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1 drooping ear

22 10:56:27

Question
My daughter's 10 week old rabbit has 1 drooping ear.  She is scratching the back of the ear a bit, but not a lot.  I see no  discharge or swelling, he is eating and drinking as usual.  Just the 1 droopy ear. What, do you suppose, is the problem?  I'm thinking mites.  If so, can I use the same ear-mite drops for them as I would my dogs?  This is our first rabbit and I'm  a bit hesitant.  Thank You.

Answer
Dear Jennifer,

The problem could be mites, but it also could be an ear infection, which won't resolve with topical mite treatment.  Let's consider those mites first, though.  

The safest treatment is Revolution (selamectin) from your vet.  This will take care of fleas, mites, lice, and even ticks. DO NOT USE FRONTLINE (fipronil), which can be deadly to rabbits.

I would recommend for your peace of mind that you get the wee bunny to a good rabbit vet for a complete checkup and look into the ear, to be sure it's not an infection that needs to be treated with the appropriate antibiotics, as per:

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

You can find a good vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Finally, since the bunny is so young, there's a possibility that s/he is simply just now expressing her lop genetics.  If one or both of her parents were "lop" bunnies (i.e., breeds with the ears that droop down), she would start to express that trait at the age of about 6-8 weeks.  Depending on her genes, she may drop only one ear, or both, or may drop one or both ears only part way.  Cute!  :)

In any case, I hope this helps you start to figure out whether you have a problem or not.  But I would recommend you find a good vet now, anyway, before you need one.  

Take care,
Dana