Lump under bun’s ear + other concerns

Hi there! I’d appreciate any advice about my little bunny. His name is Bubs and he is a three-year-old Holland lop. This past year he has been a little off, but still eating & not showing any signs of extreme pain. He has had some problems with controlling his pee/poo, reoccurring eye problems, playing less, & wobbling over when he tries to use his back legs. I went to a rabbit savvy vet in April, he was diagnosed with arthritis, and they gave him meds for his eyes. I feel like the meds never truly helped his eyes, because the cloudiness in his eyeballs never goes away, and the redness/irritation comes and goes.

Just the other day, I was petting him and noticed a marble sized bump a little bit under his ear. I looked in his ear, and there is a bit of wax. I took him to the vet today, he said there isn’t that much wax that he can see & that the bump does not feel like an abscess. Bubs has no reaction when we touch the area. He’s not in pain from it as far as I can tell. I have been researching for days, anxious about what is wrong with my bun. I’m curious as to what you guys think. He is going to be sedated tomorrow and the vet is going to check the lump & his teeth. I just want to be prepared to ask him to look for anything else. Do you think he is showing any signs of E.colliculi? Or have you guys had any experiences with tumors in that area? If it is just an ear infection, how long could he have had it & could it have caused all the other weird behaviors this year?

Oops I meant E. cuniculi*

An inner/middle ear infection can cause multiple unusual symptoms. It can cause issues with balance, it can cause facial paralysis, it can cause head tilt. And an infection in one area of the head can spread to another. Like an ear, eye, dental, nasal infection spreading to other parts of the head and causing problems there. So yes, an inner ear infection could be at the core of many of your rabbits issues. But it's also possible there's multiple issues going on too.

https://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Otitis

Infections in rabbits can cause sudden symptoms or can cause slow long term symptoms if the infection is somewhat encapsulated before starting to spread. So you could have symptoms start months ago, and gradually worsen.

EC is always a possibility when there is hind limb weakness and urinary issues. But with there being a possible uncontrolled eye infection and the presence of a lump near the ear canal, I would expect the vet to first rule out those more obvious indicators of a possible ear infection, or the possibility of a tumor.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Encephalitozoon_cuniculi

If the vet can't rule EC or an ear infection out, often both will be treated as possible causes, with an appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic, panacur for the possible EC, and meloxicam to reduce inflammation and possible cell damage. Often baytril will be the first antibiotic a vet will try, and this usually needs to be for 4-6 weeks minimum. But sometimes baytril just isn't an effective enough antibiotic for infections in rabbits. So if there is an infection and you aren't seeing improvement on the antibiotic prescribed that first week, or an actual worsening of symptoms, discuss with your vet changing antibiotics. There are some that can be much more effective, depending on the bacteria involved.

If you don't feel your rabbit is getting the correct treatment, or if your current vet isn't very knowledgeable about rabbits, I'd suggest getting a second opinion with a knowledgeable rabbit vet. It can make all the difference in your rabbit getting repeated insufficient or incorrect diagnosis and treatment, and a really good rabbit vet getting right to the core of the problems with a correct diagnosis and treatment. It's of course not a certainty, but you are more likely to get your bun the right treatment by seeing a knowledgeable rabbit vet, vs an inexperienced one. It sounds like your bun has some serious health issues going on that may not be getting accurately diagnosed and treated.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Choosing_a_rabbit_veterinarian

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Idaho

https://rabbit.org/care/rabbit-vets-near-me/

Thank you! This helps tremendously. I love my sweet boy so much. I am supposed to take him in again to this vet tomorrow morning, but I might go get a second opinion from a different vet. It is so tough to find a rabbit savvy vet! This guy claims on his website he is, but I feel like he may not know as much as he’s leading on. I have been going back and forth about his diagnosis, but was trying to trust it. Thank you for giving me the courage to get a second opinion.