Vhd

Just wanted people's thoughts. My hubby went to vets yesterday to book an appointment for two of my bunnies' VHD jabs following their Myxi jabs two weeks ago. He came out saying that the 4 (?) nurses/receptionists there had said to consider this carefully for several reasons:

Firstly, vaccinating two rabbits would be about £30-£40 quid (we wouldn't have been asking for an appt if we felt it was too expensive, would we?).

Secondly, they had not (knowingly) seen any instances of VHD in recent years.

Finally, they would have to order the vaccine in (I have no problems waiting several days for an appt).

So, what I don't understand is why the vets ares seemingly putting barriers in the way of people vaccinating their rabbits. When they had their myxi jabs, I did say I intended for them to have their VHD jabs two weeks later. Does anyone else find this odd?

I have read on here that some rabbits are ending up with burn marks following certain VHD jabs, do you think that could be a reason the vets are almost shying away from giving it?

We are off to the vets on Tuesday when our other female goes in for a post-spay check up and I shall ask them more about this VHD business then. I am more than happy to have my four bunnies vaccinated!

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar problems.

This is very odd and not at all helpful.

It's not unsurprising that they haven't seen any cases. Most rabbits die a silent death and the vets never hear about it. Owners often just think "oh well it must have been old age".

VHD is an expensive vaccine and I believe I am right in saying that the Lapinject has 5 doses per bottle and needs to be used within several days of opening. It may be this that is putting them off - if noone else is going to be wanting the other doses.

Just a thought.

So if all four of my bunnies had the injection, I'd almost use the whole lot anyway!

I was told the same by my vet. He said VHD was rare and indirectly that there was no need for the vaccine, obviously they have both had the vaccine but i think that was very irresponsible. Luckily I had the knowledge to decide otherwise but many people don't!

ETA: This is the first vet i saw for fidget's first jab. We don't see him anymore.

....'they had not (knowingly) seen any instances of VHD in recent years'...

VHD frequantly causes sudden death in rabbits..ie no sypmtoms present prior death of the animal. most owners dont visit the vets for a postmortam

..'Finally, they would have to order the vaccine in (I have no problems waiting several days for an appt).'...
you have 4 bunnies could be they didn't have enough?

Hiya!

Are there any other vets near where you live? They can't see a lot of rabbits in the practice if they don't keep VHD vaccine in stock :shock: Personally I would worry about how good they are with rabbits if that is their advice - VHD is known as 'the silent killer' for a reason - most people simply find their rabbits dead suddenly without knowing why and without any symptoms suggesting they need to see a vet. As most owners would not take that bunny to a vet for a post-mortem examination it's no surprise that the vet hasn't seen it for years. :? There are also two types of vaccine available for VHD now, the original one - cylap - is the one that seems to have more side effects; the newer one - lapinject - seems to have less side effects and immunity also develops a lot more quickly. Lapinject only comes in a vial of 5 which needs to be used on the same day, so if you have several bunnies it might be worth asking your vet to buy that one in. I am led to believe that a whole vial of lapinject (which covers 5 bunnies) is still cheaper for a vet to buy than a single cylap!

Personally though, I would seek out another vet if possible :?

I did think about changing vets, but in three years this is the first bad vibe I've got from them. Three of my bunnies have been neutered there, two recently, and all of them have recovered swimmingly (despite two being quite young). Last year one of my bunnies had her myxi then vhd jab there, so can't really see why they're saying what they're saying this year.

What I also fail to understand is if they know I have four bunnies, all of whom will be having jabs throughout their lives, why wouldn't they want the money?!

My old vet said this too. That they haven't seen it for years. :roll: I go to an exotic vet now, who's good with rabbits.

SisterMoonbeam said:

I was told the same by my vet. He said VHD was rare and indirectly that there was no need for the vaccine, obviously they have both had the vaccine but i think that was very irresponsible. Luckily I had the knowledge to decide otherwise but many people don't!

ETA: This is the first vet i saw for fidget's first jab. We don't see him anymore.

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My vet told me the exact opposite! And that was the guy vet who I'm not very keen on and much prefer the nice lady vet

I'm starting to realise how reasonable my vets are - they only charge me £12something for vaccinations.

£16.82 is the quoted price for one VHD vaccine.