My Bunny's Ears are Dying!

[Aliena]

My little bunny Alaska has had such a bad start to life, first having had a bad case of enteritis (which most of you know) and now she has a problem with her ears. The tips of her ears are going black and hard and are getting infected. We've been to the vet and apparantly her circulation is so bad that the bloods not getting to her ears and the tissue is dying. She is on Baytril for the infection (I know, it's supposedly bad for young bunnies but what else do I do?) but the vet said all the medications used for circulation aren't approved for rabbits (what's new).

I don't know what to do!!! People are starting to suggest that I put her down but I can't bear to do that. She is the cutest thing ever, loves to run around my room (wee's EVERYWHERE) and when I enter the room she comes running over to me and stands up on her back feet tolook up at me.

I have spoken to a couple of breeders in New Zealand and some of them have come across this before and say that it is genetic and is really, really rare (and I think those bunnies that had this died).

I am really stuck. I'm running out of ideas and options (not to mention money) and I just don't know what to do.

 

[naturestee]

Hi Aliena, I was talking to Minilops about this last night.

From the sound of it I don't think there's any way to improve the circulation in the ears. They're just too thin to get good blood flow. But is it possible to amputate the ears? I'm not sure if she's capable of surviving surgery or not, but IMO that's probably the best option. That's what they do for human diabetes patients whose extremeties (usually the feet) don't get enough circulation and start dying. Otherwise, the infection can spread throughout the rest of the body and be fatal.

So my advice is to talk to the vet about amputating the ears. Even if it's a long shot for her to survive a surgery, it's better than what will happen without the surgery. Also talk to her about possibly using stronger antibiotics. Oral Baytril (I assume it's oral?) can only do so much. Injected medications such as penicillan might do more in preventing the infection from spreading to the rest of the body.

In all honesty, euthanasia might be necessary. But talk to the vet about amputating the ears first. If that can't be done, you'll have to decide how long you want to wait because it probably will be necessary. It's a hard choice, but it might be best to end her pain before it becomes too bad.

Please keep us updated. *hugs*

 

[Aliena]

Thanks. I will talk to the vet about amputation although the vet said something about if it was her heart that was causing the problem (by not pumping the blood around properly) then there would be no point amputating because that wouldn't fix her heart (if that was the problem). Her ears seem to be a bit sore but she is so happy that I don't want to end her life just yet. She is currently sitting on the lap of my giant teddy bear in the sunshine in my room, it's so cute! She is brighter each day and is getting back to her mischievious self - tipping her pellets everywhere, chewing on things and tearing things up. I sure hope I don't have to euthanaise.

 

[buck rogers]

I hope the vet finds a way to help your bunny.
Good luck the two of you.

 

[Aliena]

Thanks, I hope so too. She is such a cutie, has been running around my bedroom floor all day. She has become my little best friend.

 

[ellissian]

Good luck, I hope you find a vet who is able to treat Alaska.

 

[rabb1tmad]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you can find a way to help Alaska. Rabbits can survive without their ears. If you look at the 'yummy chew' piccie here you will see a rabbit without ears.

http://www.vagavalley.co.uk/bunnysupplies/chews.htm

Fingers and everything crossed for you.

 

[luvthempigs]

Sorry your bun is having these problems.

I was watching animal rescue on animal planet last night and there was a kitten with this type of problem. At first they thought someone had mutilated her but it was a circulation problem. Her ears were gone as well as her tail :shock:They did manage to help her but I'm not sure what they did (cleaned up whatwas left ofthe ears and tail and then put her on some type of medication I suppose)

Since you are so attached to her and she seems to be active and happy I would seek out another opinion from a rabbit knowledgeable vet.

 

[Aliena]

The vet I've got is the best I can find. I have another appointment tomorrow and hopefully she will come up with a plan of action.

 

[ellissian]

Good luck!

 

[luvthempigs]

I didn't mean to imply that your vet wasn't good just that a second opinion might be a good thing

Good luck and please keep us posted!

 

[tamsin]

Hiya,

Rabbits can do fine without their ears I know quite a few owners with ear-less bunnies. It's not uncommon for a female rabbit to be disturbed and mutilate her babies by chewing their ears. They look a little odd but don't seem to have any other problems. Rabbits do use their ears to regulate their temperature so you might need to be extra careful in hot weather she doesn't over heat.

I don't know any bunnies that have had that condition but I do know of an english lop (one of those bunnies with foot long ears) that had several inches off the end of each ear amputated and healed up fine.

Not sure what the rules are in AU but here it's sometimes possible to use medication not licenced for a particular pet if that's the most appropriate treatment and you sign a waver. Usually it's done for meds that have been tested in bunnies but not gone through the (expensive) approval process.

Tam

 

[Aliena]

Thanks for that. I think the reason the vet was hesitant to talk about amputation was because she said the problem might be to do with her heart in which case there is no point amputating her ears because if its her heart then she might lose the circulation in her feet next, etc. BUT after talking to other people I think it might just be her ears and so I will see about getting them taken off, I don't want them to become gangrenous (sp) and spread throughout her body. I imagine that an operation like that would cost a heck of a lot right? Don't know how I will afford it.

I have also noticed the last two days that she gets a big wet patch on one side of her mouth/cheek. The first time I saw it I thought she had an abscess that had burst but I couldn't feel anything and then it dryed up but today it happened again so I think she might be drooling? In which case she could have a problem with her teeth, which would explain why she grinds them so often. If problems like this keep cropping up I don't know what I'm going to do because I cannot afford to keep paying for treatment but at the same time she is such a cheerful little thing that I would feel so cruel putting her to sleep. You know last night she managed to jump out of the cage she is in and the sides are 46cm high! I couldn't believe it, she is such a tiny little thing.

 

[luvthempigs]

When ever I have had to have surgeries on any of my pets the vet was always really good about letting me make payments.

It took me a year to pay off my balance for one of my guinea pigs who had to have surgery (there were complications and several trips to the vet) but he made it and is happy and healthy today which made it worth it

 

[Aliena]

Well I have been back to my vet and she got another vet to come and have a look and give a second opinion. They kept using the word 'vascularised' which I think was just meaning that there is no blood getting there. The tips of her ears are going black and basically I just have to watch them and eventually the ends will start to fall off. I have to clean them with some anti-bacterial stuff and give her Baytril twice a day so that they don't get infected and get gangrene (although there are already some green spots starting). She ideally needs to be taking an antibiotic that is for anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that don't need oxygen) because that is the kind of bacteria that grows in dead tissue but there aren't any safe ones for rabbits. She can only be on the Baytril for 10 days and then has to stop taking it. She weighs only about 400grams so surgery is not really an option.

 

[ellissian]

Poor baby

Is'nt there another vets in your area you could see for yet another opinion? I was thinking a more experienced vet might be able to help you. It must be terrible for you and her to just wait until the dead bits fall off. As naturestee said I think its worth taking the risk of surgery than risking the infection spreading.

As you will already know griding her teeth indicates pain. Is she on pain meds?

I really feel for you and hope things work out for baby Alaska, she's lucky to have someone who cares for her like you do.

 

[Aliena]

I don't think the teeth grinding is meaning painin this case and she is doing it less and less. She really can't have surgery when she is as tiny as she is and is not in good health, I don't think she would survive it. And trust me, there are no other vets, this is as good as it gets. I just have to wait and hope.

 

[ellissian]

I know surgery is risky for all our small animals.

Just out of interest how much does she weigh?

 

[Aliena]

Around 400 grams, and she's only put on one gram since about Thursday. I'm having trouble putting weight on her.

 

[tamsin]

400g? That's tiny! How old is she?

For weight gain I recommend porridge oats which you can mix with water until they make a mush. They're great for putting weight on a rabbit. Introduce them gradually You could also try vegetarian baby food.

If her circulation is the cause of the trouble, I wonder if regularly massaging her extremities (feet/tail/ears) would help? I haven't read it but there is a book on rabbit massage here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0595310621/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20