Much Needed Advice

Hi Everyone,

Really need your advice as I'm in a bit of a tricky situation with my female bun Coco who is 1.

Originally I made an appointment with the vet a couple of weeks ago to get her spayed, the pre-op check was done and all was set for the op. Then in between the pre-op check and the actual op Coco started limping and holding her right paw up under her chin, back to the vets we went.

The vet couldn't really get a good feel of Coco's leg but prescribed Metacam an anti flammatory/pain relief. After 2 days on Metacam Coco was no longer limping and appeared back to her normal self, the vet and I had arranged to bring Coco back today for another check up before the op which was scheduled for tomorrow.

Today the vet had a good feel of her leg for at least 10 mins and still couldn't give me any idea at what was wrong. She then said to me that I had two options I could either carry on with Metacam and see if that helps or Coco can go under general anaesthetic and they can x-ray her leg to rule out a fracture. They quoted me £230 for this op which would take place instead of the spey.

Money isn't an issue for me and I would pay it if I had to, it's just I don't really want to put my rabbit under a general anaesthetic if there is no need for it. Coco really has been her normal self the last couple of days and even though she is still on the Metacam, she is running up the stairs and jumping on the sofa (naughty bunny) and binkying everywhere like she normally does. Plus my vets doesn't seem to be very bunny savvy and before I put my bun at risk I want to be 100 per cent sure there is something wrong.

Sorry for the essay but I am really unsure what to do, all advice welcome

Hi :wave:

Just a quick question, but has your bunny had her VHD jab recently?

Yeah she has she had it 2 days before I noticed she was limping

I'd say it was a reaction to the VHD injection, my Jose gets a limp after hers too

OK, if you look at her immunisation card, and the vaccination used was called Cylap, then it could be a side effect of the vaccination.

If you search for "cylap limp" in the Search Forum box, there are lots of threads relating to this issue. It seems that the limp is often seen in Bunnies who are given the Cylap VHD vaccination, and is now recognised as a side effect by the manufacturer (I think).
Some bunnies also show scabbing/hair loss around the injection site - my Tibbsy has this this and it took months to grow back.

There is another version of the VHD vaccination, called Lapinject, which has fewer side effects, but is more expensive, as it only comes in a 5 dose vial. If you have more than one bunny, it is perhaps worth asking your vet to order it in, if they don't already have it.

Just checked the immunisation card and it is Lapinject that she was given. Do you think I should go to another bunny savvy vet and get a second opinion?

I'd be very concerned that the vet didn't make the connexion between vhd jab and limp for themselves! Sounds as if it's what caused it (which explains why it's now better) and when the injection was given it should have been flagged up to you then as a possible/likely side effect. I'd suggest finding a more bunny-savvy vet! :wave:

Tinsel said:

I'd be very concerned that the vet didn't make the connexion between vhd jab and limp for themselves! Sounds as if it's what caused it (which explains why it's no better) and when the injection was given it should have been flagged up to you then as a possible/likely side effect. I'd suggest finding a more bunny-savvy vet! :wave:

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Exactly my feeling. A vet that does not know about VHD vaccine limp is not a very rabbit savvy vet.

I agree with all comments here.My bunnies go a bit quiet aswell after vacc.
Put another thread up...Say youre in berkshire and does anybun know a bunny savvy vet.You may be surprised........
Noserubs to bunny girl.xxxxx

Yes I think this is probably the best thing for me to do, before your messages today I didn't even realise that limping was a side effect of VHD. My vet has never made me aware of this before. Time to start bunny savvy vet searching. Thanks everyone

BunnyCuddlesRule said:

Yes I think this is probably the best thing for me to do, before your messages today I didn't even realise that limping was a side effect of VHD. My vet has never made me aware of this before. Time to start bunny savvy vet searching. Thanks everyone

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hi im also in berkshire, i personally use the beeches vets in slough, they havea very rabbit savvy vet helen though she is away at present is due back form maternatity soon as, they also have stephan he is very kind with the rabbits adn very thourough though he does always back up is opinions with tests t can get expensive with him, gemma is the other vet who is loverly she is good with standered rabbit things but needs more expieriance with other morer complex i trust any of these three to vaccinate and to treat my rabbits there is another vet there shilpa who i would never see with a rabbit she is horribel with them and doesnt have a clue so do avoid her. alternativly there isa fantastic vet in twickenham called christobel jacks jane uses her and the address is on her signature, i know there are other vets supposedly ivan is good too in bracknell but i have also heard mied reports due from owners on his capabilitys and have never seen him myself. hope this info helps you x

Alfagirl said:

Some bunnies also show scabbing/hair loss around the injection site - my Tibbsy has this this and it took months to grow back.

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Hmm, I wonder if this is what has happened to Sergeant? He had his VHD jab a week ago and has shown no ill effects, but I thought I felt something sharp stuck in his neck and assumed it was a bit of the willow basket he got stuck on his head the other day. Perhaps it's just a scab! He has an appointment at the vet this afternoon but I'll feel really silly if it's just that!

When lola went in for her spay, she had a dental and an xray at the same time, so I only had to pay for one anastetic and the vet said it would be safer for her to only have one as well, so if you do end up getting an xray done you don't have to cancel the spay?

Thanks everyone for all your advice, I've decided to look for another vet as I don't think my one is rabbit savvy. Like you said Blue Vix, it did cross my mind why can't they do the x-ray at the same time as the spay. x

lizzyjm said:

Hmm, I wonder if this is what has happened to Sergeant? He had his VHD jab a week ago and has shown no ill effects, but I thought I felt something sharp stuck in his neck and assumed it was a bit of the willow basket he got stuck on his head the other day. Perhaps it's just a scab! He has an appointment at the vet this afternoon but I'll feel really silly if it's just that!

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It was a VHD jab reaction! I felt a bit foolish taking him to the vet when it just turned out to be a scab. She was lovely though and said it's always best to get things checked out but then considering I still had to pay £15.31 for the consultation she would say that! She did notice some stitching left from his castration and picked that out too and was very interested in how different vets do things like that differently. She picked the scab off and said it was clean and not infected and should heal in a few days.

One of my buns went very quiet and quite stiff on shoulder for about three days after Cylap

Just to add one of my buns had to have xrays recently on his legs and he didn't need an anaesthetic at all. They were going to give him light sedation if he needed it but he was fine!! My friends bun had xrays the day before him and it was the same.

Hello there.

I use Ivan Crotaz at Kynochs for all of our bunnies and our rescue bunnies for rehoming (currently amounting to about 32 buns). He has been our vet for about 4 years and I trust him completely. At the same practice there are two other vets who are also able to treat rabbits, both with better than average knowledge. At our Wokingham branch we also have three very competent bunny vets one of which is a true exotics specialist. If you register with the group practice you can see any of the vets in the group.

I would just mention that Ivan is on leave for three weeks from Monday so if you are interested in seeing him, I would call for an appointment asap.

Just a short distance from Bracknell, here where I live is another vet who I use for all of my emergency work as she is 5 mins from my house. She is called Gill Tose and has her own rabbits, plus many rabbit clients and lives on site so you always get to see her no matter what time of day or night it is.

If you'd like any more info then please give me shout.

Helen