How to take a head tilt bun to the vets?

Today Tilly has to go to the vets (see my other thread). This will be the first time she has gone since Summer died, and Roger is not a feasible option to take with her.

That means she has to go alone.

When she goes in the carry case, even with an effort to keep her upright, she gets disorientated and rolls. The last time she went to the vets by herself she ended up on her back by the time we got there and couldn't right herself. Her normal tilt is roughly 1 o'clock and she never rolls, so that is obviously quite a huge difference.

I'm contemplating having her in the carrier until we get to the vets (and driving like a right Sunday driver to get her there as carefully as possible), and then when we get to the vets get her harness on (no debates about harnesses please) and carry her because that's less stressful for her. I've only ever carried two buns to the vets before, and that was because they were going to be PTS which is obviously slightly different.

What do you think? Should I just keep her in her carrier all the time? Or carry her at the vets?

I am just trying to work out what is best for her. I think, having written all that out it depends who else is in the waiting room (which is rarely busy), but then she isn't phased by anything really.

If she's happy and comfy then I'd carry her! It sounds like she'll be a lot happier being carried!

I had Ava out of her box on the way home from the parlour (a good 20 minute drive) and she flopped out on me and went to sleep! Would she not settle on some fleece on the passanger seat?

I use lots of towels in the carrier to pad it out so that there is no room to roll.

I would be wary of not having her in a carrier in he vets just in case any big dogs are around

Maybe fill the carrier with lots of towels or blankets and kind of put her in the middle with them going around her to help in the car? When Orson had head tilt he was rolling in the carrier and I just wrapped him in his carry pouch and put lots of bedding around him so he was pretty much squashed in the middle and couldn't roll over. At the vets I put him down my top and he just sat there probably not even realising he wasn't at home, but he is a rat so a little easier to have out of the carrier because he is smaller and doesn't stress like a bunny

Maybe you could wrap her in a blanket and sit her on your lap in the waiting room if it will help, I did this with Beau last week but there wasn't anyone else in there and he wasn't trying to move so it was ok. I would only do this if the waiting room is actually empty though. I always open the top of the carrier and put my hand in when I get into the waiting room anyways because it calms them and they don't jump about if I am stroking their heads x

I used to put Kermit in a large plastic box with the lid off. Then i would put rolled towels round the sides and sit him in the middle.
He was fine like this. I know what you mean about rolling inthe carrier, Kermit was terrible when he was in the carrier, so thats what made me come up with this idea.

I just used to carry Lily in my arms wrapped up snugly in a towel. The vets and the reception staff perfectly understood that she was not able to travel in a carrier because of her condition.

I wasn't the one driving though, if I had nobody who coudl sit in the car with her like that I would have secured her in the carrier with rolled-up towels at either side and then carried her in wrapped up in a towel.

Could you not put her in a baby carrier, the ones that are worn against the body.

Thanks guys. LOTS of good ideas here. I should have asked before today :lol: Although this was a little impromptu.

I like the idea of an open topped box. I often move her from enclosure to run in an underbed storage box, and as long as her legs are pretty wide she can do that ok. I do think part of the carrier aspect is that she can't see very well so doesn't have anything to help her focus on. I don't have any suitable boxes for this today but will tuck that one away.

No, I couldn't carry her in a baby carrier. Not least of all because I don't have one, but also because she needs to be on a level, so has to sort of be cradled with her head in the crook on my elbow and lying along my arm. I wonder what a bun woiuld think of being carried like that though. Not one I'd thought of to be honest.

Thank you everyone

What I did in the end was carry case to the vets and harness at the vets and she did really well. Much better than normal. And it sort of opened some sort of communication channel because its not everyday you see a bun on a harness. I didn't let her touch the floor or anything, just sat her on my lap and at one point when she struggled with that, I put her on the chair next to me and she climbed back onto my lap but in a different position.

So that worked. Thanks for all your advice

I carried Mischa while he was wrapped up in a towel. It was the first time we had ever been to any vets so I didn't own a carrier and even if we had there was no way I'd leave him on his own in a carrier.