bunny ears

Question
I have a bunny and about 3 days ago its one ear started to go down. One ear is down and the other one is up, what does this mean and is it something to worry about?

Answer
Dear John,

If the bunny is a baby (4-10 weeks old), then it could be that he's just now expressing the weakened cartilage at the base of the year characteristic of lop breed rabbits.  If both parents weren't lops, he might just lop one ear, and be a cute "unicorn" bunny.  Or he might eventually lop both ears, depending on his age.

If your bunny is an adult, there are three worrisome things that could be wrong:

1.  ear mites
2.  ear infection
3.  early sign of E. cuniculi infection, precursor to head tilt

Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

for more information on how mites are safely treated, even though your bunny doesn't show fur loss.  A good rabbit vet should be able to diagnose this and treat with Revolution (selamectin), if necessary.

If it's an ear infection, please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html

for the best course of action.

If it's E. cuniculi, please see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/tilt.html

Sometimes a bunny with an ear problem will not suffer complete head tilt, but will only lop down one ear--but the reasons for the problem can be the same as for head tilt.  

To find a good rabbit vet to help you, please use the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Dana