Safe ear drops for my bunny

Question
Hello !
I am a bunny parent from India. My bunny has been scratching her ears a lot since the past one month. Since diagnosis is mainly symptomatic in nature, the vet performed an ivermectin shot on her and gave her Enrofloxacin (oral tablets). I will also get ear drops for her. These are the compositions of the few veterinary ear drops we get here. Can you please rule out which compositions are bunny safe and which are not ?

1) Enrofloxacin + Silver Sulfadiazine
2) Ofloxacin + Clotrimazole + Betamethasone Dipropionate + lignocaine hydrochloride
3) Salicylic Acid IP + Phenoxyethanol BP

If despite the oral and ear drop course her symptoms do not cease, I will go for an ear culture.

Thank you.

Answer
Dear BlurHearted,

Of the three choices, #1 is the best.  Enrofloxacin and silver sulfadiazine are both safe and effective for rabbits.  If no culture and sensitivity testing is done, there's no way to be sure that the antibiotic is necessary (i.e., that bacteria sensitive to it are present).  But if your vet sees signs of bacterial infection in the ear, this antibiotic is a good "first guess".

I would avoid #2, as corticosteroids (betamethasone) are not recommended for rabbits.

Drop #3 will provide some anti-inflammatory help (salicylate) and possibly some general bacteriocidal help (phenoxyethanol), but probably will not be as effective as the enrofloxacin.

Hope this helps, and that bun will be well soon.


Dana