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Just Said Goodbye To Frank

BooMoo

Warren Scout
Hi, I'm new here..

Last night I had to have my young Frank put down. Basically I have Maisy who is nearly one and then Frank and Ben who we took in from someone we knew.

We had had both the boys living happily together for about a month until the other morning I came down to find that they had been fighting and there was blood everywhere. Frank had some bad injuries to his man parts but I wasn't overly concern as he was bouncing round happily enough and not refusing to let me have a good look at the wound.

All I thought was that I would have to take them both to the vets to be neutered and then I could put them back together and live happily ever after. I booked in at the vets for Frank as a sort of pre op check and a chance for the wound to be looked at. The vet was amazed and said she hadn't seen anything like it before. Basically his penis had been sliced and so had the tube he wees out of, meaning he couldn't wee properly and it was infected. She said an operation wouldn't have worked. So here we are my young Frank is buried in the garden.

Sorry to babble on. I was and am so so upset. I love Ben too but I can't help feeling he is to blame but obviously it's what would have happened in the wild. I feel like the pet shop were totally out of order advisng you to keep two males together and actually selling them! I understand they are both mean't to be neutered but I was told at first that they were too young.

Theres not really a question in this but thanks for letting me say how I feel and any help/opinions/experiances will be apprieciated.
 
I'm very sorry you have lost Frank, but, and sorry if i sound harsh, but i am shocked and sad that you didn't take him to the vets straight away! Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference to the final outcome but if my rabbits had been fighting and there was a wound and blood, they would have been straight down the vets with no delay whether they seemed ok or not. Rabbits are excellent at hiding when they are ill or in pain and by the time they can't hide it any more it's often too late so better to have a potentially wasted trip to the vets then be sorry. Bink free little Frank x
 
Hi, The vet said that once the wound was over 8 hours it would have been classed as 'old' which makes everything so much more complicated. Even if I had taken him as soon as I noticed it, it would still have been 'old' because it happened in the night. I know it sounds daft but I was a hour late for work because I was seperating them etc. And I have to work to be able to afford to take my bunnies to the vets etc. The vet said it was a wound in totally the wrong place and that it was very very bad luck basically.
She also said like you did that 'Rabbits are excellent at hiding when they are ill or in pain.' If I had known this I would have been straight at the vets but I've been told and read before that rabbits do show signs of being in pain :/ which is slightly confusing and annoying. I was looking out for all the so called signs but there were non. I am sorry and sad but it wouldn't have made a difference. Thanks :)
 
I think you've been given some poor advice - lik being able to keep two unneutered males together and that they show signs of pain etc. Rabbits can show pain (mainly stomach) by grinding their teeth but they're often very ill by the time it gets to that stage.

Obviously it's too late for Frank but i'm sure you've learnt alot out of this, as we all do every time something happens to our beloved buns.

You'll get so much excellent advice on here so good you've joined :)

I don't know where you live but i would "shop around" and find yourself a real rabbit expert vet and also make sure you have details of what to do out of hours as these things often happen at weekends/at night.

And as for Ben, i suppose it's natural to think he's to blame in some way, but rabbits can be absolutely vicious when they fight so what happened is completely normal in that situation, it could have gone either way and it's not that Ben is a bad rabbit he was just doing what unneutered males do when they are put together.

P.S just notice you are in Nottingham, I'm sure there will be some good recommendations on here for vets/night vets in your area.
 
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Hi, The vet said that once the wound was over 8 hours it would have been classed as 'old' which makes everything so much more complicated. Even if I had taken him as soon as I noticed it, it would still have been 'old' because it happened in the night. I know it sounds daft but I was a hour late for work because I was seperating them etc. And I have to work to be able to afford to take my bunnies to the vets etc. The vet said it was a wound in totally the wrong place and that it was very very bad luck basically.
She also said like you did that 'Rabbits are excellent at hiding when they are ill or in pain.' If I had known this I would have been straight at the vets but I've been told and read before that rabbits do show signs of being in pain :/ which is slightly confusing and annoying. I was looking out for all the so called signs but there were non. I am sorry and sad but it wouldn't have made a difference. Thanks :)

so sad for your loss :( I agree there is some terrible information out there about rabbits! I have read websites recommending popcorn and iceberg lettuce, and books saying the same as what you have, that they do show signs, without mentioning that they hide them for ages first. So upsetting that you try to be responsible and do research and it's all for nothing.

I find the best thing to do with mine is to check them over for anything hidden under fur, their eyes ears mouths and bums twice a day and check their poos twice a day. Make sure you know what their normal behaviour looks like so you can pick up straight away when they're poorly. This website is great for help, as is www.rabbit.org (the House Rabbit Society site) and the Rabbitlopedia, and Living with a House Rabbit (even for an outdoor bun). Everything else I've looked at has been very basic or just plain WRONG!! Hope this has helped a bit.
 
I've noticed as well there is a list of good books in the Rabbit Care Reference section on here, and both the ones I just mentioned are on there. :) and some others that look good as well.
 
I have been to the Beeston Vets 4 Pets for my dog before but I will keep Gamston in mind as obviously it will be different vets. Thanks.

I will give those websites a look :) I am constantly checking the rabbits over before I go to work and then every evening is taken up spending time with them, cleaning them out etc. I know Maisy very very well and think I would pick up if something was wrong with her. It's going to take more time with Ben but I will learn. Maisy has always been on her own but comes out alot and plays with us and even the dog but Ben looks so lonely. The vet mentioned when they are both done they will make a good pair but I don't know if I want to risk it.

Obviously it wasn't me who bought the two males together, I don't think I would have. The couple we got Frank and Ben off were advised by the pet shop that you should have two rabbits to keep each other company and willingly sold two males. What they didn't mention is that they probably should have been kept apart until they were old enough and neutured. I am quite angry with the pet shop really.
 
I have been to the Beeston Vets 4 Pets for my dog before but I will keep Gamston in mind as obviously it will be different vets. Thanks.

I will give those websites a look :) I am constantly checking the rabbits over before I go to work and then every evening is taken up spending time with them, cleaning them out etc. I know Maisy very very well and think I would pick up if something was wrong with her. It's going to take more time with Ben but I will learn. Maisy has always been on her own but comes out alot and plays with us and even the dog but Ben looks so lonely. The vet mentioned when they are both done they will make a good pair but I don't know if I want to risk it.

Obviously it wasn't me who bought the two males together, I don't think I would have. The couple we got Frank and Ben off were advised by the pet shop that you should have two rabbits to keep each other company and willingly sold two males. What they didn't mention is that they probably should have been kept apart until they were old enough and neutured. I am quite angry with the pet shop really.

:( pet shops give awful advice, I was told I should keep Harvey alone, I put him with the guinea pigs for a little bit yesterday and he was grooming them and cuddling them, and it was so sad it made me nearly cry because it made me realise how lonely he is! but soon I will be bonding my buns together. At least they know you should have two, its a start I suppose.

If you find a good vet neutering is only a tiny risk, there's a list of questions on www.rabbit.org to ask them and there could be some on here as well but I'm not very good at navigating around the forum yet :oops: make sure they have done plenty of similar ops and that they go up through the scrotum not the abdomen on your buck. and that they use rabbit-friendly anaesthetic.

bonding a girl/boy will be much easier, just make sure you do it on neutral territory. im sure someone can give you great advice on that :) I havent started bonding yet so I won't give you any other tips in case they don't work!! I think you can take them somewhere to get them bonded for you? not sure though
 
Im so sorry to hear about your bun :cry::cry:

Pet shops give really bad advice - I had to walk out of one yesterday as I nearly burst into tears - they had lost a hamster it had escaped from the cage - there was a cat prowling round and all they were bothered about was they would have to stay late after work to find it as it would set the alarms off..
but before that a group of 6 kids came in with granny and she was buying them all a animal :evil: some chose rabbits, some chose Gps and some had hamsters!! They asked if the Gps and rabbits could go in together the answer was YES they would be fine, they also bought 2 male rabbits!! I did tell them but they just looked at me as if i was mad and kind of looked to say :censored: off which I did but I was soooo :cry::cry::cry::cry:

2 male rabbits and 2 guniea pigs all in one cage!!!! :cry::cry::cry::cry:
 
Im so sorry to hear about your bun :cry::cry:

Pet shops give really bad advice - I had to walk out of one yesterday as I nearly burst into tears - they had lost a hamster it had escaped from the cage - there was a cat prowling round and all they were bothered about was they would have to stay late after work to find it as it would set the alarms off..
but before that a group of 6 kids came in with granny and she was buying them all a animal :evil: some chose rabbits, some chose Gps and some had hamsters!! They asked if the Gps and rabbits could go in together the answer was YES they would be fine, they also bought 2 male rabbits!! I did tell them but they just looked at me as if i was mad and kind of looked to say :censored: off which I did but I was soooo :cry::cry::cry::cry:

2 male rabbits and 2 guniea pigs all in one cage!!!! :cry::cry::cry::cry:

There was a beautiful cream and white guinea in my local pet shop a few weeks ago, and a gorgeous agouti rabbit (every time i went in I had to resist not getting them). she kept them in the same tiny cage in the shop (that i swear had never been cleaned out in all the time the shop was open) and they both went at the same time. obviously been sold together. obviously been sold with the £55 2ft long, 1ft high hutch that had also gone that had a picture of a rabbit on the side. :cry::cry: was so upset, didnt even want to ask her. what do you do in this situation though? its not like they will take advice kindly in the spirit you mean it. also im only 21 so they're always older than me dont want to seem like a smart-:censored:

also when i was in P@H before, I saw a woman go to her kid 'look at that rabbit he's just like a teddy bear'. er, no.

really I could tell so many stories about pet shops!

also that poor gran thought she was doing ok, i used to think that pet shop workers were the ultimate animal gurus, i would consult them on everything. how wrong i was.
 
Hiya and welcome to the forum :wave:
So so sorry for your auwful experience with Frank and Ben :( Unfortunately 2 unneutered males together can be very viscious.
You've obviously been given some poor advise (not your fault ATALL, theres alot of it out there and most of us bunny owners can admit we were fairly uneducated and mis directed when we got our first buns.) Im glad you've joined this forum, you'll find everything you'll ever need to know on here! If you have any questions about ANYTHING bunny related dont hesitate to start a thread and you'll get loads of valuable advise of very experienced bunny owners :D
I'd definatly advise bonding Maisey and Ben :thumb: Once they're both fixed a female and male are reasonably easy to bond (depending on their personalities-ask for bonding tips on here and do loads of research before you attempt it though) and make great companions for eachother. Its great Maisey is so happy with her humans but i bet she'd also love a bun companion to snuggle and play with when you're not around ;)
You sound like a fab and devoted bunny mum, I look forwards to getting to know you on here :wave:
 
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