Blister on my rabbits ear

Question
Hi, I hope you can answer this question for me? My rabbit has what looks like a blister at the top of her ear. It is about the size of a small marble. It wasn't there last night but it is tonight. Thanks in advance.

Answer
Dear Joanne,

Without seeing it, I can't know for sure.  But it could be a small hematoma, if it came up that fast.

Sometimes an animal will be playing so boisterously that he'll smack his ear against something hard, breaking small blood vessels inside the ear.  In the absence of air, the blood just keeps flowing and forms a bubble.  The usually treatment is either to leave it alone (if it has stopped growing) and let the body resorb the blood, or--if it's still increasing in size--to lance it and allow the atmosphere to stimulate clotting.

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to have a look and see what this really is.  I suppose there's a chance it could be an abscess, but those usually don't form so quickly.

I hope this helps, and that your bunny will be completely back to normal soon.

Dana