sore ear

Question
I have a 5 month old lops and she is awesome over the last couple of weeks we have been away and had someone watching her.  We came home to find that the inside of her ear had a dried up bump with a slit down the middle.  She is eating well playing constantly but when I finally had time to sit and play with her I noticed the whole inside of her ear had became a crustation.  There is no puss or ozing and she (thank God) doesn't seem bothered.  I will be taking her to the vet but, I'm waiting until pay day.  Is there anything I can do for her?  (Is polysporin an option?)

Answer
Hi Ruby

It sounds like she has a pretty bad infestation of ear mites.  Although there could be other causes some of the signs of bad ear mites are exactly as you described.  The best thing to do is get her to a vet so that they can give her a antiparasitic medication to get rid of the bugs.  The vet can also look closely at the ear with special glasses and see if there any mites present.  Occasionally you can see them with your bare eye but it is rare.

I wouldn't put anything in her ear.  It could make the problem worse.  The only thing that I would even remotely think of recommending is a few drops of old fashioned mineral oil.  This will help loosen up the scabs.  Don't pick at the scabs they are extremely painful and need to fall off on their own.  Some people have even had success eradicating ear mites with mineral oil but if they are already crusted that usually means that the bunnies ears are severely infected.  Don't use any over the counter medication because if the bunnies immune system is week it can actually cross the blood brain barrier and cause all sorts of neurological problems.

Good luck and if you have any further questions please let me know.

Pam