Tuesday, August 10, 2021

I'm not talking to you!

Not only did I not give River one of big human's shoes while he's away (she got one of his socks as a security blanket), I force-fed her and gave her all sorts of yucky medicine today.

Poor little munchkin has an ear infection from cramming a dirty foot in her ear.

So, that's an elder bun problem they don't warn you about:  Excess cecotrope production no matter the diet.  If you miss/have bad timing cleaning up a single one and they inadvertently stand in it/get it under a nail, they can give themselves an ear infection.  We're talking multiple times a day cleaning these up, so just a friendly head's-up to start looking out for this as your bunny gets older!

3 comments:

Mónica López said...

Awww her eye! She looks so scared :( I can only hope she feels better now and big human's sock was enough comfort! Must be though havibg to constantly clean the buns' feet as they get older because if bunnies like anything is rolling around in their own dirt!

Tatosagi said...

Poor River not only does she have an ear infection but she's still waiting for the big human to return. I'm glad you have a lot of experience and can catch these infections early. I hope River feels better and that she gets lots of treats!

Courtney said...

Hi Mónica and Tarosagi!

River is definitely wary of being picked up due to the multiple times a day I have to for feedings and medicine right now!

She seems to have a bit better balance today, so that's a good sign. When I came down this morning, she was snuggled up with the sock, so I'm glad that seems to be working for her too! Big human should be home sometime this weekend, fingers crossed! She is all about the candy and oats (the only solid food she'll eat on her own currently).

I'm considering designing a little jester-like hat that goes over part of her ears at the base so she can't cram her foot in there until I get a chance to inspect them and take the hat off. You can't cover their back feet, so that would be the only option for something she wouldn't be able to take off/bite through. I'm sure she'd hate it, but if it avoids her getting repeated ear infections, it may be worth talking to the vet about making something like this.