• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

URGENT advice needed please UPDATED PLEASE RE-READ!

angeleyes

Warren Veteran
Hi everyone

I got my bun Lionel last Sunday and he has been very nervous and won't let us touch him or anything since we got him, yesterday i left his door open and he actually came out on his own i noticed he was limping a bit so had planned to take to the vet tomorrow morning, however this morning i noticed his side was all wet and there was white puss all over it, i wondered if he was sick but decided to take him to emergency vet anyway.
He is at the vet now he has a large abscess on his side it was awful, he was a star though the vet said they normally have to sedate them to clean it out but he just let me hold him still, anyhow the vet looked at his foot as well and it is not moving at all and he thinks there maybe something seriously wrong, we have left him there for x-rays.
I don't know whether or not to contact the place i got him from because they sold me a very sick bunny, of course i will do anything to make him better but i have just paid £400 vet bill and i have only had him a week and i am by no means rich ()% interest credit card lol) but i feel really annoyed that they are not looking after their animals.
What should i do?
 
Last edited:
£400 :shock: :shock: :shock: I know it's out of hours, but how is it £400? Including x-rays? Cleaning an abscess shouldn't cost more than £80 even on Sunday - can you query the bill?

Anyway - regards the poor bunny - I hope he gets the treatment he needs as it does sound unusual and serious :(
 
It wasn't a Vets Now out of hours clinic was it? They're very expensive, although if you can get your own vet to refer you the price does come down slightly.

I would complain to the shop that you got him from (although it probably won't get you very far). I wonder if it is worth speaking to your council about it, don't they have some sort of trading standards role?

I hope your poor bunny gets better soon.
 
If you got him from a pet shop they should pay the bills. Pets at home have always paid our bills. Yep my mum is after around £400 from them too and so long as she provides an invoice they'll pay it to her.

Hope he's ok :)
 
the abcess thing shouldnt be more than £100 but its the sedation for taking the xrays that will cost a lot too. it still sounds too much though. id have expected half that. yes, go back to the shop but please dont let them take him back:shock: im sure you wont though;)
good luck. manuka honey is very good for rabbit abcesses along with frequent flushing/cleaning.
 
Its almost £400 for the lot x-rays and everything it was a medivet that i went to and i always went there with my hamster
It was a pet place in Wraysbury where i got him and there is only one of them so they will probably just laugh in my face when i challenge them but i might ask the rspca for advice as well as they could be neglecting their animals :(
 
Poor bun hope he recovers well soon. Sorry I don't know much about these situations but I'd just make sure you keep all the paper work from the vet like reciept, invoice, treatment estimates which may help you later if you are trying to claim anything.
 
Sending lots of vibes to Lionel.... also I would query the bill definately that is ridiculous and also challenge the place of purchase. x
 
Most important thing is that the rabbit is getting the care he needs - I don't know much about this side of things, but you will get good advice in here.

With regard to the cost of the care:

Under the Sale of Goods Act traders must sell goods (and your rabbit is classified as goods, although I can understand if you don't like this term for a living thing) that are as described and of satisfactory quality. They clearly have not done this, and you are therefore entitled to compensation - ie they will have to cover your vets bills.

You should contact the seller and give them the opportunity to do this - if they refuse then put your claim in writing to them, giving them 14 days to respond. If they don't respond / refuse to pay then send them another letter giving them a further 7 days to pay before issuing a claim against them through the small claims court (you do NOT need a solicitor to do this). You can do it on line at:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/

It is important that you do write to them (keep copies) before going down the Court route - the courts take a dim view if people don't try and sort things out themselves first.

The only defences I think they could come up with are:

(a) The animal became ill after you bought it - can't see this being accepted by the Court after such a short period of time - perhaps your vet can put something in writing to pre-empt this that you can keep for evidence if needed.

(b) The vet fees are excessive (in Law you are required to mitigate (minimise) your losses - can't see this being a problem - you had a sick animal that needed care, you went to a Registered vet and paid out of hours fees.

Obviously I can't guarantee you will win, but if I was a betting man I would say you will win, and you're only risking a court fee of c £30 to issue the claim - also the shop won't want the bad publicity, so will probably settle as soon as they get the court papers.
 
Its almost £400 for the lot x-rays and everything it was a medivet that i went to and i always went there with my hamster
It was a pet place in Wraysbury where i got him and there is only one of them so they will probably just laugh in my face when i challenge them but i might ask the rspca for advice as well as they could be neglecting their animals :(

Unfortunately, the independent pet shops don't seem to accept responsibility once the animal has left the store, but make sure you pursue this and don't take no for an answer.
 
Update

Hi everyone

Not long got home from collecting Lionel the poor little thing he has had x-rays and as well as an abscess he has a deformed hip joint, theball of the hip is not a ball its square!! And he can't move it at all, it looks like he was probably born with it but how they didn't notice it i don't know. Its very rare in bus so how lucky am i?
The bill came to only £305 (i say only but thats a lot!) in the end, they vet is going to speak to a specialist to see if an op is possible for the leg if not it will be long term pain relief.
Now a question - I really never expected this to happen i can't believe it! I really want to keep him and make him better but i don't know how much more i can afford i am by no means rich and i know people are going to say i should have thought about the cost first but if i am going to have to constantly buy painkillers and treatment it could run into thousands over a short period of time, now my question is probably a stupid one but are there any charities out there that could help with costs or that may have vets they are in contact with who will do special discounts for long term treatment? Or does anyone know a way of reducing the cost?
Thanks everyone :)
 
Awww dear - that's terrible - they must be a truly rotten breeders :evil:

There's no financial help available with this kind of thing as rabbits are seen as disposeable :cry: However most people will put a ceiling on it and put to sleep when it gets too expensive, or if the rabbit's obviously suffering and has no quality of life. Maa's eye operations cost me £550 a couple of years ago, and I had decided (being on income support - my life savings gone now) to have her PTS if she needed anothe op - thankfully it never came to that and she's fine now.

With your bunny though it's an on-going condition and will cause a lot of pain. I would personally have the leg removed as he'll manage fine with only 3, and it will be an end to the costs once healed - but it's your choice really - I hope he's going to be OK :)
 
How awful for you and the poor bunny. I would take it up with the petshop - at the end of the day they bought the bunny from a breeder who is responsible. The council give licenses for petshops to sell animals so if the petshop stonewall you it might be worth mentioning it to the council and ask them to inspect, maybe with a letter from your vet. I wouldn't let it go cos although you're doing the 'right thing' by the rabbit, you certainly don't and shouldn't expect to pay out that sort of money when you've only just acquired the animal. Good advice from Elve, I'd echo that.

There are rescues on here who do take in long term poorly or disabled bunnies, ebony eyes is one of them. If you can't afford the long term care of this rabbit it could be worth speaking to one of the rescues to see if they can help or take him in for you.

:censored: petshops :evil: :evil:
 
Sue the credit card company? Eh? Do you mean 'goods' are insured when bought with a credit card?

In effect yes, but I'd had a couple of glasses of wine yesterday so should have known that it wouldn't apply in this case, as the 'goods' must cost more than £100.

Link below with more info:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/consumer/guides_to/credit_liability.shtml

Always worth paying for things like a holiday on a credit card because then you have comeback against the cc co if the holiday firm goes bust!
 
Back
Top