Swelling in Ear of Adult Rabbit

Question

Rabbit's Swollen Ear   I adopted my rabbit half a year ago from an old friend and I'm not too sure about it's age, but it's an adult rabbit already. One of his ear suddenly started swelling a day ago, and he feels uncomfortable when I touch it. Also that ear sags down when he's hopping around or resting, even though the other ear is up. However he is still active and eating well. His faeces and urine looks normal, and he still behaves like how he usually does. There aren't any visible sores or wounds, and he is perfectly safe from other animals. His ear is pretty thick, i cant tell if the opening to the ear canal is almost closed though. Is there anything I can do to ease the swelling? And what are the possible reasons for his ear to swell? (is it possible that this resulted from getting bitten by big ants?)

Answer
Dear Olivia,

There are any number of reasons for an ear to swell this way, from the bite of a venomous insect to an ear infection.  Do not guess about the cause.  Get your bunny to a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for proper in-person diagnosis and appropriate treatment, depending on the cause of the problem.  If the ear is tender, ask the vet about analgesic medication to help with that until the condition improves.  But get him to the vet ASAP.  It looks very uncomfortable!

I hope this helps.

Dana