Ear diseases of rabbits

Many rabbit breeders encounter ear diseases in rabbits. Inflammation, crust formation, pus, itching and burning when touched are all common symptoms of several diseases.

How to identify, differentiate, prevent ear diseases in rabbits and what treatment is needed will be discussed in detail in the proposed article.

Ear scabs (scabies)

One of the common causes that can ultimately lead to the death of a pet is psoroptosis or ear mange.

Psoroptosis in rabbits develops quickly, so help should be provided immediately. This disease is contagious, so there is a risk that ear scabies in rabbits from a sick pet will spread to healthy ones.

Why does psoroptosis occur? It’s all about special mites of the genus Psoroptes, which gave the disease its name. These yellow oval-shaped mites are small in size – less than a millimeter.

Despite this, they are extremely dangerous for the rabbit’s ear. Ticks feed on blood, and rabbits’ ears are known to have a network of blood vessels.

This explains why ticks parasitize the auricle or auditory canal. One tick bite is enough to provoke the disease.

This is the most common way of infection. Sometimes mites can be carried on the rabbit’s owner or equipment that has not been thoroughly treated.

Baby rabbits can become infected from their parents. As a rule, ticks are active in winter and spring.

At the same time, the risk group includes rabbits that are kept in a cramped and damp place, receive inadequate nutrition, have other diseases, including helminthiasis – lesions caused by parasitic worms.

Symptoms of psoroptosis include discomfort felt by the rabbit. This feeling prompts the animal to scratch the skin around the ears, which leads to damage to this area.

Since the scratching wound is open, an infection can get in, which leads to otitis and brain damage. If it comes to the latter, it will be clearly visible due to the corresponding symptoms indicating damage to the central nervous system.

However, giving treatment in this case is usually useless, since such a disease in most cases leads to death.

How to recognize a tick?

It will take a maximum of 5 days for the tick to adapt to the ear canal. After that, the parasite’s activity increases, which provokes the first symptoms that appear in the rabbit.

Among them:

• restless state;
• head shaking;
• constant friction in the area around the ears;
• friction against the walls of a cage or room.

If there is even the slightest suspicion of psoroptosis, first you need to carefully examine the pet’s ears. A healthy rabbit has smooth and clean ears.

If red bumps appear on them, you should pay special attention to this, since they can become the first symptom.

If ear scabies is detected, and the tubercles have replaced the bubbles, which contain yellow liquid, then psoroptosis is confirmed. Subsequently, these bubbles will grow and burst, the liquid will flow out and dry up, a crust will form.

Treatment should not be neglected, since the crust or plaque that forms at the site of the accumulation of bubbles will cover the entire ear. In addition, the ear canal will become clogged with sulfur and pus, however, this symptom occurs if the disease is neglected.

You should visit a veterinarian when the first unpleasant symptoms appear.

The veterinarian will conduct a study by taking a scraping. Based on the results of the procedure, the specialist will give an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment for the rabbit. In some cases, it is impossible to contact a veterinarian. Then you can take a scraping at home.

It is enough to place it under a layer of Vaseline oil, and then, using a magnifying glass, you can see ticks and their movements on it.

How to treat?

During the treatment process, the rabbit must be constantly shown to a specialist to prevent deterioration.

It is necessary to strictly follow all instructions of the veterinarian, and also act according to the following plan:

• Apply a mixture of glycerin and iodine alcohol solution in a 1:4 ratio to the crusts that have formed on the ears. This should make the plaque softer.
• The softened plaque is removed.
• Use Amitrazine drops every 3 days. Frequent use of drops is harmful as it causes burns.

Before applying the preparations, it is necessary to thoroughly wash and clean the ears. Usually, a positive effect comes after the first procedure, however, if this does not happen, then it is worth repeating their treatment and processing with special means.

In addition, special ointments, aerosols and sprays have an additional effect. In particular, “Dicrezil”, “Acrodex”, “Ciodrin” and others. These drugs can be used no more than once a week. If you start treatment in time, your pet will be able to boast healthy ears.

Treatment with folk remedies

To remove scabs from rabbits’ ears, rabbit breeders do not necessarily need to resort to pharmaceutical preparations.

You can make a remedy at home that will include the following components:

• Turpentine;
• Vegetable oil;
• Kerosene.

The proportion of the components should be 1:1:1. The main effect will be provided by turpentine. If it is not diluted, it can irritate the skin.

After the remedy is made, you need to take a cotton swab and, dipping it in the solution, apply it to the affected area of ​​the ears. The remedy needs to be rubbed in with massaging movements.

A solution prepared by yourself will help both at the initial stage of ear disease in rabbits and at later stages.

If the remedy does not produce results after a few days, the procedure should be repeated.

As an alternative, experienced rabbit breeders regularly use camphor oil. It also helps the pet get rid of the disease and gain a healthy appearance.

preventive measures

If you take preventive measures against the disease in a timely and correct manner, you can avoid negative manifestations in the rabbit’s ears in the future.

To minimize the damage caused by psoroptosis, the following measures must be taken:

• inspect your pets’ ears as often as possible;
• disinfect instruments used for examining animals every six months;
• wash your hands thoroughly after touching a sick rabbit;
• After purchasing a rabbit, quarantine it for 20 days, which will allow you to be sure that the animal is healthy;
• Pregnant rabbits should be carefully examined two weeks before giving birth;
• prevent the presence of flies, fleas and rodents that can carry tick eggs.

The parasite can exist without a host for 24 days, but subzero temperatures help to destroy it. It is often said that a domestic cat can become a carrier of ticks, but this is a myth. Cats are wary of other types of ticks that are not dangerous for rabbits.

Myxomatosis

Much more dangerous for a rabbit, in contrast to psoroptosis, is a disease of viral origin – myxomatosis. Externally, it manifests itself in the appearance of “bumps” on the ears, which are similar in size to a pigeon’s egg. This disease manifests itself in warm seasonal periods of time.

Mosquitoes and midges are considered to be its carriers. Myxomatosis is dangerous for both small and adult individuals. In addition, it does not disappear even after the death of the rabbit: it continues to exist in the dead body for about a year.

If the virus is not eliminated in time, it will penetrate the head and paws. In addition, the disease can provoke conjunctivitis with the release of pus, and this affects the fact that the eyelids will constantly stick together.

To achieve the desired result and see your pet healthy again, you need to undergo a course of treatment that will last two weeks. After this time, the “bumps” will dissolve, and the affected areas of the skin will heal.

However, the ears will finally stop festering in about a month, during which time the rabbit can be dangerous for other individuals, since the virus can be transmitted to healthy ones.

Methods of treatment and prevention

To protect a rabbit from myxomatosis, it is necessary to administer a special vaccine. After the pet turns 2,5 months old, veterinarians advise giving such an injection, and after another 3 months, repeat the procedure.

The course of treatment consists of taking antibiotics and specially developed immunomodulators that strengthen the immune system.

The wounds on the ears should be treated with an alcohol solution of iodine, and the rabbit itself should be kept separately from other pets for 3 months.

Purulent otitis media

This disease, if appropriate measures are not taken to treat the rabbit, can lead to abnormal brain function, and in extreme cases, death.

Therefore, it is necessary to recognize and begin treating pus quickly and clearly following the veterinarian’s instructions.

The following actions are identified that can lead to the development of purulent otitis:

• head trauma;
• poor diet;
• hypothermia;
• lethargy and weakness;
• the appearance of parasites, including ear mites.

The symptoms that are characteristic of purulent otitis are in many ways similar to those that are detected with psoroptosis. However, the former additionally includes the fact that the ears are festering, poor appetite, an abnormal reaction to stroking the ears, and a weakened appearance.

Although the symptoms of these two diseases are similar, the treatment is different. Therefore, in any case, it is necessary to seek advice and help from a veterinarian who will make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the necessary medications.

To cure otitis, special medications are required. Only an experienced specialist can recommend them. Therefore, if you choose medications yourself, they can only harm your pet.

Pain and itching are relieved by instilling drops into the ears, which relieve inflammation.

Ear drop

Although ear drops are common among rabbits, they should not be underestimated. The drop may be a simple game of the animal or a symptom of some serious illness.

If one or two rabbit ears fall off, they should be carefully examined, even if they are otherwise healthy. There should be no sores in the ears or on the shells.

The ear can fall off if something gets into the ear canal.

In addition, a fall can be a result of the rabbit being shaken by the ears, and this, in turn, negatively affects the functioning of the animal’s nervous and circulatory systems.

Heat can also be a reason, since rabbit ears are sensitive to temperature fluctuations. As a rule, the ears of small rabbits droop due to heat because their cartilaginous framework has not yet fully formed.

Sometimes the problem lies much deeper – in the pedigree. If the patients had such a breed as “rams” in their family, then the drooping of the ears is affected by the weight of the pets.

If parasites have settled in the rabbit’s body or a kink has occurred due to carelessness, then this can also be the reason for the ear falling. The first requires the necessary course of treatment.

In another case, a special design that would act as a “splint” and help support the ear would help.

It’s easy to make it yourself: You just need to take some foam rubber or glue the fallen ear to another one that has a shape. The rabbit needs such a “splint” for 4 weeks, and he shakes his head as usual, without restrictions.

Earwax

If your pet’s ears are filled with wax, you just need to remove it. However, you need to do this gently so that the animal does not get scared and does not cause harm.

The process of cleaning the ears consists of several steps:

• Carefully bend back the edge of the ear.
• Take a cotton swab and remove the wax. You don’t need to get inside the ear.
• Carefully examine the auricles and determine whether there is redness or flaking. The skin should have a pale pink tint. If abscesses or redness are found on the ear, you should take your pet to the vet. If the sulfur has an unusual smell, this may mean that parasites have settled in the ear.

Bleeding

Rabbit ears consist of a whole system of vessels, so the slightest scratch or cut can lead to profuse bleeding. If this happens, the ear should be wiped with a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide.

This measure will remove blood from the ear surface and show where exactly the bleeding wound is located. Rabbits often scratch their ears themselves, which leads to wounds. They can scratch due to allergies or due to the effects of a tick.

Subcooling

If the ears are swollen, it means they have received a dose of hypothermia. You can help your pet in this situation by rubbing the ears and then taking it into a warm room.

Once the ears are dry and warm, they should be treated with Vaseline. Alternatively, camphor oil is used. When the blisters burst and become crusty, the second stage begins.

It is necessary to open the blisters and lubricate the inflamed areas. For this, use an ointment based on camphor, zinc or iodine.

If the third stage of hypothermia has arrived, the skin of the ears begins to wrinkle and dry out. The tissue cells die, so they need to be removed. The pet itself needs to be placed on warm straw.

Overheating

As opposed to frostbite, a rabbit can be overheated. This happens if the room temperature is higher than the norm. To avoid overheating in this case, the pet should be placed in a cool place.

However, if this does not help, then the reason is different and you need to seek help from a veterinarian. In the case when the ear disease in a rabbit is recognized by a specialist, you should quickly begin treatment.

The patient is isolated from other pets to avoid infection. However, this does not apply to diseases associated with body temperatures (hypothermia and overheating).

To protect your rabbit from the above-mentioned dangerous diseases, you need to follow simple preventive measures:

• keep the rabbit hutch clean;
• get vaccines on time;
• create a favorable temperature in the rabbitry;
• provide the most healthy and balanced nutrition;
• Only newly acquired pets should be kept in quarantine for some time.

Also, rabbits should not be given to strangers or allowed near pets brought by guests, as the rabbit may become infected or “catch” a parasite from them.

Bumps on ears

Dense formations on the ears in the form of tumors or bumps in most cases indicate myxomatosis. In this case, bumps appear all over the animal’s body, appetite decreases or disappears completely. If nothing is done, the individual will die within 10 days.

For an accurate diagnosis and to avoid spreading the virus, call your veterinarian immediately.

Ear sores

Regardless of the cause of the wounds, they need to be wiped with 3% hydrogen peroxide. When they dry, apply streptocide ointment to the wounds and bandage them with a sterile bandage. Try not to tie the bandage too tightly. Repeat the procedure once a day until completely healed.

If the wounds are not mechanical and are accompanied by other symptoms – for example, the rabbit’s inappropriate behavior (shaking its head, falling, being inactive, scratching itself intensely), then most likely it is an ear mite or otitis.

red spots

The appearance of red spots is a sign of a fur mite or the first stages of myxomatosis. In both cases, you will need to show the animal to a doctor. Red spots on the ears may indicate ringworms under the skin (microsporia).

Parasites are easy to remove by lubricating the ears with Fungin, but do not use ointments from a human pharmacy – if it gets into the rabbit’s mouth, the outcome can be worse than microsporia.

Acne

Another possible symptom of myxomatosis. If there are no other signs of this disease, pimples on rabbit ears may indicate a food or other allergy.

Try changing the diet and giving 1/8 of a Suprastin tablet twice a day. This anti-allergic drug is sold in human pharmacies.

Plaques on the ears

The presence of plaques indicates a scabies mite; they appear in advanced cases. The color of the scab indicates the depth of penetration of the disease – the darker, the worse the situation. If plaques appear on the body, on the paws – immediately call a veterinarian, medication will be required.

Pus in the ears

Examine the rabbit to determine the source of the pus.

It could be:

• an unnoticed mechanical injury into which an infection has entered;
• purulent otitis;
• nodular myxomatosis;
• advanced stage of ear mites.

The treatment method depends on the cause of the purulent discharge and was described above.

My ears hurt and I shake my head

Head shaking may indicate that the rabbit’s ears are sore, itchy, or that a foreign body has gotten inside. The individual may rub its head against the walls or floor of the cage, shake its head frequently, or try to scratch its ears with its paw.

Examine them for wounds, redness, compaction, pus. Depending on the accompanying signs, the animal may be suffering from scabies, otitis or the same myxomatosis.