Ear infection recovery. Should I be concerned?

[OliverBun]

Olive was developing head tilt so I took him to the vet on Monday. She said it was an ear infection. He’s been on antibiotics spice Monday night. I got home tonight (Friday) and he seems like his head is not at all improved and possibly a little worse.
Is this cause for concern?Or is it possible the mets haven’t had enough time to work enough to eliminate the tilting head?

[LBJ10]

It can take a long time to get an ear infection under control. This is especially true with oral antibiotics because they have difficulty making it to the inner ear. Many times bunnies will need to be on antibiotics for 3-4 weeks.

[OliverBun]

Ok follow up. He’s not pooping tonight but doesn’t seem to be in pain. He took the treat I gave him. Concern?

[jerseygirl]

How long since he toileted? Has his appetite been normal? What antibiotic is he on?

I would ask the vet to add an analgesic/anti-inflammatory to his treatment. {{{Oliver}}} !

[LittlePuffyTail]

How is he doing now?

[OliverBun]

Well were still seeing some head tilt but trying not to worry. In general it seems a bit better. Pooping is infrequent but is happening. I’ve starting him on reglan twice a day to help. He also gets probiotic in the morning and some CC in the evening.
He’s really losing his appetite. He hasn’t eaten hay in days.Every dose it gets worse. I expected this but it still worries me.
Two more doses and he’s half way through his baytril course. Do we just try to power through the lack of appetite?

[OliverBun]

Another thing I’m wondering about-should I increase his probiotic does?
His vet was really vague about probiotic usage last time we talked about it. She said he should only get it once a day. So I’m sharing my own priobiotics with him on an apple every morning. He gets half a capsule (roughly).

[LBJ10]

Hmm, that’s a tough one. Sometimes antibiotics make bunnies lose their appetites a bit. You certainly don’t want him to get to the point where he’s really not doing well. You have been giving him some CC though, so that should help some. As long as he is still eating/pooping, then he isn’t in immediate danger. Another thought would be to wait a little longer and, if there have been no signs of improvement, have the vet reevaluate the ear infection. Sometimes it just takes a long time for the antibiotics to do their job. But there is also the possibility of trying a different antibiotic as well.

What kind of probiotics are these?

[OliverBun]

Well this is the second antibiotic we’ve tried. He’s got an appointment on Wednesday night so I’ll ask the vet about the eating at that point. In the meantime I’m going to lower his baytril dose a bit. He’s taking a really high dose.
The probiotics are some of my own called PB8. My vet said there’s no need to get benebac since it would be the same bacteria in both human and animal probiotics.
He’s been hopping in large circles always turning to the left. I know circling is a symptom of infections but given that these are large circles I’m not sure if he’s playing or experiencing symptoms. Thoughts? The radius of the circles must be 3ft or so.

[LBJ10]

We did an experiment with Wooly. The vet mixed some Baytril into a steroid-free ear wash. His eardrum wasn’t ruptured, so we thought it would be safe to give it a try. The concoction worked surprisingly well. If the ear infection is particularly difficult to treat, it might be worth looking at other options. “Attacking” it from both sides might not be a bad idea, but you would have to talk to your vet about it.

The probiotics are probably okay. Not sure about the dosage since they are meant for people.

Is he “intentionally” circling or does he appear to be trying to go in a straight line?

[OliverBun]

I can’t tell if it’s intentional or not. When he wants to move in to a different room he can… So I’m inclined to say it’s intentional but I really don’t know. He’s got drops and oral and.

[SmokeyBunnyRobinson]

When Butterscotch had an ear infection, my vet did 4 weeks of penicillin shots. He had a ruptured ear drum and a severe head tilt, though. He was left with a permanent head tilt, but he was gaining weight like crazy and his ear canal looked better, so that’s how the vet knew he was better. I had an awful experience with Baytril and my chinchilla, so I didn’t want to use Baytril unless I REALLY had to.

[drwil]

Could the vet remove the infection with surgery? Kids get glue ear that is so think antibiotics can hardly penetrate. When the doctor puts tubes in the material in the ear can be much thicker than rubber cement and is hard to pull out.

Your vet can see if it is serous (watery) or ear glue by looking at the eardrum.

The vet will need an ontology vacuum which is gentle and will not damage the tiny ear bones.

[OliverBun]

Well I got home today and Olive seemed weird. He has zero interest in eating….We saw the vet tonight. She said his ears look good but to finish the treatment given that he still has symptoms.
She doesn’t know why he’s in stasis. He’s in his cage for bed now and is just sitting there….no eating. I’m very worried. What could have caused this? Could Baytril do this a week and a half in??

[jerseygirl]

Baytril can effect some rabbits.

However, many vets believe the number one cause for a bun going into stasis is pain. I would be asking he go on decent dose of pain med. the other benefit is the anti-inflammatory properties. Where there is inflammation, there is greater opportunity for bacteria to cause infection.

With ear infection, there may also be nausea & dizziness. If he has metaclopromide (reglan) for stasis, this *may* also help with nausea. Another that is often used for head tilt is meclizine. Is an antihistamine but side benefit is it can act as an anti emetic.

If the vet you saw tonight has not treated Oliver’s inappetance, I would be going somewhere else for a second opinion.

[LittlePuffyTail]

How is he doing today? You might need to force feed and possible have fluids administered if he’s still not eating. (((Oliver)))))

Some bunnies are very sensitive to Baytril. My vet is always very adamant that poops and appetite be monitored very closely during treatment.

[OliverBun]

He got sub q fluids last night. No eating over night. He pooped about 20 poops this morning and they look normal. He’s eaten 2 dandelion green leaves, a piece of apple and a bite of kale.
I’ve been force feeding him since last night.
I want to stop the baytril…. Since that seems like the most likely culprit to me. Waiting on a call back from the vet.
Update: he’s pooping quite a bit of normal sized but dark poops. Still refusing to eat though. Not sure if I should be confused or relieved.

[LittlePuffyTail]

At least he is eating some. And yay for poos!

[OliverBun]

He’s eating a bit more now but it’s being very selective about his food. My vet finally called me. She said she’s worried he’s not going to get better and this is it… That was hard for me to hear.
She’s going out of town to an exotics conference. Today is her last day and she wont be back until the 14th. So it’s pretty much up to me to care for him until then.
She’s very worried.

[Bam]

I’m sorry to hear it. I guess you’ll just have to keep up the CC as support-feed and give him whatever else (almost) that he wants to eat.
(((((Oliver)))))

[MiNinoJack]

My boy was refusing to eat this week due to pain. We had an incident earlier this week with his cage (I posted about it) where he got bruised and there was some inflammation. I gave him some metacam on cilantro (his favorite – I can’t administer meds directly because he refuses). He perked up after that and began eating again. Is it possible the ear infection is causing him pain?

I’m a new bunny parent, so I don’t know a lot, but my boy Jack doesn’t like to eat when he’s hurting. Just a thought.

[OliverBun]

He was in pain during the worst of the stasis but is no longer. He gets daily pain meds anyway because of some pretty bad arthritis.
The vet has advised stopping all abs to get him eatingg again and then resume baytil treatment. He’s purring like crazy and seems comfortable. Eating but much slower than usual. I hope that by the end of the weekend he’ll be eating normally again.

[Bam]

I love to hear that he’s purring. Old age should be comfortable and purr-inspiring. It’s very likely it is the baytril, loss of appetite is listed as the most common side-effect.

Sending him even more vibes (((((((Oliver)))))))

[OliverBun]

Olive has started to eat some hay!!
Still eating slower than usual.. Takes all day to finish his breakfast greens vs the usual 2 hours.
I’m wondering if baytril ear drops could cause gut issues? We’ve stopped all eat infection treatment but I’m wondering if we can continue the ear drops.
I can’t call the vet because she’s out of town

[LBJ10]

The ear wash I use for Wooly doesn’t seem to affect his appetite. Maybe because he isn’t ingesting it?

[LittlePuffyTail]

Bindi just finished a course of Baytril Otic for over a month and it never affected him. But then again the oral has never bothered him either.

My vet did say to watch Bindi’s appetite during the ear drop treatment because it was so lengthy. She said the amount that would actually get into his digestive system is minor but some bunnies are sensitive.

It’s really hard to say. Wish I could be more help.

[OliverBun]

New question: Olive has been eating excessive amounts of hay tonight. I mean almost non stop for 3 hours. He’s not a big hay eater so this is highly unusual.
Should I be concerned with this?

[jerseygirl]

No, I’d say this is a fantastic turn of events! He obviously knows what he needs.
Make sure there’s plenty of water available. He’ll prob drink more if hay intake is higher then norm.

[OliverBun]

OK. He’s always changing his behavior to freak me out. Last night I found him sleeping in his litter box. I’ve never seen him do that in 11 years yet there he was snoring away.

[OliverBun]

Update:
We began doing ear drops twice daily for the infection. Within two days I noticed Olive was eating slower than usual. We stopped those. He’s still not eating normally. He is eating hay, which is good. But he’s eating his greens exceedingly slowly. Takes about 8hours to eat what he would normally eat in 2 hours. I just got home from work and found out he only ate about half of his morning greens over the 10 hours I was gone. He is still on twice daily motility drugs.
So we currently are not treating the ear infection and still have eating issues. I have no idea what to do. I am worried and extremely stressed.
Please send him good vibes.

[LBJ10]

Strange thought, but has the vet checked his teeth recently?

[OliverBun]

Yes. He has no history of tooth problems and his teeth get checked every time he goes in.

[Bam]

(((((((Olive)))))))

I’m glad he’s eating, albeit slow.

[OliverBun]

An update; We began Olive on a different oral antibiotic that he has had without complication in the past. He’s been on that for almost a week and so far so good. My vet would like him to be on it for 6 weeks. That makes me uncomfortable and we will be doing a check-in at the 3 week mark to make the final decision.
Olive began scratching at his right ear more than he should. So we began 2 drops of Baytril otc in both ears a week ago also. The last 2 days, Olive has been scratching at his left ear (the one with the infection) an excessive amount. That is making me very nervous.My fiance thinks it is just the ear drops bothering him, but I’m not so sure as if that was the case he would be scratching at both ears. I’m just hoping we can make it through the weekend and I will call the vet on monday morning.
Other than that, Olive seems quite happy. I really hope we can take care of this infection issue, although it’s looking less and less likely like that is a possibility. We may end of having to just manage this for the rest of his life.

If anyone has had experiences with baytril otc ear drops causing itchy ears, please tell me! It would help to calm my nerves as I fear his yeast infection is returning.

[LBJ10]

I don’t have experience with Baytril Otic ear drops. Maybe LPT knows? I do know that antifungals will cause itching to intensify, but I haven’t experienced that with antibiotics. I’m glad the new oral antibiotic is agreeing with him more.

[BinkyBunny]

I also do not have experience with Baytril drops. But I have experience with actually giving Baytril shots under the skin and the vet told me that the Baytril will sting underneath and cause a little discomfort. I wonder if the Baytril stings deep in the ear, and maybe more so one that is infected. But it could also be that that Baytril is working. Hard to know. I had a bunny who had some some reoccuring infections due to tooth issues and the vet was finally able to get deep into the infection to get a decent culture — so that she could treat it properly. This excessive itching would definitely would be worth talking to the vet about.

Good luck — I know ear infections and tooth infections are tricky! Sending healing vibes!

[OliverBun]

BB-What do you mean “But it could also be that that Baytril is working”? Does is cause discomfort when the antibiotic starts to work?

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’ve never had a problem with Baytril causing itching. Bindi just finished a course of over a month of Baytril Otic in one ear and had no problems. That doesn’t mean it’s not causing your bun some discomfort, though. Wish I could be of more help.

Sorry, if I’m repeating myself and you’ve answered before, but has the vet done an ear culture for Olive?

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