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Trip to the vets

Joh619

Joh619

Alpha Buck
Hey up,

We took Nora and Walter to the vets today for the first time for their Mixi jabs. Walter wasn't too scared, although he's a wiggly rabbit so wasn't too keen on being held. Nora is normally the more confident of the two, but putting her in her carry case she looked petrified. She sat legs splayed out and head down the whole car journey and was breathing quite fast :(

After she'd had her injection we just let her go and she had a bit of a hop around the floor and then squished herself up in a corner and looked all scared again.

They're back home and in their hutch now with lots of presents coz I feel bad. But is there anything we can do to make their trip back in 2 weeks for VHD any less stressfull?

They're not used to being handled, which we are working on. But they havn't been handled for about 1 and a half years (or for their whole life) so they're taking their time getting used to it.
 
I know how it feels, mine get very scared too. I think the best thing you can do is to cover them up so it's dark in their carrier (obviously still letting some air get in!). I think they will still hate going to the vet for a long time though :?
 
Joh619 said:
Hey up,

We took Nora and Walter to the vets today for the first time for their Mixi jabs. Walter wasn't too scared, although he's a wiggly rabbit so wasn't too keen on being held. Nora is normally the more confident of the two, but putting her in her carry case she looked petrified. She sat legs splayed out and head down the whole car journey and was breathing quite fast :(

After she'd had her injection we just let her go and she had a bit of a hop around the floor and then squished herself up in a corner and looked all scared again.

They're back home and in their hutch now with lots of presents coz I feel bad. But is there anything we can do to make their trip back in 2 weeks for VHD any less stressfull?

They're not used to being handled, which we are working on. But they havn't been handled for about 1 and a half years (or for their whole life) so they're taking their time getting used to it.
Click to expand...

You could put a drop of Bach Five flower rescue remedy on a raisin each, cover the carrier with a towel (leaving ventilation gaps) to make it darker as suggested above and give a nice big bunch of washed greens before you go, i.e. before you put them in the carrier....it will help keep their tums going whilst they are out and stressed...I would then on return home just give them time to get over it. In fact we put ours out on the lawn as soon as we get back from any vet trip - whatever the weather - just for a quick hop around...it takes the mind off things and before you know it they're grazing away. Otherwise we put them back in the sitting room with a tray full of nice fresh hay and dried herbs and give them time to recover in peace. Hope that helps a bit. Vet trips are always stressful. If two of you in the car it can help to put the carrier on your lap and talk to them gently :)
 
You can also by serenum for rabbits which is supposed to calm stressed animals. I have some but I've never actually used it so not sure if it works.
 
Thanks for the replies :)

Does anyone know a good place to get serenum or the Bach Five flower rescue remedy? It might help them calm down a bit next week and then hopefully Nora wont be so scared when she has to go back for her spay.

Other than that, i had them on my knee in the car with them facing me so i could talk to them, but I'll try covering the rest up a bit so it's a bit more cosy. I'll try giving them some food too, though they did have pellets to tempt them into the carrier in the first place.
 
Joh619 said:
Thanks for the replies :)

Does anyone know a good place to get serenum or the Bach Five flower rescue remedy? It might help them calm down a bit next week and then hopefully Nora wont be so scared when she has to go back for her spay.

Other than that, i had them on my knee in the car with them facing me so i could talk to them, but I'll try covering the rest up a bit so it's a bit more cosy. I'll try giving them some food too, though they did have pellets to tempt them into the carrier in the first place.
Click to expand...

All health food stores stock the bach five flower rescue remedy - and some chemists too. I'd go for the dropper bottle not the spray though. :)
 
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