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    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.

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Vets- advice please!Update sad news :( more advice please!!

Mushypea

Young Bun
Hi I just wanted to let you know what has happened this weekend and wondered if anyone had any advice for me.

I will try to keep this brief! Basically I have two rabbits, they aren’t insured but I keep money aside for vets bills. On Friday one of my buns was acting her normal happy self but had practically stopped eating(apart from small bits of hay/grass), I got an appointment at the vets for yesterday morning. I was convinced it was her teeth giving her jip because she has had stasis before and was showing different symptoms and she was still eating a little. The vet checked her temperature,teeth,ears,tummy,heart beat etc and said that she couldn’t really see anything wrong with her but her tummy seemed a little quiet. She then gave her baytril, metoclopramide, vetergestic injections and told me to give her bio lapis and pineapple juice and bring her back today if she still wasn’t eating. I asked if it could be anything to do with her teeth because she seemed to eat softer foods over her science selective/carrot etc but the vet said that her teeth had small spurs but nothing that should cause her any trouble.

This morning Bea was still not eating, I took her back to the vet and questioned again if it was her teeth, the vet had another look at them and said that they looked ok. She gave her another injection of baytril then asked me to take her to an emergency clinic so she could be given fluids, an x-ray and be monitored over the bank holiday (the vets I normally take her to is not open tomorrow). I took bunny to the other clinic straight away. Once there another vet checked her temperature,teeth,ears,tummy,heart beat etc and said that the spurs on her teeth were the reason she was not eating and that she would need to have them burred by my normal vets on Tuesday. The vet gave bunny metoclopramide and vetergestic injections and gave me zantac syrup, metacam and science recovery to give her at home.

The treatment on Saturday cost me £50 and in total today £140. As I said I have money saved for vets bills but do you think I should say something to the vet at my normal practice about the fact that I thought it could be Beas teeth that were affecting her eating and that she said that they were fine? If she had said yesterday that we could try to burr her teeth next week and see if it helped it would have saved me a lot of money…at the emergency clinic the consultation fee alone was £90…..

Any thoughts?

Thanks K
 
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I would deffo take it up with the vet, tis about time some of them were brought down a peg or two for mis diagnosis - had it happen to me
 
I think it was wrong of your vets to dismiss her teeth when they could actually see spurs on her molars. Rabbits are individuals and have varying tolerances to pain.

I have had rabbits with soft tissue lacerations and over grown incisors carry on eating like trojans BUT I have also had rabbits with the tiniest of spurs go right off their food in a matter of hours.

If your rabbit was off her food, there would have ben a primary reason for this and your vets found it with her teeth. They were wrong to dismiss it. I would raise the issue with them when you see them.

Many vets wont operate over the weekend and as molars usually require a GA for a burr it is usual for them to defer you to normal hours if they dont deem it 'critical'. They should have given you a supply of painkiller and gut stimulant for her though.

The other treatment was correct with the exception of the abx in my opinion. If there was no sign of a bacterial infection the only other plausible reason for this would have been for oral soft tissue lacerations....but if she had those I dont know why your vet dismissed her teeth as a cause of her anorexia.
 
Thanks a lot for your replies.Bea is doing ok today, still only eating a small amount though. How do you think I should go about making a complaint? I will be taking bunny back to have her teeth done tomorow or wednesday hopefully depending on when they can fit her in.
I want to say something but because the spurs are on her back teeth she will need to have an anaesthetic etc I don't want to upset the vet who might be doing the procedure (i'm paraniod, i know!). Do you think it would be best to send the vets a letter so that I have everything in writing?

Thanks a lot for your help
 
We'll I know my vets quite well so when I had a complaint to make I called the surgery and spoke to the vet who had been treating my rabbit before the vet who I had a complaint against.

Normally I would suggest calling and speaking to the head vet or practice manager/owner. In my case however, that was who my complant was against!

Also be clear about how you would have expected them to treat the situation differently and what you expect them to do to correct things. Have you kept all your documents from the emergency vets, receipts etc.?
 
well I'm quite disgusted that she could actually see the spurs and still did nothing about it (besides run up your bill unneccessarily!) I would find a new vet as it suggests to me she's not confident about doing dental work on bunnies - try and get a recommendation from someone on here maybe? Does sound urgent though so you may be stuck with this vet for the moment :?
 
I would get a print out of the history from the emergency vets and a copy of the invoice.
Take this with you tomorrow and ask to speak to whoever is in charge - Owner/Manager/Head Vet/Nurse. Explain that this cost would not have been incurred had the original vet not ignored the small spurs and ask them to discount the op to the amount you had to pay at the emergency vets.
Don't be afraid to speak up before the op as no decent vet would compromise an animals life just because the owner complained, if anything they will do their utmost to ensure everything is done to the letter as they won't want an even more upset client at the end of the day :) I suspect she is probably just not very experienced with rabbit dentistry and this will be a learning curve for her ;)
 
I'm surprised you're still willing to take Bea back to your original vet for treatment, as in my experience, anyone whos had any form of complaint (usually for something petty) never comes back to the practice.
I cannot believe your vet thought it wouldn't be the spurs - at my practice, we routinely check all rabbits' teeth when they are presented with symptoms similar to those you described. Even those with small spurs would be recommended a GA and rasp/burr, especially if there was no other obvious cause for the anorexia.
I'd recommend phoning the practice and asking them what their complaints procedure is. Most practices will ask for it in writing before they deal with it, in case any confusion arises. If they're a good practice, I'm sure they'll discount your bill as a goodwill gesture.
I hope Bea is ok, and they manage to sort the problem tomorrow :)
 
I still use my practice I made a serious complaint at but I never see the vet involved anymore. The reason for this is that one of the most rabbit savvy vets I have met works there and I am willing to risk that man crossing my path in order to see her.

If I didn't have a good reason to stay there then believe me, it would be so much less difficult than the current situation for me to switch to a new vets.
 
Thanks a lot for all your help. At least I know its not just me over reacting!:D

Bea is still looking quite bright but only eating a little bit :cry:

The vet I saw on Saturday/first on Sunday rang me yesterday because she wanted to see how Bea was. I explained what had happened at the emergancey clinic and she still said that she didn't think it was her teeth, but that she knew I was worried that it was so Bea as been booked in to have an x-ray and her teeth done tomorrow at the same clinic but with a different vet (who I have seen before and has a pet rabbit themselves).

Elve- it did come across on Saturday that the vet was not confident handling rabbits but as she was the only vet on all weekend i could only see her.

The reason I am taking her back to the same vets is that apart from the lady I saw over the weekend (who I have not seen before) the other vets seem very good with rabbits. They were actually recommended to me by a friend who has rabbits and guinea pigs.

I have got all my receipts and breakdown of treatments from Saturday (normal vets) and Sunday (emergency vets) and I am going to get a print out of her history from the vet when Bea is dropped off tomorrow then ask about a complaints procedure when I pick her up.

For future reference can anyone recommend a good bunny vet in the (pref south) Birmingham area?
 
Yes, i think you should definitely take this up with the vets. Not only have they caused discomfort to Bea, but also to you.

You shouldn't have to pay or something that is the vets' fault.

For example a friend of mine's dog chip moved and they wanted to charge her £100's of pounds to put it back, but surely it moved because the nurse did it incorrectly, so she refused to pay it and took it to the manager. The manager agreed that someone had incorrectly placed the chip.

Vets do get it wrong sometimes and you shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes.
 
For future reference can anyone recommend a good bunny vet in the (pref south) Birmingham area?

I would suggest starting a seperate thread for this, we have a few members in Brum, so it should catch their attention.
 
Ah thanks for asking!:D

She was A LOT better yesterday, she was eating lots (even carrot!), bouncing around and this morning she had a bit of science selective…

Bea (the black and white rabbit in my sig) is having her teeth done today, I’m going to ring the vets in a few mins to see how she is…
 
For future reference can anyone recommend a good bunny vet in the (pref south) Birmingham area?

Yep - I use Acorn Veterinary Practice in Alvechurch, so just outside Sth Bham.

Christine is the best rabbit savvy vet there (she does all the neuter etc for Hopper Haven) and they have a bloke (can't remember name) who does all the dentals, he won't let any of the other vets do them as he specialises.
Lou swears by him:D

They're at 2 Bham Rd, Alvechurch B48 7TA 0121 445 1191

I've taken other people there when their buns have been in dire straits and they've come up trumps at a very reasonable cost.

I'd be very interested to know (by PM of course) which vet you used this time, as they are probably in my area Sth Bham
 
Thanks for that BB Mommy, I think I know where that vets is....

Picked Bea up from the vet yesterday and she is fine...back to her normal nutty self and munching as much as she can...phhhhhhhew!

Thanks for all your help

K x
 
Update: Advice needed

Hi

I'm really sad to say that Bea died last monday :cry: I'm heartbroken, she developed a head tilt after she had her teeth done, she was put on a course on panacur because the vet suspected it could be EC but she just went downhill really quickly and the medicines didn't help at all so she had to be pts.

Now Miffy is on her own outside (although we are leaving the house door open for her to come inside when she is in her run). She doesn't seem too bad at the moment but has been a little quiet the last couple of days, she has got a teddy in her hutch that she keeps grooming :love:...She didn't see Bea when she died but I think she is starting to realise she has gone.

Miffy has got to have her teeth burred on thrusday, when she was spayed she was quite ill after the anesthetic so what I am wondering is when should I think about getting her a new hutch buddy? We will obviously look to get a male (Miff is a girl) from a local rescue (RSPCA, Fat Fluffs, Underhill)but when should we start looking or could she be ok on her own? (I originally had Miffy on her own for about 3months before I got Bea) I just don't want to stress her out too much after losing Bea, having her teeth done etc (she get REALLY stressed out just sitting in the carrier and going in the car) and I know bonding can be a long process (I'm sure it took around 3 months for Miff and Bea to adjust to being with each other 24/7)

Any help/advice would be welcome

I will put something about Bea in the Rainbow Bridge section of the forum when I can bring myself to write something without crying...could be a while:cry:
Thanks a lot

Katie
 
I am so sorry you lost Bea, you did everything you could for her.

I brought Homer on a whim from a petshop :oops: as he reminded me of the bunny we lost the week before who was the same colour. Homer licked me and home he came with me the following day (after I called my vet to check it wasn't too soon to introduce him). We did have to keep them separate until he could be done but Baby perked up as soon as she saw him in the cage.

I hope you find Miffy a nice new friend when you feel it is right.
 
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