Dry ear? Or something worse?

[Sanas_K]

At first I thought it was because she started off her stay with us by having ticks...she had a tick on her ear and I thought that the scratching was what caused this...but, she's been free of ticks for weeks now, and her ear has only gotten worse. Her ear is almost completely bald now and the edges are all crusty. It looks the same on the inside as the outside, but she wouldn't sit still long enough to get a decent shot. She scratches it quite a bit and sometimes whines when she does, so I know some places must be a bit tender...is it possible it's because her nails are too long? I know they need to be cut...so I'm gonna do that tonight...but I've never known something like that to be caused by claws that were simply a little too lengthy.

Any ideas on what it is? Should I try some type of lotion or shampoo?
She hasn't had any new food, or shampoo or anything that could cause an allergic reaction, so we can narrow that out. And I know she hasn't gotten into anything unusual, as she's ALWAYS with us or in a safe place.

Any help is greatly appreciated by herself and me, so thanks in advance.

[fillyone]

I'd get her into the vet for a scaping to see if she has mites

[bubbatd]

^^^^ agree or it could be mange .

[noludoru]

It looks like the mange my friend's dogs were getting last fall....

[fillyone]

I should have been more specific, I was thinking of the mites that cause mange not the mites that are sometimes inside the ears.

[Sanas_K]

Rawr, poor baby... ;_; I figured that's what it was. Well, looks like I'll have to take her in to the vet then.

Any ideas on how much this is gonna cost though? =/

This'll actually be her first time with me taking her to a vet, before this everything had been taken care of for me through the animal shelter in which I adopted her from...I'm not sure exactly what to expect in the ways of cost...ideas?

o.o I'll have to find a vet.

[GlassOnion]

About $50 would be my guess. We charge 30 (yah I dislike it too) just for the exam and 15 for the skin scrape.

Treatment for mange is usually either a mitaban dip until the skin scrape comes back negative or ivermec injection. Depends on type.

[Sanas_K]

Originally Posted by GlassOnion

About $50 would be my guess. We charge 30 (yah I dislike it too) just for the exam and 15 for the skin scrape.

Treatment for mange is usually either a mitaban dip until the skin scrape comes back negative or ivermec injection. Depends on type.

Not near as bad as I thought it'd be...hm...though I suppose it does depend on the facility, location, situation, etc.