Ear problem – anyone tried putting olive oil into a rodent’s ear before?

[Sue_P]

My rodent got head tilt only whilst eating for a couple of days over a week ago, he doesn’t do it anymore but from the way he shakes his head when I try to inspect one ear I suspect there’s something going on up there. I went to the vets with the bunnies the other day (without my rodent) and asked about it and the vet didn’t seem too concerned, she said I could try massaging olive oil in his ear or try ivermectin. Not sure how I’d get the olive oil out of the bottle and into his ear cos everytime I try to look in the problematic ear he head shakes. Is olive oil totally safe for putting in the ear canal? Thought I’d check first.

 

[flintstones]

That's one of the sign's of an inner ear infection, be warned it can come back much worse if not treated correctly. Olive Oil will not cure an ear infection and I wouldn't recommend putting olive oil in your rodents ear.

 

[Sue_P]

I fancy trying to clean his ears first and see if that makes a difference. Or if it’s ear mites to get something to kill the mite/s. I’ve been looking around online and stumbled upon the following:



Ear mites – Oticlens (vet approved ear cleaner).

Ear mites – Otidex.

Earlobes can be infected by fungal spores, has flakes of dead skin and white tide marks. - Use aloe vera twice daily.

De-waxing – Dermisol fluid.

Both excessive waxing/ear mites – Tea tree eardrops or conventional eardrops formulated to treat canker in dogs and cats.



I’m not convinced my rodent has an ear infection because wouldn’t it be in both ears? & his symptoms worse? Plus reading about ear infections is sounds like rodents that have been ill are more prone to them than healthy rodents in clean conditions. I don’t see why my rodent would pick up an ear infection. Which is why I thought trying to clean his ears would be a good first step, if I use something non-harsh or dangerous then surely it won’t make an ear infection worse if it is one? Plus he’s in no immediate distress, he isn’t scratching his ears, they don’t look all that bad inside, the head tilt stopped and the vet didn’t advise me to bring him in.

Just wondered if anyone has good thoughts about ear cleaning and what’s the best to try. What is ivermectin anyway? Is that prescription only or can you pick it up at a pet shop? & I’m asking about the olive oil thing cos I haven’t read about that anywhere online, I don’t want my rodent to be the first to try it.

 

[Bekki]

Ear infections don't have yo be in both ears, I'm a humans plagued by them and its usually one ear. I use warm olive oil keep my ear wax soft and my ears have to me syringed as the cleaning meachanism doesn't work.


I'd not put anything in my pigs ears without a vet taking a look and deciding on a course of action. If your vet is useless try another :-)

Ivermectin is a drug used for mites, you can get it from shops but if you're unsure get your vet to do it

 

[*Nibbles&Nugget*]

Bingo had an ear infection and he lives in clean conditions. He only had it in one ear. I strongly recommend a vet trip. We didn't realise there was a serious problem until Bingo began having fits and had to be rushed to an emergency vets and be refered to a specialist.

Bingo had septrin and metacam to recover though now has a permanent head tilt. If they aren't treated quickly they DO cause lasting damage. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Fingers crossed your piggy feels better soon.

Amy
x

 

[Yvette]

Hope you get his problem sorted soon

 

[Amanda1801]

I'd never put any thing in any animals ear (or my own!) without seeing a vet first (obviously if it were for me, I'd see a doctor!).

You can only see about 1/3 of the inside of the ear without an otoscope. You need an otoscope to see whether or not the tympanic membrane (eardrum) is intact.

If its not intact or perforated, putting anything in the ear can cause permanent irrepairable damage.

Can't be too careful with ears. If its an infection (or something you put in there), once it's past the ear drum then there's not much in the way between it and the brain.

 

[Sue_P]

@ Nibbles&Nugget – How long did it take from you realising their was a problem ‘til your rodent started having fits?


@ Bekki – Does the warm olive oil in your ears help prevent ear infections or does it help to improve existing ear infections? Do you use anything else when an ear infection flares up?


@ Amanda – Surely my vet wouldn’t have suggested I try olive oil or ivermectin if it could cause my rodent real harm though? She really didn’t seem that bothered when I told her about it, she just asked if he’s still doing the headtilt and I said no, presumably from how I described my rodent she must have thought it wasn’t that serious. She didn’t once ask to see it and she’s a partner at the vet practice.

 

[Bekki]

The olive oil does nothing to help with infections, it only softens ear wax in humans, soft wax can be removed. If there is no wax in there infections are less likely :-)

I dont know the same to be true in guinea pigs though.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Please take your guinea pig to a cavy savvy vet asap. Do not go putting anything into the ears without veterinary approval. It may be something simple or it could be something more serious, but it needs checking out, and not debating here on the forum.

Many years ago I had a rabbit who didn't receive the appropriate treatment for an ear infection, due to the vet not being rabbit savvy and he was left with permanent nerve damage on that side of his face.

Where about are you? Maybe someone could recommend a knowledgeable vet.

 

[*Nibbles&Nugget*]

@ Nibbles&Nugget – How long did it take from you realising their was a problem ‘til your rodent started having fits?

Bingo popcorned and his head tilted a bit one day. I did a bit of research but then it went away. It happened again and I asked my Mum what she thought. It went away so we didn't really worry. Two days later, he had been fine when I left for college that day, I came back late and found him fitting.

It was really frightening and took two weeks of careful nursing and syringe feeding to get him back to normal.

Now I check anything out of the ordinary and have the number of my nearest specialist in my new piggy first aid kit.

As I said though, it may be nothing much, but its always better to be safe than sorry.


Amy
x

 

[scpiggy]

I would take your pig to the vets to get some proper medical treatment rather than trying to treat it yourself. In my experience when the doctors told me to put some olive oil in my ear to clear the wax it actually set off a very nasty ear infection so I would be very reluctant to try that again with myself and deff wouldnt try it with my piggies.

 

[Sue_P]

@ Bekki – Cheers.


@ Furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) – I’m in Keighley but can’t travel far away cos I don’t drive. We usually go to the vets down the road (Aireworth Vets) but have tried Kingsway Vets in Crosshills and Skipton. Don’t recall them ever actually curing anything that I’ve taken animals to them for. BTW, the local vet would perscribe baytril if it’s an ear infection, that’s the only thing they ever want to dish out, would that be the wrong course of action if it is an ear infection? I’ve tried baytril loads of times and it’s never actually cured anything yet.

@ Nibbles&Nugget – Uwe, that is frightening.

@ scpiggy – Cheers. Why would a doctor tell you to put olive oil in your ears? Surely you already had an infection and he mis-diagnosed and told you to do the wrong thing?

Surely the olive oil wasn’t the initial cause?

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

@ Bekki – Cheers.


@ Furryfriends (Excellent Adventure Sanctuary) – I’m in Keighley but can’t travel far away cos I don’t drive. We usually go to the vets down the road (Aireworth Vets) but have tried Kingsway Vets in Crosshills and Skipton. Don’t recall them ever actually curing anything that I’ve taken animals to them for. BTW, the local vet would perscribe baytril if it’s an ear infection, that’s the only thing they ever want to dish out, would that be the wrong course of action if it is an ear infection? I’ve tried baytril loads of times and it’s never actually cured anything yet.

@ Nibbles&Nugget – Uwe, that is frightening.

@ scpiggy – Cheers. Why would a doctor tell you to put olive oil in your ears? Surely you already had an infection and he mis-diagnosed and told you to do the wrong thing?

Surely the olive oil wasn’t the initial cause?

Baytril would be fine if it's an ear infection. The only problem being is that many vets don't prescribe a high enough dose. I do sympathise with you when you say that you don't feel the vets you have been to have ever cured anything. I felt very much the same many years ago, before I found the wonderful Simon Maddock.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Would it be worth finding out which vets Milhaven GPR use? They are in Keighley too

 

[*Nibbles&Nugget*]

Bingo was prescribed septrin and metacam for ten days and that cleared it up. Maybe worth suggesting your vet tries septrin as an alternative to baytril as I've found it to be more effective personally.

Fingers crossed your piggy feels better soon


Amy
x

 

[Sue_P]

@ furryfriends – Yeah, I’ve heard about Simon but he’s too far away.

@ Poppie’sMum – Excellent idea.

@ Nibbles&Nugget – I asked for septrin once before for something else but Aireworth vets wouldn’t give it to me. It’s baytril for everything.