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Flaking Skin on Outer Ears

22 9:45:58

Question
Tofu\'s Ears
Tofu's Ears  
My 2 yr old mini rex Tofu has had dry flakey skin on both outer ears for a few days now. It does not seem to be bothering him or causing any discomfort. The area is not red, swollen, or bleeding. He has not been scratching either.

If I rub the spot on his ears where they dryness is, some of the fur does come off. I checked his inner ears thoroughly and they look fine. Also he does not seem to have any dry or flaking skin anywhere else on his body. I am quite concerned and want to take him to the vet immediately, although my husband thinks it's just dry skin and that I am overreacting and we should wait it out.

The picture shows the balding areas on both ears which seems to be in the exact same spot on both ears, which I find odd. I couldn't really get a good picture of the dry skin. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Dalenna,

What kind of cage do you have?  It would be really unlikely that both ears would have identical patches of dryness.  It looks as though he is rubbing his ears on something.  Personally I would not take him to the vet for his.  However if you notice that he is itching or has any irritation then I would proceed to the vet.  I would also watch him very closely to see where his favorite spot to lay is and see how he is resting his ears.  Also watch his other habits like eating and digging.  I have never seen this on a rabbits ears but I have seen it on their noses.  We have had several bunnies brought to the vet for identical spots on their noses.  Every one of those bunnies was fed out of a metal j type feeder.  When they ate their noses rubbed against the metal causing the baldness.  

As much as I don't like to admit that husbands can sometimes be right when it comes to bunnies, I believe at this time he is probably correct.

If you have any other concerns please feel free to let me know.

Pam