Very hot, red, swollen, drooping ear, please help

[Deana May]

My rabbit had a sudden loss in appetite and I've been keeping an eye on her. I've noticed her ear is warm. It is now drooping and is hot to the touch, very swollen compared to the other ear. I think she's not eating because of the pain. Taking her to the vet asap, but wanted to see what you guys think. I cannot find anything online. I adopted her about 2 months ago and she had ear mites which they treated. I see no mites. However, I'm concerned they might be lower in the ear canal? But what could be the reason for the redness??

 

[JBun]

She could have developed a secondary ear infection from the previous mite infection. So the redness, swelling, and heat is from a bacterial infection. If you have an out of hours vet that treats rabbits, you may want to get her seen tonight, If she has a high fever and/or her condition is deteriorating, get her in immediately tonight.

Otherwise I'd keep a close eye on her tonight, make sure she doesn't develop a fever, continues to eat and drink at least a minimal amount of food and water. Then first thing tomorrow call your vet and get her in right away as an emergency appt.

 

[Deana May]

I stayed up with her all night and fed her some water and pumpkin through a syringe. I brought her into the vet this morning. So, signs ear mites are not visible but the very believes there are some deep down in her ear. The ear has become red and swollen from her shaking her head and scratching. This morning she had some blood on her ear from scratching on our way to the vet. If she continues to shake her head and scratch, she can separate a blood vessel and cause a hematoma.
She was given something for pain, inflammation, antibiotic, ear mite meds, and an ear cleaning solution. Hoping for the best at this point. The pain medicine should help her eat, but nothing so far. Keeping a close eye on her so she does not scratch or anything. In two weeks we will follow up and make sure all is back to normal and if not, we will test for other bacteria that may be in the ear.