Glad the vet visit went well! And now the ear mites can be treated!

That’s wonderful. Thank you for taking such good care of her and for the update.

she is about 13 wks old and has alot of the Rex traits, but her sex and breed is unknown till around 6 wks

Is that supposed to be 6 months? This was an exotic vet that couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl at 13 weeks?

You can tell before that, by the shape of what pops out when you press on their genital bits. I could tell the gender of my boy Squirrel at 6 weeks.

Posted By Monkeybun on 05/09/2011 07:46 PM
You can tell before that, by the shape of what pops out when you press on their genital bits. I could tell the gender of my boy Squirrel at 6 weeks.

Yeah, I’m really surprised a vet couldn’t tell. That doesn’t ring right to me. 

That’s pretty crazy New. I can tell Samson’s a boy, and he’s the only rabbit I’ve ever seen. I think I’d also question the knowledge of a vet who tells you that her book says how she should be able to sex the rabbit. Does she not normally treat bunnies? I sure hope mine can confirm when they neuter him

Well I can see how she’d want to be cautious. Vets have been known to think a bunny is one sex, schedule the spay/neuter and then find out it’s the other sex once they have the bunny open. lol   But she should be seen by a rabbit vet.  In the phone book, they are labeled as an exotic vet as they are trained to treat small animals, birds, reptiles, etc as well as dogs and cats. 

Really?

For a rabbit vet she doesn’t seem to know much, no offense.

You can tell gender way earlier than 6 months. And breed for that matter. Breed tendencies don’t magically appear at 6 months old, they are there from the beginning.

Even if she is a qualified vet, does not mean she knows all about rabbits. Even if she owns one herself.

Did you get one from the list on Rabbits.org New?

I am also glad that you were able to get your bunny to a vet. I know you had real trouble finding even one that sees rabbits where you are located, and you had to travel about 40 miles to see this one (if I am remembering correctly). So while I do share the concerns of wondering why this vet could not tell the sex, she seemed to be up on the diet and was able to offer Dandela relief for the newly discovered ear mites. Dandela will be much more comfortable.

I am happy you are continuing to try and do what is best with the resources you currently have. Sometimes making changes and learning how to get things accomplished takes time — baby steps, and you are moving in the right direction even though there are still concerns on the table here.  I think continuing to search out vet options for the future is a good idea too, and looking for information on rabbit-savvy vets is certainly something that is in the best interest of Dandela.   I actually have two rabbit-savvy vets, even though I see one primary one — just in case of something urgent, and one is unavailable.  I’ve even had the two vets confer with each other.   

I’m so happy you were able to get her in! And thank goodness she found those ear mites! This goes to show that sometimes there is a deeper problem that is unseen by the naked eye. I want to ditto BB when I say you are doing so great with her! I’m looking forward to hearing more about your beautiful bunny and seeing how she grows!

Unfortunately, with vets, there is not always a “perfect” one available. So while it is vitally important to have a vet you trust, everyone must understand that there may still be questions about care or treatments. A good vet knows that they might not know everything, but our bunnies are incredibly lucky to have us to research and learn info that can help them if the need arises. I’m not recommending treating them through home remedies, but just being knowledgeable about common rabbit health issues, symptoms, and how they are usually treated.

What was mentioned regarding spay/neuter? I know she isn’t 100% sure on her sex (and even experienced vets can make mistakes), but did she mention what time frame she does surgeries, how many she has done, what her success rate has been? It is customary that boys will get neutered when the testicles drop (12-16 weeks) which is about where SHE is now. Girls are usually spayed later at about 6 months, depending on size and the vet’s normal practices.

Edited to add: Maybe I missed it, but are you going back for a follow-up appointment to check on her progress after the ear mite meds are done and (maybe) make a definitive conclusion on sex?

I think it would be REaLLy hard to make a good enough video, to be honest.
THat’s a really cool thing about the ermine video!

I like the sound of your relationship with this vet, and the fact that she’s found and treating the ear mites. And the rest of her exam sounds like you’ve made excellent progress with Dandela’s care.
I guess I’m a bit more laid back about the gender issue, since I think the health care is what is most important with a good vet. I remember how much smaller they are at 13 weeks, especially the runt, and since you need to wait a couple of months with either gender before a speuter, it isn’t urgent to “get it right” unless you have two bunnies in close proximity. For a single bunny, in a few weeks you’ll know if it’s Dandela or Danny-Boy. It is important to get the speuter done, for the health of a female and the comfort of your relationship with a male, so when you see your vet next you can schedule an appointment for down the road for the procedure. I know my vet is really experienced, but she waited until she was comfortable with Samantha’s size to do it because she just didn’t want any risk factors due to delicacy of size to effect her chances. As a single bunny, it was fine with me to wait until my vet was comfortable.

BB makes a good point about a back-up vet. I just relocated a town away, so I’m now a few miles farther from my vet. I like knowing a vet or two that is much closer to me here in case of emergency, or if their hours are different, so I have coverage at any time. If you want to search in your area, try the House Rabbit Society’s recommended vet list, searchable by zip code I think:
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.html
(wow, I am Queen of the typso (see!) today! Fixed some, but now I give up…. )

I am so glad that you found a vet, and that she found Dandela’s ear mites and was able to treat them. Ear mites can be so uncomfortable for pets- and I always feel so sorry for young pets that have probably had them since they were old enough to have their ears open (I assume bunny ears are like puppies and kittens- closed at birth). I can’t imagine having such awfullly itchy ears for as long as the bunny can remember- they must think it is “normal”. I bet Dandela will be so relieved when all the mites and debris are cleared up. She is lucky that you got her, found BinkyBunny and took her into the vet. Sounds like the start of a healthy, happy life.