Rabbit scratching ear and shaking head, but ear looks clean?

Question
Hello! I have two Netherland Dwarf rabbits, nearly 4 months old. Yesterday one of them started flattening his right ear back and occasionally shaking his head side to side. I looked inside and it looked clean, so I assumed he might have hurt it and left it alone.

Today, he seems to be shaking his head more, and now he is licking his foot and then scratching at his ear. I looked inside with a flashlight and it still looks clean except for the tiniest little graybrown crusty batch (it's about half the size of a pinhead). I've been looking all over the internet to find out what this is, since it's probably the problem (he shakes his head if I touch it) but it doesn't look like mites or anything I could find.

Do you have any insight? I am wondering if this is something I can remedy at home or of I need to take him to the vet, which would be monday the soonest and I worry waiting over the weekend might make it worse which is why I'd like to help if possible.

Thank you so much for your time!
Danielle

Answer
Dear Danielle,

If you can see foreign matter in the ear, then that could well be the irritant.  But without seeing it, I cannot make a guess about what it is.  Rest assured it's not life-threatening.  But if it's still there by today, it would be good to have a rabbit-savvy vet examine it and remove it, as necessary.  It could be the very beginnings of mange or ear canker, which means Revolution (selamectin) will be a good choice for a cure.

Hope the little guy will be fine soon!

Dana

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