# Lumps under Lop ears, normal?



## karenladd (Mar 3, 2010)

I have an 11 year old lop who is eating well and acting healthy, except for some hind end weakness that has come with age. However, last night I was cleaning her ears and suddenly felt these lumps, the size of grapes under where her ears meet her head. When her ears hang down, it covers the lumps. You can't see them, but you can definitely feel them. I have never, in all this time, noticed them before and am wondering if this is a normal part of rabbit anatomy or if they might be tumors or abcesses. The lumps are softish and slightly movable under the skin, but they alarmed me.

I can't believe I've never noticed these before, but I don't usually lift her ears up and feel there. Don't want to take her to the vet only to find out that those lumps are supposed to be there.

Anyone??


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 3, 2010)

Welcome to the forum, firstly!:wave:

I would definitely go to a rabbit savvy vet, this doesn't sound normal to me. I have a holland lop. Especialy if you say "they're moveable". That sounds like cysts, tumours, or something to that extent.

I hope everything is ok and it's nothing serious.


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## SnowyShiloh (Mar 3, 2010)

Karen, I have had 2 lops and neither has had grape sized lumps under their ears. Could you get a photo? Hopefully someone else will be of more help! Good luck! Also, congrats on getting your bunny to 11- I hope my guys live that long


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## karenladd (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks for your reply. When I say that they're movable, I mean that they are not attached to the underlying skull . If she had it only on one side, I would suspect a fatty tumor or abcess, but the fact that there are 2 of them in exactly the same place on either side of her head makes me wonder if it's a normal part of her anatomy.

I will do more research online but if I can't figure this out I'll take her to my vet.


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## karenladd (Mar 3, 2010)

I could try to take a photo, but you can't really see anything....just feel it under the skin. However, a photo would make it more clear as to where these lumps are. Still trying to figure out how this forum works...how would I post a photo?

I have had quite a few rabbits live to a ripe old age, but Nora is my last one. I had a couple of rabbits live to 12 and 13. Unfortunately, when they get to that age, rabbits often develop hind end weakness and I have had to care for 4 semi-paralyzed rabbits over the years. It was a lot of work, but they actually led very full lives even so. Living in my spare room, and even going on vacation with us made them very spoiled fur babies!


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 3, 2010)

That's wonderful that you've had buns of that age!

Alot of us use Photobucket, a picture hosting site. As the pics need to be reduced. Here are the instructions for it's use of posting here:

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=25443&forum_id=66


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## tonyshuman (Mar 3, 2010)

I have a Holland, and she loves to be petted at the base of her ears. There are some small bumps there, but certainly not grape-sized. I wonder if the bumps are part of the jaw joint--I have TMJ and sometimes the joint of my jaw gets painful and swollen. When I massage it, there's a lump there that feels like the same consistency as the lump under Muffin's ears. However you say it's not connected to the underlying tissue/bone, so I don't know.

Here's a picture of the rabbit skull






Because you say it's not attached to the tissue, and it's so large, I would guess that it is not normal. I'll give Muffin's ears another feel today.

What is the consistency? Is it hard, squishy, somewhere between? Does it feel like it's full of something with more density than water?

Of course a vet will know much better what's going on. I am inclined to think it's either a swelling of the joint fluid of the jaw joint (like I get when my TMJ acts up), but it could also be a capsule of infection, fatty deposits, or even some kind of tumor.


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## karenladd (Mar 4, 2010)

Thanks for the diagram of the rabbit skull. I've been looking online for diagrams of a rabbits head to see if there is any mention of such lumps or bumps.

The lumps feel sort of squishy, and actually feel very similar to a fatty lump that she has under her front leg. The vet said that is a fatty tumor that is benign and common in rabbits as old as she is. I am planning to take her to the vet tomorrow and will, hopefully, find out what it is. The fact that there are two of them, one on each side and in exactly the same spot (and same size etc) makes me doubt that they're abcesses or tumors but we'll see.

Thanks for your help!


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## tonyshuman (Mar 4, 2010)

I just checked muffin and she has little lumps, probably the same size as a kernel of corn or barley, at the base of her ears. They feel like cartillage and she doesn't really like me poking them. They're not at the base of the ear opening, more like the actual base of the ear.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 4, 2010)

Our uppy ear bunnies have it too but it feels more like bone :?


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## dquesnel (Mar 4, 2010)

Hi there, as others have mentioned some bump or cartilage in that exact area is very normal. However what you are describing sounds very much like a mid to inner ear infection brewing inside, especially if it feels warm to the touch. I am sure the vet will have a good look tomorrow and if it is a brewing infection can give you something to clear it up. An 11 year old bun is prone to many type of infection and the fact that she is a lop certainly adds to the probability of ear infections. I go through it annually with one lop in particular. *Good luck.

karenladd wrote: *


> The lumps feel sort of squishy, and actually feel very similar to a fatty lump that she has under her front leg. The vet said that is a fatty tumor that is benign and common in rabbits as old as she is. I am planning to take her to the vet tomorrow and will, hopefully, find out what it is. The fact that there are two of them, one on each side and in exactly the same spot (and same size etc) makes me doubt that they're abcesses or tumors but we'll see.


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

Follow-up to Lumps under Lop Ears:

I took Nora to the vet today and, at first, the vet had no idea what the lumps were either. The fact that there were two of them, each in the same spot on each side of her head threw her (as they did me). She was thinking that they were fat pads, but then I agreed that she should do a needle aspiration to see if they were abcesses. The first lump only produced fat cells, and the vet thought that they were probably just fat pads. But then, she used a larger bore needle and tried the other lump. When she took a look under the microscope for the 2nd one, she found bacteria and we realized they were abcesses. 

No idea where they came from, but ended up lancing them and cleaning out the pus, then prescribing antibiotics. Nora is doing fine and eating and drinking as normal so I'm thinking she's not in much pain even with the open wounds. I'm using hot compresses for the next 2 days to make sure all the pus is gone and to speed healing.

I'm hoping the abcesses didn't come from her teeth but we'll see how she heals. I'm really glad I took her to the vet and noticed these lumps to begin with. Thanks to everyone for your input....which helped me decide to take her in!


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## kirbyultra (Mar 5, 2010)

One of our rabbit experts in the rescue just emailed the volunteers this evening saying that as a regular practice for health check, we should feel under the ears, at the base for abcesses when we intake rabbits from the shelter... sure enough that was the case with your bun  

Hope she's ok.


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

The crazy thing is that I have had probably over 30 rabbits over the years (when I did rabbit rescue) and I had never seen this happen before. The fact that they were on both sides, in the same spots threw me!


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## kirbyultra (Mar 5, 2010)

Yeah, it's weird, I woudln't have thought of it. She says it's a favorite place for abcesses, especially in lops!


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 5, 2010)

I usually check ears, as I have a lop, for mites, etc. But now, I'll have to check for this, goodness.

Good catch! Glad she's doing well.:highfive:


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

*AngelnSnuffy wrote: *


> I usually check ears, as I have a lop, for mites, etc. But now, I'll have to check for this, goodness.
> 
> Good catch! Glad she's doing well.:highfive:


Yes, I've had a lot of lops and this was the first time I saw this. Usually an abcess wouldn't appear on both sides of the body, in exactly the same spots!

I'm hoping the Baytril gets rid of this and that I don't have to move to another antibiotic as well.


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 5, 2010)

*karenladd wrote: *


> I'm hoping the Baytril gets rid of this and that I don't have to move to another antibiotic as well.


Don't be too suprised if you do, actually, that would probably be a good thing as Randy says, Baytril is becoming the old school as far as antibiotics go. Zithromax is one of the new greats. I would not hesitate to ask my vet for it.


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## SnowyShiloh (Mar 5, 2010)

I'm glad you and your vet figured out what was going on with Nora! I will definitely remember to check for lumps under my lops' ears in the future. Please keep us updated on Nora as she recovers  I still would like to see a picture of her because she sounds like a cutie.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 5, 2010)

I'll have to ask the vet at the annual checkup coming soon! It must be because those ears can hold moisture, bacteria, etc in, like a Basset Hound's wrinkles.


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

*SnowyShiloh wrote: *


> I'm glad you and your vet figured out what was going on with Nora! I will definitely remember to check for lumps under my lops' ears in the future. Please keep us updated on Nora as she recovers  I still would like to see a picture of her because she sounds like a cutie.


Yes, I will keep you updated. I am so thankful for the internet and the ability to learn from other's experiences. When I first got rabbits, over 20 years ago, very little information was available and vets didn't seem to have any experience with them. Almost all the information I got was online through forums and the House Rabbit society!

I took some photos of Nora today and will try to upload later on. She's doing very well and I am continuing to clean her abcesses out several times a day. Using hot compresses and (since they left the wounds open), am able to continue to express gunk out of them.

Nora was obviously not feeling well last night as the topical anesthetic wore off so I gave her some baby aspirin and she perked right up. Once her pain was under control, she was eating like a horse and grooming herself.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 5, 2010)

Due to the open wounds, you may want to consider baby Motrin or some other baby ibuprofen, as ibuprofen isn't as detrimental to blood clotting as aspirin can be.


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

*tonyshuman wrote: *


> Due to the open wounds, you may want to consider baby Motrin or some other baby ibuprofen, as ibuprofen isn't as detrimental to blood clotting as aspirin can be.


Is Ibuprofen safe for rabbits? What would be the dosage? Same as aspirin?
Nora's wounds aren't bleeding at all and aren't really even scabbing. I was surprised at how little bleeding there was actually! A little bit of blood, mixed with fluid last night, but totally clean today.

I had to scour the house for aspirin last night because I only had ibuprofen for myself but didn't know if it was safe for rabbits. FInally found a tablet in an upstairs cabinet.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 5, 2010)

Ibuprofen is safe for rabbits. This site links to a calculator to determine the dose. It may be hard to dose in tablet form because the amount is so little. If you don't see much scabbing, it's probably ok to go with the aspirin. Just keep an eye out for bleeding. I hope they start healing, from the inside out!

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html


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## karenladd (Mar 5, 2010)

Thanks! I found that link earlier and checked it out after I posted my question. And yes, it was hard to shave off that little bit of ibuprofen from a 200 mg tablet! I found myself looking up lbs/ vs kgs, and doing the multiplication (something I haven't had to do in years). 

Although the wounds seem pretty large (especially the left side), I continue to clean out gunk from inside them so it's a good thing. 

The biggest problem is trying to keep Nora in the bathroom and confined without a cage or litter box. Her hind end weakness prevents her from using a litter box so I express her bladder several times a day and lay down newspaper, on top of 2 area rugs which I can wash. Fortunately, her hind end weakness also prevents her from hopping so I can keep her corralled with a rolled up comforter. Last night though, I checked on her and found she had fallen on her side with her head in her water bowl. Good thing the water bowl is very shallow so she was able to breathe, but she would have gotten extremely cold if I hadn't discovered her. 

I've had several rabbits who became semi-paralyzed over the years as they aged, and had hoped that Nora wouldn't follow suit.


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## tonyshuman (Mar 5, 2010)

Yeah it is hard. There is an option to select lbs on that calculator too, so that can help next time! I would have been really scared to see her fallen. I remember Luvrofwabbitsandpolarbears had a partially paralyzed bunny not long ago and she experimented with a lot of different setups to make her comfortable. I don't remember what she did for water, though. :?


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 6, 2010)

Bless you! You are one of a kind!

Give Nora a snuggle and squeaze from me.


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## karenladd (Mar 9, 2010)

*AngelnSnuffy wrote: *


> Bless you! You are one of a kind!
> 
> Give Nora a snuggle and squeaze from me.


Thanks for the encouragement! My vet says that he hasn't had any clients that spend as much energy and time on nursing their sick or aged bunnies...but I do the best I can. I figure that, as long as the bunn is feeling well enough to interact and eat/drink etc, then I'll help them out as I can. Nora is obviously feeling feisty and alot better because she's hopping around now and being able to right herself when she does fall over on her side. She has a weak leg and some hind end weakness but is so much stronger now that she's feeling better. She also lets me know that she does not like it when I clean her abcess wounds. When I finsh and put her down on the newspaper, she rips the paper into shreds!! So funny!


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## AngelnSnuffy (Mar 10, 2010)

That is great news!:bunnydance: I hope this continues. Keep us posted.


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## emoseely (May 30, 2011)

Hi There,

My lop bunny, Leroy, has those lumps under his ears too! Did Nora shake her head a lot and scratch like they itched?

yerz,
Ellen


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## karenladd (May 30, 2011)

Hi Ellen,

No, Nora didn't shake her head and scratch, but if your rabbit is doing that and has lumps, it could indicate ear mites, or infection and I would take her in to the vet. I found that Nora had impacted ear wax inside each ear canal which probably contributed to her infection, which led to the abcesses. Older rabbits are sometimes unable to lift their hind legs to clean the inside of their ears ...and lops have a harder time cleaning them as well. It was likely that the ear wax built up, which led to a moist environment inside the canal. Bacteria built up and caused ear infections that turned into abcesses. I had noticed Nora not eating about a week before I saw the lumps, and I had started hand feeding her and watching her..which is when I discovered the lumps and impacted ear canals. 

I usually checked my rabbits ears at least every other week for problems, but we had been very busy and I let it go by. I wish I had kept a better eye on her ears and maybe it wouldn't have gotten to that point. Although she was treated with antibiotics, and I cleaned her wounds and ear canals daily, the infection probably weakened her permanently. I had her put down about 2 months later after she developed a heart arrhythmia and became paralyzed. She lived a very long time for a rabbit but it did remind me of the need to check your rabbit's body on a regular basis in order to find any irregularities early on. 
Hope your bunny is okay.


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