Bad vet experience

[somebun]

 I took Olliver to the vet today for a checkup and nail trimming. The vet I took him to sees exotics, but I have a feeling they see more dogs and cats… I wasn’t happy with them. 

The tech asked me some questions about his diet, weighed him, and then the vet came in for the “exam” – but I don’t think it was much of an exam. He seemed like he was scared to touch him – he glanced in his mouth (and I mean glanced), palpated his abdomen, and held him while the tech clipped his nails. I told them he’d been scratching his ears a lot, and the vet looked in his ears, but didn’t use an otoscope, and said they were fine. He said you can tell if they have an ear infection if there’s head tilt, but can’t you catch it before that happens? He didn’t check his heart or lungs, they didn’t ask if I wanted bloodwork (I did, but by the end of the physical I didn’t trust them to do it).

They were also very rough with him. He was scared to death and they weren’t helping. I know they have to keep him still but they were practically squeezing him, and the poor thing was traumatized. And when he started trying to get away, they didn’t try to calm him down, they were telling him to “Stop it!”  He was just scared, I couldn’t believe how they were treating him… He squeaked a few times, and he was shaking, and kept shaking until I got him home and he realized where he was. I was crying my eyes out thinking he was going into shock, because of a vet visit no less… but he calmed down fast and he seems okay now (although very angry with me, and I feel like all the time I spent trying to get him to trust me this week was wasted…)

Needless to say I’m very upset, and I’m angry with myself for even paying for the visit  I’ll have to start the vet search over…

[MissGabbster]

Oh no! I hope Oliver forgives you soon.

Could you possibly give me the name of the vet you went to? I’ve been looking at vets for Ox and the one I’ve been looking at also deals with exotics. And as rare as it would be I just want to make sure that it isn’t the same place.

[LBJ10]

My vet talks baby talk to my rabbits and promises them they will get bananas when they get home. o_O

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I am still struggling finding a vet I am completely comfortable with too I wish the vet who spayed and neutered Sally and Harley were closer. They were so amazing.

[Beka27]

You can message the name privately, but you cannot post negative reviews of a vet on the site.

This is fine since you didn’t share any identifying information, but just so you know…

[jerseygirl]

You definitely want a vet who is more confident when handling a rabbit.

How did you go about finding a vet initially?

[RabbitPam]

Time for a new vet. Ditto Beka on not posting the bad vet’s name, however.
I would suggest you check out our posts that have the pushpin symbol at the top of the forum page (I think the vets list is in the Q&A first section.) There are several recommended ways to find a good vet.

Over the years I have had a few vets. Once I found one that was good with rabbits, I stuck like glue! They’re not all that easy to find. Check out vets who work with birds but not dogs or cats. My vet does that. Something about specializing in the smaller animals is a developed skill, and bird vets are often good with exotics.

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