Poorly bun + vet prices

Hi,

I'm new here so bare with me

Our 3 year old bunny, Toffee has been having a 'lump' issue in his gut for a few months now. He was prescribed Baytril & pineapple juice and had some injections which started to reduce the size of the lump to what the vet called 'an acceptable level without surgery'. His health is otherwise ok, he's eating well, exercising well and drinking fine.

Today he went in to get his VHD vaccination and it now appears the lump is about the size of a golf ball :shock:

The vet's advised us to let them xray him to see if they can find out what the cause is - with the possibility of explorative surgery after.

Obviously we want the best for Toffee but we've been quoted £250 for the anaesthetic & xray, and more on top of that for the surgery. Does this seem expensive? We'll be getting the treatment done but I wonder whether it's worth 'shopping around' a bit with other vets?

Poor little thing, he seems happy otherwise and there's always a risk with anaesthetic/surgery

Help!

Jonny

For me that sounds about right.. vets charge way too much! Iv spent £140 in the last couple of days on injections for Eclipse as he stopped eating and pooing.

if you want to shop around a bit I dont really see a problem with it as long as they are bunny savvy and you inform your other vet

Hope Toffee gets better soon x

Sadly things like x-rays and anaesthetics are what cost the most. When Faline had was in stasis she had an x-ray and that alone was £80.

Vets seem to be charging more and more.I took Bugsy in this morning and got charged £22 for a five minute cosultation.Ive been taking my dog to a different vet for a shoulder prob and he charges £14 for a consultation.Vets can charge what they like and get away with it.

sounds a lot but i think more so than the price you should check on your vets rabbit expieriance...i have found that it is not always price to go by it sounds reasonable cost for everything being done but is obviously a lot to fork out, i would only pay it there if i felt the vet was 100%bunny savvy and knew what they were doing otherwise would see another vet.

Thanks for all the advice. I will definitely be asking about his bunny experience. His proposed treatment of Toffee does concur with the other vets we've seen.

His appointment is booked for a couple of week's time as it's not an emergency procedure so hopefully they'll find out what the lump is about. In the mean time we'll be praying he stays well until then.

Thanks again, I'll be sure to post once he's been xrayed.

Jonny

Update

An update on Toffee - he went in for his xray on Monday. We had a phone call to say the lump had increased to the size of 12cm diameter and it was the best option to operate to see what could be done.

On opening him up, they found the lump had encompassed one of his kidneys and most of his body cavity - it would need to be removed. There was a risk of infection/contamination as the vet was operating very close to the gut. Fortunately she managed to remove the kidney and lump without gut contamination.

Later that day I had a phone call to say he had woken up from the anaesthetic and was recovering well. He had been put on a drip and had a collar put on him to stop him biting through the drip line. He was being fed from syringe but taking it well.

I saw him yesterday evening and he wasn't very happy with the collar on but was at least awake and sitting comfortably.

Today I visited him again and he had had the collar removed, the drip removed and was eating normally - and some sign of droppings. I took him some of his favorite things (apple branches, carrot, brocolli) and he seemed to perk up a bit still.

We're hoping he's coming home tomorrow.

The vet has been great - She's shown me the xrays, been phoning at least three times a day to let me know how he's doing and making sure the vetinary nurses have been doing regular observations on him when she's not there during the night.

Toffee's behaviour has changed for the better, he seems a lot calmer and happier - but no surprise I suppose after having a massive lump removed that was taking up a large proportion of his body cavity.

The vet has been amazed at the speed of his recovery, his temprement since and how he's managed to put up with such a large growth recently. Just goes to show how hardy bunnies can be.

Finally - thank you for all your advice. Despite the large vet bill (650+), we're really happy with how well he's doing and hopefully we'll be able to re-bond him with his brother Indigo in time.

Jonny

gosh! that IS pricey! but of course worth it! perhaps you could insure your buns? I have four so its not worth it but with two it usually is? its between £9-£13 dependant on your area/buns age/condition etc

im glad your bun is feeling better! hope you stick around! x

I think we might look into insurance... I doubt it would cover pre-existing conditions but it should save us in the long run.

I'll be interested to see the final bill to see where the major expenses lie. I suspect it's in the surgery which according to the vet took over an hour to remove all the tumour.

If only we'd insured them when they were baby bunnies!

Here's hoping Toffee will be home this evening

Good news about toffee coming home! My bun is being neutered next monday and they are also investigating a 4cm lump she has on her side.......sounds like i need to be prepared for a big bill from the vet:shock: