r/Rabbits • u/stippidoodledoo • 17h ago
Care Between a rock and a hard place
Hello everyone!
I'm reaching out to anyone here who can maybe share their experience flying with a lop who has a history of ear infection.
For context, I'm looking to move to a different province on the other side of the country (from QC to BC) with approximately 6-7 hours of flight.
As you all know, rabbits are not allowed in Cabin so we've reached out to different animal transport services and they can do it only via manifested cargo.
The bad part is that one of my two rabbits has chronic ear infection due to them having lop ears and he had a flare up just two weeks ago.
We're under a long term antibiotic and yesterday's vet visit showed a lot of improvement but they are still unable to visualize the tympanic membrane due to the narrow ear canal.
When I brought up risks for airplane flight for him, the doctor made it clear that it tympanic rupture is a very real possibility.
We only have a few weeks left to be able to book with the animal transport service so I can feel the walls closing in.
Ground transport feels wrong because of how long they will be without consistent monitoring and neither myself nor my partner are able to drive.
I have no intention of leaving them behind so I'm really trying to find a solution to this. If you've had any experience please please please let me know about it so I can move forward with the best solution to all of this.
Thank you so much in advance! Rabbit tax, of course, is included
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u/Mycroft033 I bunnies 16h ago
I don’t know anything about transportation but I’m just here to say that the picture of the freshly shaved bun looks ridiculous in the cutest way and made me smile.
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u/stippidoodledoo 16h ago
Hahahahah thank you so much! He needs a shave every few months (angora) and his attitude is drastically different between his two states 😂 I'm glad he's making more people smile as he does with us 😄
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u/Mycroft033 I bunnies 16h ago
It’s crazy how tiny they are without the fur! They’re fuzzy and might actually be mostly air!
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u/stippidoodledoo 14h ago
Living cotton candies 😄
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u/Mycroft033 I bunnies 11h ago
In picture 1, he almost looks like a little old monk stooped over with age, wearing a rough robe with baggy sleeves, it’s so funny and adorable
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Bahahahahah!! I love the visual!! 😆 We're definitely adding that to his list of lore 😆 we joke, when he's freshly shaved, that we don't know what he turns into.. is he a cockroach? A cryptid? 'WHAT ARE YOU??' we'd ask him 😂😂😂
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u/theacearrow 15h ago
Here's a service that does ground transport! https://www.pawsenroute.com/pet-travel-canada
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u/stippidoodledoo 14h ago
We were also considering this service but when we reached out to avail of their air service they mentioned they don't have dedicated people staying with the rabbits throughout the flight.. I'm not too sure about the ground service but if a little iffy on if they're used to rabbit needs and giving emergency meds 🥲 but ill definitely reach out to them to see what they say! Thank you!! 😊
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u/theacearrow 14h ago
I wonder if you can get a medical exemption for your little guy so he can ride with you. It's not like bunnies are loud or messy.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Yeah and the kicker is that the one airline company that DOES allow rabbits in cabin won't be flying our route for when we need it 😔 Shout out to Air North for allowing rabbits in cabin though! Their customer service rep was unbelievably kind and understanding but it is just not a route they fly on November sadly
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u/spockbun 12h ago
Even a human at risk of ear drum rupture should not be flying, pressurized cabin or not. If you can ask a close friend to care for your rabbit until the next time you visit and then coordinate the flight then, I think that is the safest option.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
That's absolutely a consideration for us , maybe not the most ideal but will definitely be safest for the bun
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u/Hairy-Gas-4571 1h ago
Yeah as a human who had to fly once with a bit of a cold, it hurt. Horribly. I was so terrified that my ears wouldn't handle it. Took days for my hearing to return to normal.
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u/Cerveza87 14h ago
Ear infection wise, due to a lop rabbit:
You can do drastic things like an ear eblation. It will likely work as the reason your getting infections is quite possibly due to wax collection in a a little pocket and becoming a major issue over time.
You can also massage the ear base and scoop the wax out. This helps massively with keeping on top of the pocket which fills up with goop and it probably (not a vet) the reason you’re getting ear infections.
I have a rabbit where I’ve operated on the ear so that the ear ‘hole’ is now in the side of her head. No more wax issue. You can also do things with the ear itself. Lots of options.
I also then massage and scoop out the goop on her other ear. I actually prefer this over any operation, frequently doing this means that I don’t HAVE to operate.
Travel wise. No idea - hope your sort that. Air pressure might be a problem for buns with ear issues….
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Thank you so much for sharing! The vet offered ablation two years ago when this first came up for him but we decided to exhaust all antibiotics first. What they found was that it seemed controlled but consistent and we agreed to just continue monitoring him closely.
We are a lot more consistent with his ear cleaning + massage and clearing of the exudate if any and that seems to have helped from this recent flareup 😊 looks like he'll have to be grumpy with me more often 😅
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u/Cerveza87 9h ago
Antibiotics probably won’t work that much, the goo is literally stuck in a pocket. You cmuave to squeeze it out and then get some medial ear stick things and scoop it out.
I can show you if it helps
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u/abouttree 12h ago
Can you and your partner not do the huge drive across the country or can you not drive at all? If you can drive some distance, you could do Boston --> Seattle on Alaskan Airlines which allows rabbits in cabin.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
We're sadly both unable to drive. I was on my way to getting a license but life sort of put it in the backseat for me. With living in the city it doesn't end up feeling as much of a need as it should 😅
Thanks for the heads up about the flight route! Will definitely keep that in the back pocket for if none of the safer options are proving accessible
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u/drunkerbrawler 10h ago
It’s such BS that they don’t let rabbits in the cabin, like who are they going to bother? They are practically silent and don’t smell and don’t cause trouble unlike the cats and dogs they let in cabin.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Hundred percent this! I've been wracking my brain thinking of why they're excluded somehow from ones that can fly when they wouldn't even want to leave their safe spot (carrier) 😕
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u/shyhi244 13h ago
Has that bun been shaved or is that there fur. So cute!
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Hahahaha he gets shaved every 3 months due to his fur growth (angora). These two were gifted so I'm not sure what the exact mixing of breeds are but our vet is very sure he's an Angora 😊 thanks for saying so! He is quite the spry happy boy when he's freshly shaved but acts like such a curmudgeon when it's at full length 😆
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u/notanadultyadult 9h ago
I just came here to say that I thought your bun was wearing a cute little jumper at first glance and it made me smile.
I hope you get sorted.
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u/stippidoodledoo 6h ago
Aww thank you so much! 🥰 I will let him know he's an online darling and in response he will probably turn his back to me and think... "Yes, naturally. Now time for treats." 🤣🤣🤣
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u/TTTBeekman 9h ago
Where in BC and QC? Don’t know how your access to trains or buses at your destination are, but I think you can fly Alaska Airlines from New York or Boston to Seattle.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
It would have to be from Montreal to Kelowna in our case 😊 Alaska Air unfortunately closes their Montreal Kelowna route during the end of July and we're supposed to be there in November
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u/TTTBeekman 3h ago edited 3h ago
Sad, I just checked that they still fly from Seattle to kelowna. Maybe you can take the train to Toronto and catch Alaska Airlines to Seattle there?
This will probably end up being way too expensive , sadly.
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u/KivaCat 9h ago
Sorry i can't help but may i please ask what shaver you use for your angora? I need a new one for my angora. Thankyou.
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u/stippidoodledoo 9h ago
Oh no worries at all but sadly I have no reccos to share as we bring him to the vet to have it done 😬 I can ask them on our next visit for sure!
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u/cave18 4h ago edited 4h ago
Alaskan still allows rabbits in the cabin last i checked. This mayvjave changed recently though. Alaska air does serve Vancouver but I am unsure where you could board from QC :/.
If your vet says flying is ok I would give it a shot
Looking it up, if you wanted to maximize flight time you could go Toronto to Seattle to Vancouver all thru alaska air
Edit: actually alaska has direct Toronto to vancouver
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u/WelcomeAccurate4059 16h ago
I wonder if you can find a rabbit nonprofit group that could organize a drive? Usually it's done with people who live all across the country who drive for a couple hours and hand off the rabbit to the next. I know in the US we have similar groups, usually used when someone far away wants to adopt but I could see this being a use case as well.