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 

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 – 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!