my rat is bleeding from his ear

Question
Hi, my name is Crystal and I'm 20 years old. I've had almost 20 rats including a litter of 14. I love the little guys and gals like they were my own children. I've come across many health problems but most were common like tumors or pneumonia but I would really love your advice with this problem. I just noticed about an hour ago that my rat Radio started bleeding from his left ear. He's constantly shaking his head as well. He's not off balance at all, not holding his head cockeyed and he eats perfectly fine. I'm not sure if it is an infection or a tumor in his head and I can't tell if it has an odor or not because just a week ago his tumor which I originally thought was a hernia because of its location but it got a little bigger did the same thing as the lady's rat had here:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pet-Rats-3537/2008/6/Pet-rat-tumor-leaking-1.htm

The only difference was the black thing wasn't oozing. I followed your advice, took him to the vet[which recommended surgery] and he gave me a topical ointment for it instead of an oral that you recommended. I'm not sure if there is a difference or not. My rat ate the black smelly thing and the entire tumor the following day. I've been keeping the wound clean and making sure I put the medicine on him. I'm not sure if eating whatever it was is the reason for his ear bleeding but I'm really concerned about it. I got him not even two months ago from Petsmart and he's about 6-8 months old. He is a replacement for my 5 year old who recently passed away and I'm hoping not to go through the same thing so soon. I've really gotten attached to the little guy.

Radio's ear is not excessively bleeding, just splatters from him shaking his head on his ear and when I look inside his ear I can see blood but it's just sitting there. If I push on that side of his head, the blood raises but it goes back to its original spot when I remove my finger. I've put pressure on many places of his head and he's not giving me any sign that he's in pain and I don't feel any unusual lumps on his head. Can I use the medicine I got from the vet[Nystatin-Neomycin Sulfate-Thiostrepton-Trimamcinolone Acetonide Ointment is what the tube and box says it is] in his ear or do I just use neosporin until I can have him checked by a vet again? I hope you can help.

Answer

There are several things he could have, it may not be an inner ear infection.   He could have, for starts, an auricular hematoma.
This is when blood fills in the ear and there is considerable swelling, scratching or digging of the ear and head shaking. The constant scratching of the ear is what may cause small blood vessels to rupture and this is the reason for the blood.  The underlying cause could be from infection in the inner ear.
If this is what it is, the hematoma will need drained.  

Second possibility could be polyps deep in the ear that may have ruptured. However, you did not mention if there is any pus or foul odor?

Third, there could been an abscess deep within the ear that has ruptured or is leaking.

If any of these things are the culprit, this will require a real skilled vet that is exotic certified and has a clinic that is well equipped to care for exotics properly and also to operate if needed,