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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Unpleasant vet visit/gender of rabbit?/rant?

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    • Potterbunny
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        So this morning I took my dwarf rabbit, Potter to the vet. Potter is about a year old and I’ve had him/her for practically his/her life. So the vet checked potter’s gender and apparently thinks he/she’s a girl. I’ve always thought Potter was a girl. The first time I saw Potter when I picked him/her from a litter I thought he/she looked “girlish”. So my first assumption was that it was a girl. However, I know better, so I checked right there. This was over a year ago now so I don’t remember all the details of what had happened but I’m pretty sure I saw a penis. So for over a year ice been calling potter a bit and now apparently he’s a girl? I know rabbits are hard to sex but I was pretty sure of myself.

        So then she gives us an estimate on a spay and it comes out to more than $500! I get that it’s a smaller animal and all but 500? My cats spay was less than 200 (at a different vet) and we got an additional discount for multiple pets. This get charges about 70 for a physical and now 500 for a rabbit spay? That seems like a little much to me.

        So additionally I’m very skeptical on this vets information as last week we took out new bunny, Ohana and since he (there’s definitely a penis)is a baby we give him alfalfa, not timothy. I know that’s what’s better for them as babies because I had Potter since he was about two months or so and I did my research then. Now, the vet told us he should be getting timothy so I questioned it. She came back with print out papers and said something like “oh yeah I guess you’re right it says here the young rabbits should get alfalfa…” then she told us how she thought rabbits should only get a tiny amount of pellets etc..

        Today I took in not only Potter, but my ferret as well (my mom was with me we keep them separate don’t worry the ferret was in a carrier) and she didn’t know about canned ferret food and feeding raw diets to them and how kibble really isn’t nutrionally balanced and the more I questioned the more she said it was…

        Now I’m not comfortable with this doctor but I don’t know if I should request a different doctor at the same hospital or what. It’s the only exotic vet close enough. The other exotics are like at least an hour away and my mom has already said she won’t drive that far to take them..

        I don’t know what to do. I want to ensure my rabbits get the best care possible and I just don’t feel like this vet knows what she’s doing. And she’s supposed to be their best vet too!

        If anyone can help me or give me any advice or opinions or anything that’s be great. Also, I’m sorry I don’t think I’ve done an intro yet but I dont have internet and I’m using all my mom’s phone data now..


      • Mikey
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          If its been a year and your rabbit is not spayed/neutered, if your bun was a boy, there would be obvious testicles Rabbits can suck them in, however if they are relaxed, theyre out and pretty easy to see

          Rabbit spays and neuters cost more, because the vet went through more training specific to rabbits and other exotics. That is, im assuming the vet you went to is trained/qualified to work on rabbits and went through more schooling for it

          Her knowledge on rabbits may not be fully correct about hay (though to be fair, you can start to give timothy around 3 months), but, its true about the pellets. Rabbits should not have much pellets per day. 1/8th to 1/4th cup of pellets per every 6 pounds of rabbits. Hay should be about 80% of their diet, 10% veggies, 8% pellets, 2% treats

          That said, if you dont feel comfortable, look for a different exotics/rabbit qualified vet. If there are different rabbit vets at the same office, request an appointment with one of them before going forth with any spays/neuters/surgeries/medications/ect. If you cannot find one there that you trust, youll have to wait until you or a different family member can drive you and youre furbabies to a vet farther away


        • Bam
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            I second Mikey, don’t let a vet you don’t trust spay your bunny. It’s a big surgery.

            Could you perhaps get us a photo of Potter’s private parts? If there is a penis it should protrude quite a bit when you press down on either side of it, but a girl’s secret parts will protude a little bit too.


          • Potterbunny
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              Posted By bam on 5/17/2016 12:06 PM
              I second Mikey, don’t let a vet you don’t trust spay your bunny. It’s a big surgery.

              Could you perhaps get us a photo of Potter’s private parts? If there is a penis it should protrude quite a bit when you press down on either side of it, but a girl’s secret parts will protude a little bit too.

              Thank you. As far as the pellets this vet was suggesting about less than a tablespoon for every pound and to me that didn’t seem like enough, but it wasn’t such a big problem with my bunny because she (I haven’t seen testicles) doesn’t really eat a lot of pellets anyway.

              I think I’m going to ask for the vet that my guinea pigs had when I took them, as she seemed more knowledgeable and could answer my questions.


            • LBJ10
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                Both boys and girls “pop out”. Is it an “o” or an “I”?


              • Kiahak
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                  I don’t see $500 for a spay being unusual. Surgeries are expensive. Sure, a dog or cat may be cheaper, but the procedure isn’t the same for a rabbit. Rabbits have to undergo a different anesthesia protocol (which is where most of the cost is) because they are a little more tricky to knock out safely. In addition, the vet may be charging an “exotics” surcharge.

                  The vet said 1 tablespoon per pound? So for a four pound bun, that’d be 1/4 a cup of alfalfa pellets. The information out there on how many pellets they should get varies. My bag of alfalfa pellets says 1/4 to 1/2 cup for a small-medium sized growing bun, so that’s about accurate according to the label on the bag I have.

                  The veterinary community has conflicting information on timothy vs. alfalfa diets for growing buns. I have seen some cases in which a vet himself would feed his rabbit a timothy hay diet and possibly a no-pellet diet. I’ve talked with some veterinary nutritionists about it. I brought up the idea that alfalfa has higher energy, protein, and calcium which is bad for adult buns, but wouldn’t that be okay for growing buns, because denying them of that growing ration may lead to some diseases related to poor nutrition in growth.

                  What I was told was this: For a growing bun, you can feed timothy or alfalfa. Feeding them timothy early on may help prevent them rejecting it later when they need to move off alfalfa. If you do feed timothy, you should definately supplement it with alfalfa pellets so that they can get that calcium/protein/energy demand for growth. I told the vet that I did a mix of alfalfa and timothy hay with alfalfa pellets, and he said that was great.

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              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Unpleasant vet visit/gender of rabbit?/rant?