# Is Baytril Otic safe for rabbits?



## smacksou (Aug 12, 2009)

My vet prescribed 3 drops twice daily in each ear. I'm worried it can be bad for my rabbit since Baytril otic is for dog only. Should I stop medicatingmy rabbit? What If my rabbit swallow some of it while grooming his hears? Does my vet know what she is doing? Baytril Otis is different from Baytril oral; it also has some silver sulfadiazine.
Thanks so much for your help; Iâm worrying about my rabbit.


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## aurora369 (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi welcome to the forum.

Yes, it is safe. Most medications are only cleared for dogs/cats, but are very safe for rabbits.

What is this medication for? If it is an ear infection, it is not going to be very effective. You will be better off doing a stronger injectable antibiotic.

Can you give some more details about your bunny (age, breed, medical history)? We will do our best to help you. Also, your location (even just country) will help us alot as different medication is available in different countries.

--Dawn


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## smacksou (Aug 12, 2009)

I'm from Omaha NE. I noticed he was scratching his ears more than usual and brought him to see a vet. My rabbit (5-6 years old, neutered male) had brown crusts in his ears. The vet thinks it is ear mites but didn't see any under the microscope. Vet gave ivermectin. I used some USP mineral oil to soften the ear crusts. It worked great and all the brown crusts are now gone. Now I can see some yellow gunk and white spots in his ear, so I guess there is some kind of infection going on. After using baytril otic twice (applied deep inside ear), it looks already somewhat better. I'm supposed to use Baytril Otic for 10 days.

Should I keep my bunny from grooming his ear after I medicate him? to yes for how long? I'm worried he swallows some of the medication + the medication needs time to produce results?

Is the yellow gunk I saw in his ears (I bought a otoscope)the site of infection OR the result of the infection that is actually deeper in his ears?

I didn't see any mites in his ears. Are mites too small to see with an Otoscope? maybe the white dots are eggs?

Thanks so much for your help.


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## tonyshuman (Aug 12, 2009)

It should be safe, but it's not the best treatment for an ear infection. An ear infection should be treated with systemic antibiotics, such as oral or injectible.

I don't know if what you're seeing is an infection or a buildup of wax in the ears. You can gently try to clean the ears with the mineral oil and cotton swabs to break up any wax that's there, but be careful not to push it farther in. Rabbit pus is usually white, and that could indicate an infection. I would go to a different vet, because yours sounds very old-school in their treatment of rabbits.

We have some good vet listings on here.

You can't see mites with the naked eye, I believe.


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## jamesedwardwaller (Aug 13, 2009)

*smacksou wrote: *


> My vet prescribed 3 drops twice daily in each ear. I'm worried it can be bad for my rabbit since Baytril otic is for dog only. Should I stop medicatingmy rabbit? What If my rabbit swallow some of it while grooming his hears? Does my vet know what she is doing? Baytril Otis is different from Baytril oral; it also has some silver sulfadiazine.
> Thanks so much for your help; Iâm worrying about my rabbit.


the dvm should have addressed your concerns,,for information about the meds you have ,,goto wikapedia.com/type in the med/tells you all about it..thats a hobby of mine because my rehab,//..there mightbe an infection inside one or both ears,if not cleared up will only get worse,-however-,the-ear ointment should clear up the problem,-stay the course,and was there also an injection for the mites??..always feel free to call the dvm for advice,this will also make you feel more comfortable about treating your bun..sincerely james waller


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## ra7751 (Aug 13, 2009)

Hi,

Baytril Otic is safe for rabbits (no drug is certified for rabbit use). It should not be considered a primary treatment for vestibular infections but should be used in tandem with a systemic antibiotic. And it has to be deposited deep inside the canal...you can't just drip it in. You need to pull the ear up and get in there deep. You can't see infections or mites all the time with an otoscope. Mites are best seen by grabbing a piece of the debris and taking a look under a microscope. We usually culture for infections butnot all pathogens, such as Pasteurella, may grow. If we have clinical presentations of a bacteial infection, I treat for that.Acarexx or Revolution are a much better (and more modern) protocol for treating ear mites (and otherparasites). Mineral oil is another of those old fashioned and improper treatments. It only kills the adult mites and doesn't address theeggs. As far as cleaning....it is impossible to remove all the oil from the ear and it goes in deep and sits....not good. You should be using a product that is designed for ears such as Epi-Otic or Oti-Calm as they both are alcohol free and contain a drying agent. And not intending on stepping on anyone's toes...but wikipedia should not beconsidered good information.While it does contain some good information, it's a compliation of information from mostly unconfirmed sources....not much more than a posting forum. Ear infections should be considered a serious issue with rabbits....most vetstreat them far too conservatively.

Randy


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## tonyshuman (Aug 13, 2009)

Yep, wikipedia is only good for things that you can find elsewhere, such as the package insert that comes with a medication. That's why I only rely on it for things that would be printed on the package insert if I don't have time to track down a pdf of that document myself.

This is a reasonably good resource for head tilt/ear infection info:
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html


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