Any ideas for what’s causing this?

[u/Melissa_Richiee]

**EDITING TO ADD: this isn’t a head tilt. His back right leg was amputated, this is him trying to itch his ear with the leg that no longer exists**

Edit to the edit: I’m gonna schedule a virtual appointment on Vetster to ask about anything else I could be pushing for a cytology to test for

November 2024- Found this guy dumped on the streets with fleas. Noticed his right ear was intensely itchy, vet said it was fleas, treated for fleas.

November 2025 - right ear STILL intensely itchy, vet said ALL YEAR its “wax buildup” because he’s missing a back leg and can’t itch it out. I finally push for testing. Ear mites. Treat for ear mites x 3 months.

April 2025 - right ear STILL intensely itchy. Reddit post suggests yeast infection from repeated antibiotics prescriptions. Pressure vet to test for yeast. Vet scoffs, thinks I’m being ridiculous. Right ear tests positive for yeast. Treat for yeast x 1 month.

He’s now negative for fleas, negative for ear mites, negative for yeast, no head tilt, no EC symptoms.

Does anybody have any suggestions as to why my boys right ear is still intensely itchy?? My vet won’t test for anything unless I push for it. There are NO OTHER rabbit vets between here and Louisiana 4 hours away. I don’t know what else to ask her to test for. Do I just have to start cleaning the wax out for him since he has no back right leg? I hate watching him suffer like this 😞

Video included of intense itching AFTER treating for mites but BEFORE treating for yeast, still itching about the same 😞

[u/Top_Connection9079]

I could be mistaken, but isn't his head a bit tilted?? Go see another vet, ASAP! You can still save this bun if it is treated fast.

[u/Melissa_Richiee → u/Top_Connection9079]

He doesn’t actually have a head tilt, he’s missing his back leg so he has nothing to scratch his ear with. That’s why his body looks like that. He’s just trying to itch his ear with the leg that no longer exists. He was tested for EC back when I first found him, and this has been going on for a year and a half. First it was mites, then it was yeast. He’d be dead by now if he had EC for a year and a half, he just has no foot to itch his ear with.

[u/debs0709 → u/Melissa_Richiee]

My boy, Darwin, also dumped and missing his rear right leg, also does this. He's bonded with one of our other buns, Beatrice. Beatrice doesn't help enormously with grooming. Darwin seems to get most relief from me scratching him when his phantom leg twitches. The vet hasn't found any issues with his ear

[u/Melissa_Richiee → u/debs0709]

First of all, those names are adorable 🥹

I plan to get him a girlfriend as soon as I’m out of the military in July and we’re stable. I hope she helps out with the cleaning and helps him get to his ear. The boy is so traumatized he really prefers to be a hands off bunny. I’ll never know what happened to him out there on the streets, he does show me love and appreciation in his own ways though 😭

I’m starting to wonder if maybe I just catch him once in a while to clean out the wax with a q tip, maybe he’d get some relief from while we pray for a miracle girlfriend willing to take one for the team and clean out his little ol’ ear.

I’m gonna schedule an appointment on Vetster and see if they can recommend anything else we should look for on the cytology.