On the upside she has gained half a kilo! She now weighs a very healthy 2kg. I had also apparently been credited £17 to my account so I only ended up paying £3!

My poor girl. She just can't catch a break. 😟
 
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Noticed her eye was goopy (more than usual) and got some lacralube to use but it didn't help like it normally does. Last night I was sat with her giving her some cuddles and nose rubs and noticed her ears were squelching. My heart sank. I got her into the vets today and her ears were full of pus. The vet flushed her ears out and has prescribed 10 days worth of penicillin injections to do at home. I'm beyond gutted. I know this is likely the beginning of the end for her and my vet agreed.
On the upside she has gained half a kilo! She now weighs a very healthy 2kg. I had also apparently been credited £17 to my account so I only ended up paying £3!

My poor girl. She just can't catch a break. ��

Oh no, I am sorry to hear this. Unfortunately ear infections are a possible consequence for Rabbits with any hind leg issues/arthritic problems. I hope that the abx get the infection under control xx
 
Noticed her eye was goopy (more than usual) and got some lacralube to use but it didn't help like it normally does. Last night I was sat with her giving her some cuddles and nose rubs and noticed her ears were squelching. My heart sank. I got her into the vets today and her ears were full of pus. The vet flushed her ears out and has prescribed 10 days worth of penicillin injections to do at home. I'm beyond gutted. I know this is likely the beginning of the end for her and my vet agreed.
On the upside she has gained half a kilo! She now weighs a very healthy 2kg. I had also apparently been credited £17 to my account so I only ended up paying £3!

My poor girl. She just can't catch a break. 😟


I'm really sorry to hear this. I hope the antibiotics do some good for her, poor wee one.
 
It's something I've always looked out for with her since she can't clean her ears. :( Just gutted it's happened now. I was hoping to have her for 6 months or more but if we can't get this under control then the outlook looks very bleak. :(
 
It's something I've always looked out for with her since she can't clean her ears. :( Just gutted it's happened now. I was hoping to have her for 6 months or more but if we can't get this under control then the outlook looks very bleak. :(

Morse had a chronic ear infection which was kept under control for over 3 years. His demise was not due to his ear disease but to an inoperable tumour in his abdomen. So whilst ear infections are never good news, it is not inevitable that it will be 'the end' for Xena xx
 
Morse had a chronic ear infection which was kept under control for over 3 years. His demise was not due to his ear disease but to an inoperable tumour in his abdomen. So whilst ear infections are never good news, it is not inevitable that it will be 'the end' for Xena xx

That is good news. I'm just not sure how much more she can endure. How did you manage his infections? Was he on abx and pain relief long term?
Is there anything more I can do for Xena?
 
That is good news. I'm just not sure how much more she can endure. How did you manage his infections? Was he on abx and pain relief long term?
Is there anything more I can do for Xena?

Morse had longterm abx and analgesia. He also had several ear canal flushes under GA. He sometimes had abx ear drops aswell as systemic abx. Fortunately his infection never progressed to the middle/inner ear so he never suffered from any vestibular symptoms such as head tilt.
 
Good. Obviously Xena won't be able to have a proper flush under a GA but she dealt very well with it today. She didn't get distressed...just angry lol. My vet said she was such a good girl.
I'm really hoping the abx will clear it up. Wondering if this has something to do with her deafness?
Fortunately she is fine in herself. She is eating and everything (although she has never stopped eating) but she does look bright in herself so I'm feeling a bit more positive. Thanks, Jane. I really did feel like this was it for her. :(
 
Good. Obviously Xena won't be able to have a proper flush under a GA but she dealt very well with it today. She didn't get distressed...just angry lol. My vet said she was such a good girl.
I'm really hoping the abx will clear it up. Wondering if this has something to do with her deafness?
Fortunately she is fine in herself. She is eating and everything (although she has never stopped eating) but she does look bright in herself so I'm feeling a bit more positive. Thanks, Jane. I really did feel like this was it for her. :(

Morse was as deaf as a post !! So it is very possible that a build up of gunk and pus is what has contributed to Xena's hearing loss. It could also be why trouble erupted in the trio bond. Other Rabbits can often smell ear infections long before any obvious clinical symptoms present.

Even if the abx do not 'cure' the infection they may keep it under some control for some time. It may be a good idea to ask the Vet to take another look in the ear canals in about 7 days time as often it is necessary to regularly clean out the gunk, even if it cannot be a 'deep clean' under GA. The Vet could show you how to do this yourself and that would obviate the need to keep taking Xena back to the Vet to have it done. I invested in an otoscope when Morse developed his problems. It has proved to be money well spent over the years.

One indication that Morse's ears were especially troublesome to him was that he would go off his pellet feed. Although he would eat absolutely everything else, he was always a very greedy man ! My (unqualified) theory is that chomping down on hard pellets causes discomfort around the ears when a Rabbit has a chronic ear infection.
 
She is going back in 10 days, will that be ok? I had a bit of a problem with her first injection. The needle popped off and I was sprayed with penicillin! None went into Xena so I used another one and that went well. Don't worry, I'm not allergic and Xena definitely got none of the dose. Doh! I've learnt a lesson there haha. I need an extra dose but can pick that up whenever.
Yes, I do believe it's been a mixture of factors that has caused friction in the group. She is much happier on her own and is certainly back to her grumpy old self. She lunged and grunted at me yesterday and after having her injection, she ran off, flicking her feet at me and charged around the room to show her disapproval. She was a star whilst I was administering it, though, and got a fibafirst stick as a reward afterwards.
If I'm honest she looks better. Her eye is definitely dryer and there's no squelching in her ears so it's drying it up. I don't think her deafness is a result of the infection but I bet it hasn't helped. I shout her name when I approach her room but there's no reaction at all haha. I have to touch her or gently wave my hand on her good side so she sees me. It's quite funny tbh. I've never had a deaf rabbit before but my old dog was deaf and blind so I do know how to approach her. She's getting used to it and doesn't freak out anymore, bless her. I think she's relied on the other two to let her know when I enter the room that it's taken her a while to adjust on her own. She's so relaxed now but Shadowfax has definitely been taking advantage of not having Xena supress her all the time. She's been an absolute horror! Dug out her litter tray, ripping up my carpet, binkying at ridiculous times in the morning. Makes Fiver look like an angel!
Xena has never shown signs of being in pain or discomfort. It nakes it really difficult to know if she's getting the right dose of pain relief. She's never gone of any of her food and never seems to grind her teeth. She was even tooth purring yesterday when I was massaging the saline solution in her ears at the vets! I wonder if she even feels pain haha. She didn't even react when I injected her!
 
She is going back in 10 days, will that be ok? I had a bit of a problem with her first injection. The needle popped off and I was sprayed with penicillin! None went into Xena so I used another one and that went well. Don't worry, I'm not allergic and Xena definitely got none of the dose. Doh! I've learnt a lesson there haha. I need an extra dose but can pick that up whenever.
Yes, I do believe it's been a mixture of factors that has caused friction in the group. She is much happier on her own and is certainly back to her grumpy old self. She lunged and grunted at me yesterday and after having her injection, she ran off, flicking her feet at me and charged around the room to show her disapproval. She was a star whilst I was administering it, though, and got a fibafirst stick as a reward afterwards.
If I'm honest she looks better. Her eye is definitely dryer and there's no squelching in her ears so it's drying it up. I don't think her deafness is a result of the infection but I bet it hasn't helped. I shout her name when I approach her room but there's no reaction at all haha. I have to touch her or gently wave my hand on her good side so she sees me. It's quite funny tbh. I've never had a deaf rabbit before but my old dog was deaf and blind so I do know how to approach her. She's getting used to it and doesn't freak out anymore, bless her. I think she's relied on the other two to let her know when I enter the room that it's taken her a while to adjust on her own. She's so relaxed now but Shadowfax has definitely been taking advantage of not having Xena supress her all the time. She's been an absolute horror! Dug out her litter tray, ripping up my carpet, binkying at ridiculous times in the morning. Makes Fiver look like an angel!
Xena has never shown signs of being in pain or discomfort. It nakes it really difficult to know if she's getting the right dose of pain relief. She's never gone of any of her food and never seems to grind her teeth. She was even tooth purring yesterday when I was massaging the saline solution in her ears at the vets! I wonder if she even feels pain haha. She didn't even react when I injected her!

If the Depocillin is in pre-drawn up syringes it can help to put a new needle on just before you give the injection. The needle already on the syringe can often get bunged up hence it can fly off as you try to administer the dose.

Xena sounds to be a right character !! A Bunny with attitude by the sounds of it :lol:
 
If the Depocillin is in pre-drawn up syringes it can help to put a new needle on just before you give the injection. The needle already on the syringe can often get bunged up hence it can fly off as you try to administer the dose.

Xena sounds to be a right character !! A Bunny with attitude by the sounds of it :lol:

I've been warming up the syringe in my hand a bit before. Seems to be working well. When I looked yesterday, there was depocillin sprayed right up the door! It travelled some distance! Today went well. Xena was really good and just sat there even thought I stabbed her about 4/5 times yesterday because I couldn't get it in properly! Bless her. I'd be an awful VN haha.
Xena is such a character. Never met a bunny like her. She's such a madam and definitely lives up to her name..Xena Warrior Princess!
 
I've been warming up the syringe in my hand a bit before. Seems to be working well. When I looked yesterday, there was depocillin sprayed right up the door! It travelled some distance! Today went well. Xena was really good and just sat there even thought I stabbed her about 4/5 times yesterday because I couldn't get it in properly! Bless her. I'd be an awful VN haha.
Xena is such a character. Never met a bunny like her. She's such a madam and definitely lives up to her name..Xena Warrior Princess!

Oh blimey, so that means Bunny attitude x a million !! :shock: :lol:

Glad that the injections are going OK now. In my experience most Rabbits get far more pee'd off by being given oral meds than they do having injections. Well sub/cut injections anyway, those that have to be given IM are not so well received as they can be painful for a couple of seconds.
 
I've been warming up the syringe in my hand a bit before. Seems to be working well. When I looked yesterday, there was depocillin sprayed right up the door! It travelled some distance! Today went well. Xena was really good and just sat there even thought I stabbed her about 4/5 times yesterday because I couldn't get it in properly! Bless her. I'd be an awful VN haha.
Xena is such a character. Never met a bunny like her. She's such a madam and definitely lives up to her name..Xena Warrior Princess!


She sounds amazing :D
 
Ah. I'm starting to really worry about her now. Her eye is still looking bad abd her ears are squelching again. Whenever I touch them she is shaking hwr head and scratching them. :( How long before I should see an improvement?
On the up side...Xena is feeling perfectly fine. Last night I had a bit of a mishap. I was sorting out Fiver and SF's room when my Mam started shrieking "THEY'RE BOTH OUT!". I ran to the hallway and saw Fiver and Xena hopping about in the landing quite happily. Fiver escapes my room at the first opportunity so that wasn't a surprise. Only thing is that Xena was shut in her room...turns out she can fit through the safety gate when she wants to! Such a good job I was there when she decided to. She put herself back in her room haha. So my challenge today is to mesh the safety gate. I had no idea she could fit through! It was like watching a magician's act haha. Fortunately there were no scuffles and no referred aggression between Fiver and SF. I've put a puppy pen panel over the gate for now so we have no more houdini escapes!
 
We've managed all sorts of long term and reoccurring ear infections at the rescue. Thankfully both the bunnies who suffered recently we managed to find off licence antibiotics or ear drops following swabs that curded them after months, has a swab been taken?
 
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