My rabbit has floppy ears...he is a holland lop and when i have him out of his cage i look at his ears and there is long scraches on his ears. why are there scraches there?? his cage is plastic on the bottom and wire on the top. help me please
2007-01-23 12:00:10 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
The rabbit may have hear mites. It can cause iritation and the rabbit will scratchat them like a dog with fleas. Take him to the vet and have him cheaked out. I see this alot and it is a simple treatment.
2007-01-23 12:04:23 · answer #1 · answered by Animal Vet 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Two other people probably hit it right on the nose. Check the inside of the ear for earmites. Earmites will cause a rabbit to scratch its ears with its back feet of front paws. Earmites tend to especially affect lop breeds since their ears hang down instead of stand upright, allowing the mites to get into their ears easier. Look inside the ears to see if you see something that looks like a black crusty scab inside the ear. If you see that, then your rabbit has ear mites.
The best way to get rid of ear mites is to suffocate them. The most widely known cure is using mineral oil, but mineral oil can be a little hard to use. The best method is to use WD-40. Yeah, that's right WD-40. It may sound wierd. But WD-40 is a sprayable oil. And that oil will cover and suffocate the mites. I recommend using the little spray tube that comes along with the can. It will make it easier to spray inside the ear. Cover the rabbit's eyes so you don't get any in the rabbit's eyes. Then spray a couple short quick sprays into the ears and release the rabbit in its pen. The rabbit will shake its head and shake the ear mites out.
I prefer this method over mineral oil because the mineral normally has to be applied with a Q-tip. And by applying it with a Q-tip you run the risk of knocking a piece of the ear mite scab down inside the ear which is NOT good.
WD-40 is easier to apply and less risky to use and it won't harm your rabbit as long as you don't spray too much (that's why you spray about 1-2 short quick sprays). It's better to not spray enough and come back and treat it again than to spray too much so that the spray runs into the ear drum.
2007-01-24 04:04:35 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should clip your rabbits nails regularly as to protect him from scratching his ears. This may be the cause according to the site I looked at. Good luck with your rabbit.
2007-01-23 12:08:39 · answer #3 · answered by Maybe I am a smartass..so what 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
he may have ear mites, look inside the ear, if you see a crusty material ,he has ear mites you can take him to the vet to get treatment or use mineral oil in the ear everyday for a week.
2007-01-23 13:28:12 · answer #4 · answered by Olivia W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe he scratched himself with his nails. Their nails need to be trimmed every so often, also if he's scratching at his ears a lot it could mean an ear infection or parasites.
2007-01-23 12:10:13 · answer #5 · answered by Melissa M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my rabbit has it too. its b/c the rabbit is scrathing her ears
2007-01-23 12:30:09 · answer #6 · answered by kyah 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thats weird you should take him to a vet. if it gets worse
2007-01-23 12:12:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋