advice on rabbit and on trinity vet-maidstone

hi, i havnt been here for a long time, but i remember a lot of members are clients of trinity vets in maidstone, and i have a small dilemma.

i am a trainee evt nurse in tonbridge and for the past 2 years i have been taking my rabbits to work t get treated. they were previously at pennards.
earlier this year, when sherpa was having all sorts of dental problems i thought about taking him to trinity...mt vets are good, but they are not rabbit specialists and there knowledge is...basic. anyway, sherpa went downhill too fast and in the end i decided to have him pts than to treat him further.

now i have more rabbit trouble. My 5 year old Mopsey went in for her myxi about a month ago. she was previously overweight and for the past year i had been dieting her. when she was overweight she could wash hersekf and bottom beautifully! i was pleased to see that she had lost weight nicely and was now ideal, however her fur around her bottom was very matted, and as i started to tease them out her skin started to tear. after the vet looking it was found that the skin around the matts was very fragile and simply parting the matts would casue the skin to redden and tear. she was on metacam for a week and anti'bs, which seemed to heal the wounds. her skin now is still fragile-but not as bad. when you teas the matts the skin becomes red, but does not tear. the vet said she probaly had arthritis and that was the reason she wasnt grooming and advised that i just tease the matts out daily.
easier said, as Mopsey was a PAH reject (before they had the 'adoption centre') she was in there for about a year., and is very very nervous of people. she is also a pasturella carrier and catching her is really stressful an sets her off.
anyway, i have been monitoring her, and pulling out a clump of fur when i can. but i noticed yesterday that the fur is dense and thick again and she has all sorts stuck to it (mainly sadust etc. not poop)
in every other way she seems fine. but when i spoke to my vet she just said give her metacam and if that doesnt work nothing else will.
she is already on glucosamine food, but if she does have arthritis then i dont want t be wrestling with her to catch her everyday.
i feel like i want a second opinion and want to take her to Trinity to see what they think...or at least so i can get a definate answer.
but i dont want to offend the vets i work with, i was going to just not tell them, but i dont want it to come accross that i dont trust them...its just that rabbits are not their interest.
any advice on what to do?

Take her to Trinity... I use them and would recommend them to anyone... could her back end be shaved rather than picked at to ease any damage?

Just because you work somewhere doesnt mean you have to use them... they wouldnt even know anyway if you dont tell anyone.

If it is arthritis then there really is no other treatment than daily meloxicam/metacam and glucosamine, that's it basically, its degenerative sadly.

However, other illness can sometimes present with these symptoms so further investigations would be wise. Diagnosis of arthritis should ideally be made on Xray and interpretation of Xray by a specialist (exotic and orthopaedic).
You are perfectly within your rights to ask for a 2nd opinion and to ask your own vets to make the referral to the exotics expert at Trinity Vets. If this upsets them then they are not very professional as ALL clients, including you, have the right to ask for a referral for an exotics opinion and if they are unable to recognise their limitations in this field then this is also highly unprofessional.
I would personally ask them to Xray your bun under GA to examine the hips and spine and then ask for the Xrays to be sent to Trinity vets for interpretation, or for a direct referral where you take your bun directly. I think it would be polite to tell you current vet and hopefully get their consent too. :wave:

For the sake of your bunny you do also need to be confident the correct diagnosis has been made, it could be something else such as an active EC infection for example, or hidden dental issues. :?

I agree. I'm sure your work would understand if they aren't specialised in Rabbits.

Also would it help if bunny was kept on something over than shavings so it didn't matt up so much? You could try vet bed or something.

Definatly get a second opinion, if youre worried about upsetting your colleagues you dont have to tell them

I think Id want an xray to confirm the arthritis diagnosis, and whilst she was under GA for the xray Id want her rear end de matted, trimmed, maybe even shaved. If shes a nervous bun anyway, pulling the matts out (which must be sore) will make her worse unfortunately

Good luck :wave:

I use Trinity for my four Please take her, Mark Rowland is fantastic with rabbits. I know he comes on this forum too sometimes.

Do ask for Mark though as he is the best rabbit vet there.

I cant even pretend to help with Mopsey's problems though sorry.

Good luck and let us know how you get on:wave:

Hi, everyone. Thanks for all your replies. I think the decision has been made and that I'm going to take her to trinity. I just feel like I should be doing more to get a diagnosis and that a completley unnew place would be best to set my mind at ease. If my vets do find out then to be fair, they are not my local! And all through this talking they havnt even written up her notes! I think I'll ring them tomorrow and register her and try and get an appt sometime next week. I also know a nurse that workes there, so will give her a bell and see if they will require a refferel.

As for your other questions, I have tried to clip the fur, but it again resulting in tearing- this was when she was very very sore and I have not tried since. I'm hoping I can get it sorted before it gets warm again, as don't want her to be a target for fly strike.

Good idea about the vet bed. They are currently outside and have mainly straw in there bedding area, worried about a vetbed not being warm enough? What else could I add that would be warm?

Ditto what everyone has said about Mark and Trinity. They are fabulous.