on the vet hunt

[vaderslave]

Is there anyone here from Pennsylvania, preferrably northeastern/central PA? I am taking my bunny to the same vet that my family takes dogs, cats, etc. I don’t think their vets are terribly exotic/rabbit savvy, but they do do research for me to make sure my pets are getting the best care (when I took my pet rats to them, they did loads of researching on them so that my ratties were well taken care of when we had to go there.) I would hate to leave them, buutt I also want to make sure Vader is getting the absolute best care.

Also, we went for our pre-neuter check up, and my vet said she’d like to wait until he’s about 6 months old and is a little heavier? I thought they were safe from about 4 months on? She said in the 3 years she’s worked there, they haven’t lost a bun in surgery but that the risks are high, etc…. it was really scary :/  Also, they quoted me for $100-130… is that normal? I found a low cost neuter program about an hour away that’s $55, I might look into that as well….. so much to think about

[Sarita]

Some vets do prefer to wait 6 months – it’s really at their discretion and what they feel comfortable with so I would not have a problem with this.

I would say that is an extremely good price for a neuter and I would much rather go to a vet that I knew then to a low cost spay neuter especially since you do seem very concerned about the care.

[Sarita]

Also here are some links from rabbit rescues in PA with some of their recommended vets:

http://www.rabbithabit.org/health/rhvets.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/se-pennsylvania/vetlist.html

[Monkeybun]

My vet had me wait until Monkey was 7 months old, just due to her being so little. I’m not surprised yours would want to wait, with Vader being a nethie as well. They’re just so little

[Elrohwen]

My vet had me wait until 5 months to neuter my boy. He’s a holland, and she said that for smaller breeds they like them to be a bit closer to full size before surgery (and this was from a very experienced rabbit vet). So waiting til 6 months seems reasonable.

The cost also seems very reasonable, though I would ask if they’re done any rabbit neuters before. The actual surgery won’t be hard for the vet if he’s done cats and dogs, but the anesthesia on bunnies is a bit different and I’d prefer a vet who had experience with rabbits.

I would also probably stear clear from the $55 neuter … I just have a distrust for anything that’s too cheap 😉

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I think generally 5-7 months. I don’t think it’s going to be unusual for us to see them spay/neuter younger and younger as they are now doing juevenille spay/neuters on dogs as young as 8 weeks successfully-but I think six months is totally average and what I would want.
And that price is great.

Personally I’m weary of low cost spay/neuter clinics-they *generally* do the bare minimum, use the cheapest drugs and don’t have any supervision for animals waking. (And even at that they are still running a deficit. Most vet clinics discount spay/neuters to the point where they lose money-because they want people to get them done). By all means check it out but ask about processes and what they do as well as cost

[vaderslave]

yay! I just wanted some feedback to know that everything was normal. The lady I normally get used to show nethies, so she was really really good with him and very knowledgeable about him, she showed me how to check his teeth and whatnot, and told me how much he should be eating. She said they do do rabbit spay/neuters, not very often but they did a neuter last week on a flemish and all went well, so they are slightly experienced.

I just live in a rather rural area with kind of an old-fashioned attitude about vet care and especially for small animals or spays/neuters. Like only “silly rich people” fix their animals or keep cats indoors only, etc. And I’m viewed as especially crazy for wanting vet care for my rats/rabbit and wanting to have him neutered, and I’m being ridiculous for “wasting” so much money on them (when I can just get another one for $10, duh, cause who in their right mind would get attached to small animals). Thankfully, my vets are understanding and also want the best for my critters

[vaderslave]

Also, the breeder I got Vader from gave us a baggie of some semi-crappy food that he grew up on, which he quickly ran out of because he chowed on them, so I had to get a new bag of food pronto. I got zupreem brand food, anyone heard of it? He refuses to eat it. We even did the starve him til he eats it thing for two days now… yeah he just eats his hay and pushes the new pellets around and tries to lick up the dust on the bottom of the bowl from his old food. Is Oxbow tastier? He’s young and since the vet wants him gaining weight, and he’s a hyper little creature, I’m worried about starving him and him dropping weight. So far he also has a very stable digestive system… We introduced veggies and my boyfriend gets a little excited with the veggies, especially parsley because of Vader’s very very excited reaction, and gave him huge amounts with no ill effects.

[Monkeybun]

My 2 loooove their oxbow pellets, even picky little Monkey I’m convinced Moose would eat a sock if someone told him it was food tho…

[vaderslave]

I just ordered some oxbow he better like it! lol picky little monster

[Elrohwen]

My bun also likes Oxbow and he’s extremely picky. He doesn’t eat any fruit unless it’s a craisin or dried papaya, and the only veggies he’ll eat are lettuces. Good luck with the Oxbow! Bunnies are tricky because you can’t leave the food and just assume they’ll eat eventually (like dogs and cats). They really need to eat every few hours to keep their tummies going so it’s definitely important to find something he’ll eat.

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