o.k., a 2nd vet experience

[maomaochiu]

Hi,

Last week, I posted the bad expereince i had withthe 1st vet, here is a followup. I went to another vet today, and she seems to be nice and patient. I asked her about the neutering surgery. she also requires withholding food and waterfrom 6am to the time of the sugery (9 or 10am) and she said it is because they can vomit. I then confronted her that i think rabbits do not vomit, and she backedoff by saying 'yeah, you are right, well, it is not really a vomit, but the food and water can ooze out......'. she said she has done about 20 netuers on rabbits over the last 8-9 years (again, i live in a small town and there are not that many people have rabbits) and have not lost one yet. she did say that she can give my number to another rabbit owner who is her client, and i can talk to that person.

based on this, would you go for her?

i really don't know how exactly to judge who is rabbit savvy and who is not. everytime, i go for a consultation like this, they charge me. so i don't know how many more i can afford ;-((

thanks!

 

[Haley]

I guess its up to you to decide what you think. Do you trust her? I live in a small town area as well. There is one vets office here that is amazing. They are so wonderful with the animals and really treat them like family. However, they're probably not the most rabbit-savvy. I spoke with the vet before he neutered Max and Basil and Mr. Tumnus and I was confident in him. All three went perfectly.

That being said, neuters are more routine. Max now has a runny nose that he's had for about 3 months and I dont think the vet really knows what hes doing on this! Its up to you to decide if you trust this vet.

I would call the reference and see how her experience went. Wish I could offer more advice, but Im as confused as you are. Do I subject the buns to 1-2 hour car ride to find a more experienced vet, or just stay with this one? Its frustrating.!

Good Luck!

Haley

 

[JimD]

Honestly...IMO.....no.

Rabbit cannot vomit....it does not come oozing out...and the most important thing is to keep a rabbit's GI tract moving. A common side effect from surgery can be the danger of GI stasis.

Our vet not only advises us to feed them as normal, but she asks for food to be brought along. I drop the buns in the morning and then pick them up later on in the day. The vet mostly does surgeries in the afternoon so she want the buns to have food and water availble in case they have to wait.

 

[HoneyPot]

Instead of taking the bun to another vet - you should call around to others and see if you can speak to the vet. Ask them questions about neutering and what they require. Before even taking Maomaochiu in, you can probably figure out if the vet knows about bunnies.

Tell them you are trying to find a good vet and wanted to ask the doctor a couple questions.

__________
Nadia

 

[pamnock]

I'd keep looking. An average of 2 rabbit neuters a year is not much. I'd search for someone with more surgical experience with rabbits. Your local rabbit rescue would be a good place to get a reference.

Pam

 

[Spring]

I wouldn't leave my rabbit with someone who thought rabbits vommited. I'd keep looking around, and if you don't find one that is confident in their rabbit knowledge, I rather have him intact then risk the neuter with someone who doesn't know rabbits. Just my opinion :?.

 

[katt]

what i would do. . .get in contact with a few major colleges that have a veterinarian program in your state. . . explain to them the situation and ask if they know of any good rabbit vets that they could refer you to. . .vet programs have links to many good vets and if they trust them to use as examples/contacts in the classroom, i would trust them.

 

[maomaochiu]

thanks a lot for your opinions! yeah, i am also not very confident in this 2nd vet because she said rabbits vomit. but she does seem to be more gentle and nice towards my bunny, so...... and maomaochiu really sprays pee nowadays. everytime he does that, i would say no, and put him back in his cage for 10 minutes, but then,..., as if this little punishment has never happened. one thing that has amazed me is that everytime when my boyfriend is around, he never spray pee on me. but then, if my bf is not around, pee again :? little chicken!!! i really hope he could grow out of this after his teenage months, but really don't know if that will ever happen...

 

[pamnock]

Also try contacting the Humane Society of Southern Illinois to see if they can refer a good rabbit vet to you:

http://www.humanesocietysil.org/

 

[maomaochiu]

thanks! yeah, that 1st vet was recommended by the humane society of southern il. did not turn out to be good :?

 

[pamnock]

Keep trying!

Pam