dry, red patches on the insides of my lops ear?

[oh_katiee]

i’ve noticed that my lop numteg has been scratching his one ear a lot lately. at first i didn’t think anything of it because he does that a lot and loves being gently scratched on the insides of his ears but when it started to get really repetitive i decided to check it out. i found that in the ear he’s been scratching that there was a red patch of skin that was very dry and flaky. it seems to irritate him a bit when i was trying to look at it. while it doesn’t seem to cause him pain it just seems like it is causing him some discomfort. before i take him to the vet, i was wondering if anyone has seen this before. is it a sign of an ear infection because i know lops are prone to them. my mom said to put anitbiotic ointment on them but and while we’re very animal oriented this is my first bunny and i didn’t want him to lick it off and him get sick. so does anyone have any ideas on what this is and suggestions for treatment? thanks!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Is the dry, red skin on his ear flap or in the actual ear? My lop, Bindi gets lots of ear infections and the underside of his ear flap will get dry and red from him scratching. If your buns is scratching more than usual he may have something wrong in his ears. Take a peek in his ears with a small flashlight. Do you see any gunk or build-up? This is often a sign of an outer ear infection. Also, check if there is a bad smell in his ear.

Bindi is like the king of ear infections. We’ve dealt with MANY.

I wouldn’t put anything on his ear without talking to his vet. Some antibiotics are bad for bunnies to ingest.

[RabbitPam]

I think it would be best for him to see a vet to determine exactly what’s wrong, since lops are so prone to ear problems. Once you know what it is, the vet will be able to let you know if he needs prescription meds or a topical ointment.

I would not use anything yet as LPT advised, but just fyi, two safe products for bunnies is Neosporin for cuts-type issues and a product called Bag Balm which is for chapped and chafed skin in cows, but is great for humans and bunnies on dry skin like feet. However, you don’t want to use something that will interact or prevent whatever your vet prescribes. Usually an initial visit can get you prepared to treat him periodically on its own after that if it’s a mild concern.

[Sarita]

Could also be ear mites…a vet would have to diagnose this as well though.

[oh_katiee]

i took him to the vet today and he gave himself a bacterial infection from scratching so much! my vet gave me some ointment and some q-tips to put on the dry spot inside his ear twice a day for a week. lets hope it gets better!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad you got him checked out. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Did your vet check inside his ears at all?

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