Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A First rabbit – first vet visit coming up

Viewing 10 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Canada_bun
      Participant
      13 posts Send Private Message

        Hi everyone,

        I’m super new here *waves* and I’m sorry if this is not appropriate for this forum section, but I’m not sure where else to put it.

        I and my fiance have an albino lionhead of about 1 year and a couple months old  We call him Thumper/Thump/Thumpy and we got him off kijiji (I’m in Ontario) from a family that no longer has time for him. The mom’s maternity leave came up and they foresaw that they wouldn’t have as much time for him so they were giving him away, and we’ve wanted a rabbit for a while so we contacted them asap! When he first got home (and peed during the cab ride in the carton box) he was a little skittish, but the third day rolls around and he went to explore the bedroom already. Took a bit longer for him to warm up to his papa because my fiance works night, and before we haven’t had the house rabbit-proofed so he has to go in his cage nightly, but we tried the best we could to have him out as much as possible  Now he’s pretty much free-range (cage time only when both mommy and poppy aren’t home) in a rabbit-proofed home to explore, clamber onto dad and mom when we’re sleeping, and munch on his Timothy hay and his radicchio, collard greens and parsley (and the occasional raisin) 

        We’ve planned a vet visit for our little boy for a while, but only now have the extra money for it. I’ve checked the House Rabbit Society website and the Rabbit Rescue website for vet info, and have found a vet only half an hour away from us, and it seems she’s treated quite a few of rabbits and was recommended on some rabbit websites for Ontarians. I’ve got him a travel carrier a few months back, have shredded paper in it and put it on the ground so he can get used to it (he’s flipped it upside down once and went inside like 3 times), and have browsed through the vet-related threads on here so I know what to ask the vet.

        I’m just wondering, he’s never been out of the house (last time he was in a carrier-like object was when we took him home), and so is there anything else we can do to make his visit better? He’s healthy from what I’ve read and can tell, we just wanted a general checkup plus a hair and nail trim to make sure all is fine. And afterwards, when I’m sure he’ll be scared (he hates being picked up but will flop right next to us on the floor), how can I make it better?

        Thanks a lot and sorry for the long post! Please let me know if there’s anything inappropriate .

        Best – S.


      • JackRabbit
        Participant
        5451 posts Send Private Message

          Welcome and congrats on becoming a bunny parent! We love bunny pics (hint hint!)!

          For the vet trip, you might put some hay in the carrier in case he would like a snack during the trip to and from the vet, or take a little of his favorite greens. Depending on the carrier, some bunnies do better with the carrier partly covered while in the car so they don’t see the movement outside the car windows. A treat after the trip is a nice way to add a positive note to the trip.


        • LBJ10
          Moderator
          16869 posts Send Private Message

            I agree, you can try to cover things up a bit to help him feel more secure. And food is always a good thing to try.


          • Canada_bun
            Participant
            13 posts Send Private Message

              Hi JackRabbit and LBJ10,

              Favourite food after vet visit, partial cover along the way plus treats/munchies (I’m leaning toward parsley, that’s healthier than raisins anyway), got it! Thank you so much for your input 

              Thumper says hi!

              Here he is trying to figure out all the fuss with Christmas (and of course eats the tree – we have a fake one with paper leaves)

              I’ll put up more pictures as the profile section becomes editable  

              Thanks again! Will keep you guys posted 


            • LittlePuffyTail
              Moderator
              18092 posts Send Private Message

                What a beautiful bunny!!! Best of luck at your vet visit!


              • Canada_bun
                Participant
                13 posts Send Private Message

                  It went amazingly well for a bun that has (very likely) never been to the vet before! He was quiet in the carrier, but I had the towel over him just in case, as that hospital is close to a construction zone. He was squirming a little bit, and squirmed the most when we were clipping his nail, but the vet and the tech who was called in later to help hold him were amazing  

                  The vet handled him with experience, she has seen pet buns before, she reminds us to limit the fruit treats and particularly raisins because of the high sugar content, and she says never to starve a bun, if before major surgery, only take his food away a couple hours before, not the night before because their gut needs to be constantly moving. She gave him time when it seems he was struggling quite a bit with the nail clipping, and showed us how to clip his nails at home too 

                  As for Thumper, he got a clean bill of health!  He weighs around 1.73 lbs, and the vet said she’s happy with his weight, no weird lumps around his jaws or anywhere on his body as she checked; no runny noses, no ear or eye discharge, teeth are at an okay length so no need for a trimming. He has a super little mat around his bum hole, but that was because he’s a double-mane and the fur there just needs a bit of a trim (and he got one!  She stopped clipping when she could check the skin underneath and verify it’s okay, though. Didn’t want to clip too closely), he didn’t have diarrhea (thank God – we would’ve noticed right away though) but it’s just some of the soft poop being stuck to the long fur. 

                  The only thing the vet said to watch is his teeth, because I’ve noticed he sometimes drops his treats, and from what I’ve read it could be a sign of dental problems, but she checked his teeth and it seems okay for now. She said to call if I had any questions.

                  I and my fiance were so glad it went well; we’re so proud of Thump for handling it so well  We were worried he might struggle too much and that they might need to sedate him for nail-clipping.

                  Just for future reference, a good vet shouldn’t have to try to put him under for something so minor as nail clipping right? 


                • Marianne
                  Participant
                  17 posts Send Private Message

                    Aww, Thumper is adorable! Sounds like you got some good advice from your bunny vet. Sedation is not necessary for nail trims (neither is trancing…), with safe restraint techniques trimming rabbit nails is easy. Rabbits are sensitive creatures, and should not be sedated for a minor procedure like that.


                  • LittlePuffyTail
                    Moderator
                    18092 posts Send Private Message

                      Glad it went well.


                    • JackRabbit
                      Participant
                      5451 posts Send Private Message

                        Your baby is so cute! There’s a monthly picture thread for pics too so you don’t have to wait for the profile fix!

                        Definitely no need for sedation for nail trims. Nail trims for all three of mine is definitely a two person job though — super wiggly. A holder and a trimmer work fine. Marlee has a super fluffy rear end too, and she had to have a “bikini trim” to take care of mats one time. Since then, I comb under there every night or every other night (hubby and I brush the lops every night while they eat their salads — Marlee, especially, will let me do anything as long as she has a salad in front of her!).


                      • LBJ10
                        Moderator
                        16869 posts Send Private Message

                          Aww, what a beautiful bun! I love him! Glad everything went well at the vet.


                        • Canada_bun
                          Participant
                          13 posts Send Private Message

                            Marianne – that’s what I figured, but I’m new to bun ownership (or should I say staffing) so I just wanted to make sure. I thought it would be like putting a human under for a manicure – excessive.
                            JackRabbit – yep, bikini trims sound about right We try to brush Thumper at least twice a day and I had to sneak up on him often when he’s napping, so he’d stay still. If only he’s so focused on his food like Marlee! Last time I tried to untangle that bum mat, my fiance had to hold him, and oh boy was Thumper mad. The moment we put him down he went all “nope!” for the raisin we offered as a truce and hopped away into his cage, back paws flicking. We haven’t tried since then
                            LBJ10 – thank you! It’s a pleasure being here btw; everyone is so friendly and helpful!

                        Viewing 10 reply threads
                        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A First rabbit – first vet visit coming up