What can make a rabbits ear swollen?

Answer 1

In general, you shouldn't clean a rabbit's eye regardless of age. Rabbits are pretty fastidious groomers and will typically clean themselves adequately; mothers will keep their babies clean as well.

However, if your rabbit develops an eye infection or otherwise is unable to adequately clean it's eye, you would use room temperature tap water on a soft tissue, cloth or toilet paper. Gently (NO inward pressure) wipe DOWN the inside of the corner of the eye, then follow the grain of the hair out away from the nose. I would strongly recommend having a vet show you how to do this and when it would be needed before starting to do this yourself, as you can cause significant damage pretty easily.

Answer 2

If the white part of your rabbit's eye turns red, take it to a vet with experience and knowledge in rabbits.

There are a number of different things that could be wrong. The rabbit could have an eye infection, or there could be an injury, or the rabbit could be stressed, or the rabbit could have dental disease (where the tooth grows up into the nasal cavities and the eye area).

With rabbits, small problems can quickly turn into big ones, and bunnies can become deathly ill in a short period of time, so it's important for bunnies to get immediate vet care when they need it. Even if the rabbit doesn't fall deathly ill, if not treated it could go blind in that eye, or lose the eye entirely (in the case of dental disease), and in the meantime it will suffer from the pain.

If you have good first aid experience and your bunny is calm, then you could see if there's anything in the eye, and if there is try and flush it out with water. Don't do this if you don't know what you're doing, though, or if your rabbit is stressed out or nervous.

See the related question below for more information about rabbit health and vets.

Answer 3

You must take your rabbit to the vet.

The problem could be almost anything, and you need a vet to figure out exactly what it is and decide on the right treatment. This is not something you can treat at home.

For example, it could be a simple infection or irritation on the surface of the eye. Or it could be a cyst on the eyelid. Or it could be an infection inside the eye (which is very serious, and can lead to sudden death if it bursts open). Or it could be a dental problem, for instance the rabbit's tooth could have pushed up into the eye socket, causing extreme pain to your bunny and, eventually, permanent blindness (and probably death from shock).

You need a vet with special experience and knowledge in rabbit medicine, because a regular cat/dog vet won't know enough and could even make your rabbit worse. If you can't find a "rabbit-savvy" vet and have to use a regular vet, urge them to consult with rabbit-savvy vets elsewhere -- there are lots in North America -- and to look at rabbit medical resources. MediRabbit is a great website for vets and the general public. In this day and age, no vet is isolated!

See the related questions and links below for more information.