How do I know if a vet is ‘rabbit savvy’?

[billythebun]

This might be a stupid question, but I have registered my rabbits with my local veterinary practics recently. I have used this vets my whole life, and they have been really good but this is my first time having rabbits... And me being me, (a massive worrier) I have started to panick that my rabbits will get ill and the vets won’t be ‘rabbit savvy’! I am so worried!
So, how do you know if a vets is good for rabbits? When I registered them, they were really helpful and seemed to have lots of knowledge and help for rabbits, as well as offered insurance and even a ‘bunny club’ (which I am part of) that gets you things like free yearly vaccines and health checks.
Please let me know how you tell if a vets is good or not. Thank you!

 

[Popsicles]

Whereabouts in the UK are you, out of interest? Is the bunny club at vets4pets by any chance? Best way is to ask them - a good vet should be honest and say how confident they are. In the UK, most small animal Vets (particularly more recently graduated) will have a level of basic bunny knowledge, but for anything more complex I would simply ask your vet if they can recommend a specialist to you.

 

[jamesewaller]

This might be a stupid question, but I have registered my rabbits with my local veterinary practics recently. I have used this vets my whole life, and they have been really good but this is my first time having rabbits... And me being me, (a massive worrier) I have started to panick that my rabbits will get ill and the vets won’t be ‘rabbit savvy’! I am so worried!
So, how do you know if a vets is good for rabbits? When I registered them, they were really helpful and seemed to have lots of knowledge and help for rabbits, as well as offered insurance and even a ‘bunny club’ (which I am part of) that gets you things like free yearly vaccines and health checks.
Please let me know how you tell if a vets is good or not. Thank you!

dear billy the bun,--well,ask-a lot of questions,the more knowledgeable you are will help accelerate the conversation.,and your first exam,--believe me you will know,-and a good dvm is worth his/her weight in gold,--we here across the great pond have a pet insurance,but I have always paid from my pocket,and I donot believe there vaccines here,i could be wrong,{would not be the first time},there should be a list of dvm,s on rabbits united,or-check the r.o.l.-list..sincerely james waller for joseph r cottontail/bdenium-rip

 

[SandyBunny1989]

Avoid Springfield Vets at all costs if possible, they advertise as being small animal friendly and they really aren't, I had a bad experience with their so called care a few years back and never went back.

 

[jamesewaller]

Avoid Springfield Vets at all costs if possible, they advertise as being small animal friendly and they really aren't, I had a bad experience with their so called care a few years back and never went back.

dear sandybunny1989,-yes,i agree-however exotoic dvm,s seem to be few and far between,-in a lot of areas..my exotic-dvm was 34 miles away,she moved the practice too far away,so I was back to the regular animal dvm,but at least I knew this vets limitations,and-i utilized him for .blood tests-xrays,maybe diagnosis?-which is what one must do in a time sensitive situation..-I-try to make my bad experiences work to my benefit,.sincerely james waller--I am across the great pond-usa

 

[samoth]

Can you reach out to the RSPCA or BSAVA for references to rabbit-savvy vets?

 

[Bassetluv]

This might be a stupid question, but I have registered my rabbits with my local veterinary practics recently. I have used this vets my whole life, and they have been really good but this is my first time having rabbits... And me being me, (a massive worrier) I have started to panick that my rabbits will get ill and the vets won’t be ‘rabbit savvy’! I am so worried!
So, how do you know if a vets is good for rabbits? When I registered them, they were really helpful and seemed to have lots of knowledge and help for rabbits, as well as offered insurance and even a ‘bunny club’ (which I am part of) that gets you things like free yearly vaccines and health checks.
Please let me know how you tell if a vets is good or not. Thank you!

Not a stupid question at all. If I were you, I'd do a lot of research on the special requirements of rabbits (esp. concerning both feeding and anesthesia during surgery), create a list of facts, and then ask your vet a few questions based upon that list. Don't let on that you already are aware of the answers; you want to 'feel out' the vet to see how well he/she does know the ins and outs of rabbit. It's good to ask things such as 'do you require rabbits to fast before surgery', 'what specific anesthetic do you use on rabbits', 'do you give bunnies a 24-hr post-op pain shot, along with meds to take home to control pain', etc.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've had local vets tell me 'oh yes, we treat rabbits' but then discovering that they didn't know the first thing about specialized rabbit care. I lost two rabbits to vets who claimed to be 'rabbit-savvy' and it turned out, they weren't.