Small hard lump at base of ear

Question

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The text above is a follow-up to ...
Thank you for the fast reply.

The lump is just underneath her ear where it joins the head, but not actually on the 'join' itself.  I have just felt it again, and it feels like a hard, round lump.  It doesn't seem to bother her when I touch it.

Unfortunately, I live in central France (I hope that it isn't a problem for me to use an American website?), and the local vets just about cope with dealing with cats and dogs as they are used to larger farm animals. The rabbit in question, Sage has been to the vet here once when she had a respiratory infection.  I had to tell the vet what antibiotics my previous rabbits in the UK had been given (Baytril).  Eventually the vet gave me some, plus a syringe to inject her with!  The vet is very nice, but it is rare to find one with much knowledge of rabbits.

This is mainly why I am asking on here, so that I have a chance of letting the vet know what it might be!  I know this sounds awful, but unfortunately, that is how it is here.

Thanks again for your help.

Tay
-----Question-----
Dear Dana

I stroking my rabbit earlier, I noticed that there was a small, hard lump at the base of her ear.  She is a lop eared rabbit, has been spayed and is roughly 5-6 years old (we adopted her, so don't know her real age).  There isn't a lump beneath her other ear.
She is eating and drinking fine, and has no movement problems.  Do you have any idea what this might be?
-----Answer-----
Dear Taymar,

Is the lump on the bunny's face at the base of the ear, *under* the ear canal (the slightly soft, bulbous area where the ear meets the head), or is it actually the base of the ear?  Since this is a lop bunny, I worry about ear infections and abscesses, which are very common in lops.

Lumps can also be fibromas, or--rarely--tumors.  So your bunny should be checked out by a rabbit-experienced vet as soon as possible.  If this is an ear infection, then the sooner it's treated, the better the chances for full recovery.  Please read:

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

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.

Happy New Year!

Dana


Answer
P.S. - Of course it's no problem for you to use AllExperts, even if I'm in the U.S.  I'm happy to help, if I can.

If you would like to join a HUGE international group of rabbit lovers who help each other solve health, care and behavior problems, you might wish to join EtherBun.  More information and links for joining are here:

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

There are many people in Europe on this list, and they may be able to help you with veterinarian referrals and other things.

Happy New Year!

Dana