Question
Rabbit Ear Problem
Hello there.
Our rabbit is a 2.5-month-old Holland Lop. She is a female, un-spayed rabbit. She is living outdoors during the day and indoors during the night. Her outdoor hutch is wooden and has a lot of mesh. It consists of two areas: the bottom (which has no floor but just sits on the ground) and the top, which is a wooden room with a solid floor. Her indoor cage is a wire metal cage with a solid floor. (it can be seen partly in the attached images) We do not currently own any other rabbits; the rabbit is not in a community.
We recently noticed that the rabbit seems to have a bald or partially bald spot on her left ear. We had not noticed this in the beginning of the day, but about 5 or 6 hours later, the spot was discovered. The spot is slightly damp, as if her ear is leaking some sort of fluid, but the fluid does not seem to be blood.
We have not noticed any changes in her general behavior nor her appetite. We're hoping that it's nothing serious but we wanted to be sure.
Thanks so much for your help.
Quin
AnswerHi Quin:
I apologize for the delay in answering your question. I was away at a rabbit convention since last Friday and just returned early this morning.
One thing that greatly concerns me is that your rabbits outdoor hutch has a bottom half that sits on the ground.
This puts your bunny at great risk from small predators, many of which can be fatal.
There are many insects that can bite and kill a rabbit.
Spiders can be fatal. Wasps, hornets and bees can be fatal. A single fly can cause a condition known as "fly-strike" which causes a very, very painful death in a rabbit and its from one single fly.
Additionally, mosquitos can carry diesease; ants can cause painful bits and parasites and maggots are a big risk if a rabbit sits on the ground.
All these critters are attracted to the moisture on the ground and once they smell feces, will enter the cage.
Small snakes that can fit through the mesh can be a huge problem.
Based on your photo and description, I believe your rabbit was bitten by something.
Perhaps a spider or one of many various pinching/stinging type bugs. It's common for the fur to fall off around a bite wound (even if you see NO mark at all) and the fluid is white blood cells flooding the area in an attempt to prevent infection and heal - natures built in antibiotic!
I'd suggest you purchase a product called "vetericyn wound and infection treatment". It's an amazing product that is 100% safe and works very, very well for problems such as this.
It can be purchased at most feed and grain stores, large pet supply stores and many online stores.
Here is a link to buy it from if you choose to shop online:
http://store.vetericyn.com/index.php/wound-infection/vetericyn-wound-and-infecti...
The most important thing to do is modify her housing so that she has no direct contact with the ground. I'm quite confident she will heal from this without any complications, but you certainly dont want to risk it happening again.
Please let me know if I can answer any other questions.
Best wishes to you and your bunny.
Lisa L.
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