Helen and Tony say hello! (And get ready for the vet)

[Tony's Mum]

Hi everyone! My name is Helen, and I’m mum to Tony, a not-so-little Lionshead from Ireland.

I’ve had pets before, almost throughout my whole life, but mostly dogs. Tony is my first bunny. I got him in November after doing a lot of research on apartment safe pets. Tony is an independent, naughty bun, who loves head rubs, apple slices, and digging.

I’m not exactly sure on Tony’s age or gender. I was told he was four months old when I got him, and a male, however he’s tripled in size since, and I’ve not been able to detemine his actual gender. So I think he was actually a lot younger, and may be a girl. Our first trip to the vet is today, so we will know by this evening! 

He’s not spayed, but I plan on it. The vet will give him his shots today, and in three weeks he will be ready to arrange the surgery. I have done a lot of research and found two rabbit-specialist vets, so today we are going to the one close to where we live, and hopefully we’ll like him! The other one is an hour’s drive away, and I think that would really stress Tony, plus she’s a lot more expensive so I’m hoping today goes well! 

I’d appreciate any advice on the first vet’s visit, as I’m quite nervous about stressing my bun out, and travelling with him. I bought a secure carrier and a bunny harness, but I’ve never properly used either; I tried out the harness for a few hours the other day and he wasn’t a fan. The carrier has been open on the floor all week to try and familiarise him with it, but after an initial nosey at it, he’s ignored it, even after I put some hay inside.

He doesn’t like to be grabbed or picked up, and he gets panicked if he thinks you’re going to do it, so I’m quite nervous about the vet’s.

[Limit]

Hi and welcome! Your bun is adorable, super fluffy

R.e the vets: I don’t like harnesses and in my own opinion I disagree with them completely. I would try maybe to put the carrier down with lots of hay in and see if he goes in himself – this is what I do with my big buns as I can’t pick them up just like that. If this doesn’t work I’m afraid you will have to pick him up, as his vaccs and neutering is important

[Luna]

Hi! I love how Tony’s hair looks styled in the front! I agree with Limit that harnesses are a dangerous (unnecessary) gamble – broken legs and injured spines. It’s normal for buns to not like being picked up. If you can’t entice him with treats to go into the carrier, you could cover him with a bath towel and gently scoop him up and into the carrier.

[Wick & Fable]

Welcome, welcome! Tony looks so fluffy and full of personality! In terms of the carrier, I took a few clothes and rubbed them on Wick (like I’m petting him, but with a cloth), so that they picked up his scent. I then put them in his carrier so it seemed a bit more familiar. I’m not sure if he just really likes the carrier or if the scented clothes helped, but it’s one of his favorite places now, so the carrier is left open in our place for him to use daily as a sleeping spot. This method seemed to work when I set up a new box for him to chill in as well; he cozy-ed up to it within a day and spends a lot of time there as well.

For picking up/carrying, I made a point to always soothe Wick when he freaks out about it. If he’s fine when I pick him up, but freaks out when I place him down, I don’t let him get away— I pet him on the ground until he’s calm, then I let him go. I used the same reasoning for picking him up. If I go to do it and he freaks out, I follow through with picking him up, but then pet him a lot while I’m holding him, so he realizes it’s not bad. This worked well with Wick and now he really doesn’t care about being picked up.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Tony's Mum]

Limit; the harness was more to stop him flying out of the carrier ther second I opened it in the vet’s and falling off the table, but I agree it’s definitely not something I’d want on him all the time, in this case I thought it was just the slightly safer option. I was worried the whole drive over that it would choke him though. Luckily the vet’s office is less than five mins of a drive, and he doesn’t have to go often.

Luna; I actually tried Wick’s idea and it worked great! He did try to escape the second I went to close it, and the treats came in pretty handy then though.

Wick; Thank you, that idea helped a lot! I left some food on an old towel and he lounged out on it for an hour or so, then I put the towel in the carrier. He pretty much walked in. He did try to bolt the second I went to close it, and when the vet opened it he tried to bolt again, but between the towel, the harness, and myself and the vet, we managed to stop him running right off the edge of the table and keep him still long enough for the vet to examine him. He was definitely less stressed in the carrier than I thought he’d be, so I really think the Tony-towel helped!

So he’s definitely a boy! The vet said he’s in great health, she was impressed at how strong he was when he was trying to escape lol. He was being very stroppy (and he is exceptionally fluffy, especially right now as he’s shedding his winmter coat) so she couldn’t check his bum as much as she’d like, but she’s happy with everything else and she said she can do a more thorough check of him when he’s sedated, because I’ll be bringing him back in a few weeks to get neutered. He’s all vaccinated and everything now! He was very nervous but the vet was pretty confident handling him so that seemed to help a lot, and he was really brave with the needle. She’s happy with his weight and he was happy to eat a slice of apple out of her hand when he was done, so I think he must have liked her. I really liked her, she was friendly and knowledgeable and handled him well, so I’m happy.

We’re home now, and he’s not being as stroppy as he is when I clip his nails. He refused to come out of the carrier for about fifteen minutes, then when he did he hid under the couch for a bit, but now he’s back to exploring, although I think he’s still a little miffed… All in all it wasn’t as bad an experience as I’d feared!

[Luna]

Good to hear it went well! That was nice of the vet to give Tony some apple afterwards .

[Tony's Mum]

I had some stashed in my bsag for after this shots. Like the bunny version of a lollipop XD

[Author]

Messages