question about ear injury

[SnowyShiloh]

As some people know, we got another bunny today! He is wonderful and sweet and I feel lucky to have him. We got him from a friend/acquaintance of ours who adopted him from the animal shelter last week but couldn't keep him. Almost all of one ear is gone and the tip of the other is gone too. I was assuming his mother over-groomed him when he was a tiny baby, but the friend I got him from said the volunteer at the animal shelter told her something different.

According to the animal shelter volunteer, our poor boy came into the shelter at the same time as 2 other male rabbits (they didn't come from the same people, just happened to be dropped off on the same day). The shelter doesn't get hardly any rabbits, and their resident rabbit expert left to have her baby a month or so ago, so they put ALL THREE unneutered male rabbits in a cage together. Our 3 1/2 pound little dumpling was in a small cage with 2 other rabbits, one of which was a gigantic 15 pound lop (I saw his picture on Petfinder and he is one bruiser of a bunny). According to the volunteer, when they came back, the great big bunny had BITTEN OFF my poor boy's ear and part of his other ear. The other smaller bunny also had his ears bitten off. The only words I can think of to describe how I feel about this are words I can't say on this forum. His ears were bitten off because he was left alone with a bigger bunny.

Does this sound reasonable to anyone? It would have happened only like 2 weeks ago and his wounds are completely healed. His "foster mom" (I'm calling her this since she only had him for a week) is a vet tech and took him to the vet a week ago, and the vet said his ears are completely healed too. How much do ear injuries bleed? Could such damage really heal in a week?

I really hope the volunteer at the shelter didn't know what she was talking about because the idea of a bunny getting it's ears ripped off is utterly horrifying to me.

Oh and here's a photo of his ears:

 

[Pipp]

Yes, ear injuries will heal very fast. I'd carefully check him over for other hidden bites or nicks as well though.

And an earless bunny will have special needs, especially with temperature control seeing as rabbits dissipate heat through their ears as well as their breath.

The ear will be more prone to infection, and it may affect his navigation.

Poor little guy! He deserves a great slave like you after what he's been through.

And he's too cute!


sas :hearts:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Thanks for the reply, Pipp! I seem to recall that when Okiron's girl Lilith had her ear cut down the middle by something under their bed, there wasn't much blood and the bunny didn't seem too bothered by it. The same when Mouse_Chalk's Snowy had her ear hurt by one of the other bunnies. I was just hoping my poor guy hadn't gone through something as hideous as getting his ear ripped off :cry2 How much feeling do bunnies have in their ears?

I thought about the other possible injuries he could have too. I looked him over after we brought him home and couldn't find any other owies or signs of abscesses. How long do I need to keep my eyes peeled for injuries?

Amber, the acquaintance we got him from, said he turns his head when he's listening to something so he can use his good ear. I can see why he could have trouble hearing properly and regulating his temperature, but why would he be prone to more ear infections? I just want to know so I know what to look out for!

He seems to be settling in pretty well. I always leave new bunnies alone for the first couple or three days (checking on them every hour or so), but he's come over to the side of the cage to see me and I saw him eating pellets and hay. Luckily he was already being fed the same pellets I give my bunnies, so we don't need to worry about changing his food. I got a bunch of toys from Busy Bunny today as well as a bag of fancy bunny treats and he had a bunny "cookie" which he seemed to enjoy. I've heard him throwing around his toys and ringing his bell too.

Thanks for replying, Pipp!

 

[Pipp]

SnowyShiloh wrote:

How much feeling do bunnies have in their ears?

How long do I need to keep my eyes peeled for injuries?

I can see why he could have trouble hearing properly and regulating his temperature, but why would he be prone to more ear infections?

I assume they have nerves in there, it's tender tissue, I imagine it was just as painful as any cut, but it's thin and the blood vessels are tiny, so I imagine that accounts for fast healing and minimal blood loss.

Abscesses can fester for awhile in hidden places, so it's good to keep feeling him for lumps or scabs pretty regularly for a couple of weeks.

The inner ear just won't have the protection of the outer ear keeping it clean and free of debris and the like, and that can lead to infection.

What's his name?

sas :adorable:

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Pipp, thanks for the tips! I will keep an eye on him for owies. Is there anything I can do to keep his ear clean? I remember reading about a poor bunny named Phoenix whose ears were burned off by his owner. Poor Phoenix eventually became really anxious because I think his ear stubs started healing over or something and he suffered hearing loss. I hope my boy doesn't have that happen to him. I'll be on high alert for ear infections in him too.

He doesn't have a name yet. Hopefully within the next couple days he'll get one! I like Albion (Albie), Everley (Ever), Blaise and Hamish (Hammie). I'm sure I'll think up a couple more before we decide.

 

[angelh]

That poor little baby. Seems content being on your lap, though

 

[tonyshuman]

I don't have anything to add but that it looks healed to me. I assumed originally it was overgrooming by his mom, which is a fairly common way for a bunny to lose an ear. He's a total cutie and I wish you guys great luck with him!