Rabbit ear cleaning?

Question
QUESTION: Dear Dr.Krempels,  
My bunny Momo is a 1 year old female holland lop. She is spayed. I feed her with Timothy, pellets, fresh vegetable and clean water. After she had spayed, her habit changed. She became short-tempered, pees everywhere and often bite people. I wanna know why. It's said that bunnies become docile and won't pee everywhere. I wanna know if there is any way to make her get back to her good habit as before?

The vet told me that dirt can easily hide in holland lop's ears and that might lead to otitis. The vet suggested me to buy Virbac epi-otic to help her clean her ears. Thought the vet said that lotion is safe for bunnies, I still worried that might hurt her ears. Do you think it's safe to use virbac epi-otic to clean her ears? Do bunnies need us to help them clean their ears? I am looking forward for your valuable opinions. Thank you so much!

ANSWER: Dear Momo's "Mom",

We use Virbac Epi-otic to clean our bunnies' ears, and it works very well.  I hope Momo's ears will stay clean and well because it is true that lop ears, with their abnormal position, do tend to develop infections.  

I wish I could tell you that Momo's personality will go back to her original sweet nature.  But I cannot guarantee that.  I, too, have noticed that sometimes a very sweet-tempered female rabbit will become grouchy and mean after being spayed.

It is for this reason that I am starting to research (with my own rescued rabbits) the option of spaying via hysterectomy (removal of the uterus only, including both cervices) instead of ovariohysterectomy (removal of uterus and ovaries).  So far we have three rabbits whom we have spayed by removing the uterus but leaving the ovaries.  Their personalities did not change, and they have remained loving and sweet.  At first, they had some false pregnancies, but those did subside with time.  There does appear to be some communication between uterus and ovaries, though no one knows to what degree or exactly how this works.

Saving the ovaries not only can keep the personality the same, but it also will reduce the risk of osteoporosis.  Making sure the uterus is fully removed will eliminate the risk of uterine adenocarcinoma (common in unspayed females), but will not eliminate the risk of ovarian cancer (very rare in rabbits) or mammary cancers (also quite rare in rabbits).  So it's not 100% fool-proof.  But I am trying to determine whether the benefits of leaving the ovaries outweigh the relatively small risk of other reproductive-system associated cancers.  

I wish I could have shared this with you before Momo was spayed.  But I only started doing this about two years ago myself.  It's very new, and I'm sure once I start spreading the word, it will also be very controversial.

That said, please make sure there are no medical reasons for Momo's aggression and peeing everywhere.  If she has a urinary tract infection, that could produce both of these things.  You might want to discuss this with your vet.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Dr.Krempels,
I am happy to receive your reply, thank you so much. Momo got a removal of uterus and ovaries, and her personality changed. I hope that more care and company can help her keep in good mood.  When I saw the removal of ovaries might lead to osteoporosis, I got nervous. Could you please tell me if there is any way or any food that could help to less the chance of gettiing osteoporosis?
    
I check Momo's eyes, teeth, fur and limbs everyday, especailly her ears, but I still wondering if you could tell me how to keep her ears clean. As using the virbac epi-otic, I still have several question about that. I saw some bunnies who use virbac epi-otic in the clinic, and the bunnies seems so scared and they even thump their hind feet. Do you think that holland lop need to clean their ears with virbac epi-otic every month? I am worried that the liquid might stay in her ears and cause bacteria. How can I make sure that the liquid won't stay in her ears?

I am looking for your reply, thank you so much!  

momo's mom

Answer
Dear Momo's Mom

There isn't really anything you can do with diet to prevent osteoporosis caused by a lack of estrogen.  This is a metabolic problem, not a dietary one.  And it is not something that will likely cause serious problems.  Many, many rabbits have complete spays, and most do not have serious osteoporosis-related health problems, as far as we know.

Lop bunnies do need more ear care than regular rabbits, as their ear canals are often narrowed, especially if their ears are really loppy.  Holland lops are a little less so, in many cases, but they still can be prone to problems.

I cannot tell you how to clean your bunny's ears, as that's something your vet should show you in person.  But this is a good guide for starters:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/groom.html

Hope this helps.

Dana