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Vet replies to my questions U/D : They're saying both vaccs twice a year!?!?

Bitzy-B

Mama Doe
I'm trying to find a new local vet simply because the one I currently use is a 45 min drive away and it reeeaaally stresses out the bunnies. In order to make an informed decision I emailed 3 local vets all within a 10 min drive and asked them the same questions - I've listed the replies below but wondered if you'd help me choose which sounds the best from the replies they've given.

Number 1
Bunnies are becoming an increasingly important part of our practice. We do not "specialise" in them as such, but routinely neuter males and females, and perform dentals - including incisor removal. We often hospitalise them, especially for gut stasis. We encourage owners to bring in their own food, beds, and toys - anything to make a bunny's stay more comfortable, less stressful. We also encourage owners to visit if their rabbit is hospitalised. We hospitalise a lot of animals - I live on the premises 24 hrs a day. We do do house calls where necessary, but prefer to examine animals at the surgery, where facilities for examination are better. Insurance is a good idea, and we also offer payment plans.
Myxo vaccs currently cost £18 + VAT, VHD vaccs £21 + VAT. We like to leave a two week interval between them.


Number 2
To respond to your questions I hope the following information is useful:

1. Our vets have experience in all aspects of rabbit cvare and we have a large number of rabbits registered with the practice

2. Should a rabbit be admitted for treatment it is possible to bring your own food and hay etc. provided this is not contra-indicated for medical reasons (eg need for a special diet etc)

3. Owners are welcome to visit in-patients subject to medical advice

4. There is usually someone on the premises day and night as we operate an emergency service from the practice which covers out of hours for several other practices. If the vet is not actually staying on the premises it is usually because they live nearby and then visit at regular intervals through the night if necessary to care for any in-patients.

5. It is not always possible to accomodate partners as well as the sick rabbit, but each case will be individually assessed by the admitting vet at the time.

6. We can do home visits, but usually encourage owners to bring their rabbit to the surgery as we are able to offer a range of diagnostic aids and facilities on the premises, and we have a wide range of drugs at hand which may not be the case when carrying out a home visit as we are limited with the equipment we can carry.

7. Practice policy is to request payment in full once treatment is given, or when an animal is discharged home in the case of in-patients. Insurance claims can be submitted on your behalf but we do not usually accept direct payment from the insurance company. However in cases where the cost of treatment is expected to be high, we can look at each individual case and try to work out an appropriate and affordable option.

8. We are not able to recommend pet care to cover holidays. We do have a large file in reception with lots of information and addresses which you are welcome to browse at your leisure. We would strongly recommend that you telephone and/or view several premises before making this important and very personal decison.

9. Both vaccines cost £15.32 each at present (inc VAT) and they are usually given 2 weeks apart and repeated every 6 months.

Should you require any furthr information, please call at the practice and one of our staff will show you our facilities, or alternatively you could arrange an appointment to speak to one of the vets (there would be a charge for this second option).

We also have a client information leaflet which is available from reception - or I can post to you if you send your address.
Our website carries useful information and may answer any further questions, this can be found at www.tvhc.co.uk



Number 3
I will try and go through your questions in the order you have asked them.

We have had a fair amount of experience with bunnies. Although none of us have further specialisation in rabbit work we do attend further training seminars and lectures so I do feel we are up to date with current rabbit thinking!

If a bunny is staying with us we encourage people to bring the food that the rabbit is used to eating, as you will know it is very important that bunnies eat continuously and we find that offering them food they are used to makes that more likely. They are also more than welcome to bring any toys or items that they are used to at home.

You would be very welcome to visit whenever you wanted.

We have a vet on call 24 hours a day and do our own out of hours work but there is not a vet in attendance at the centre 24 hours a day. Depending on the severity of the cases we have in they are checked at appropriate intervals.

We would be very happy for a bunny to bring their mate if this reduced the stress of being hospitalised.

We do call outs, out of hours as mentioned previously the vets that you are used to will be on call. We can do home visits but there is an additional charge for this, not usually covered by insurance.

We will do direct claims with all insurance companies except E&L or their subsidiaries so all you would need to pay us would be the excess and then we would claim the rest from the insurance company.

We can offer boarding to bunnies whilst their owners are on holiday. I don't know of anyone to recommend I'm sorry.

The price of our myxo and VHD vaccine is £26.25 each and this includes a health check at the time the vaccine is given. We recommend that the vaccines are given at least 2 weeks apart.

Any advice/input would be really appreciated. xx
 
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Number 2 bothers me, as they say that VHD will be given every 6 months. I'd confirm that with them.
 
number 2s prices seem most reasonable (although i agree with Graham - was it the actual vet who replied or the nurse?) although number 3 seems best overall. cost seem a bit high but if the health check is very thorough it might be worth it. my local vet does the health check with the vacs included in the price but not as thorough as it could be. he charges about £10 plus vat for health check only. have you tried to see if anyone on here uses a vet near you or one of these options?
 
I prefer 1 and 3. I really don't like the sound of 2, mainly because they say they can't always take a bonded pair if one of them is ill. To me this is very important. Unless the healthy rabbit is bothering the sick one in any way, the reassurance of having their friend with them really helps lower their stress levels. This also means you aren't bringing back a rabbit 'smelling funny' and reintroducing it to the other. This could cause fights between them.
 
No 1 sounds like my vet and if it is her I can't recommend her highly enough. :D Besides sorting out Cheeky for me my last appointment cost me......£5.37 :shock: Yep just the cost of the injection she was given. While I was there a lady arrived with a huge bunch of flowers for her as she'd saved her dog that was dying with meningitis
 
number 2s prices seem most reasonable (although i agree with Graham - was it the actual vet who replied or the nurse?) although number 3 seems best overall. cost seem a bit high but if the health check is very thorough it might be worth it. my local vet does the health check with the vacs included in the price but not as thorough as it could be. he charges about £10 plus vat for health check only. have you tried to see if anyone on here uses a vet near you or one of these options?

Thanks, Number 1 and 3 replies were from the vet themselves but number 2 I'm not so sure as it was just signed off with the vet practice usual blurb.

I have checked on here in the past and was recommended my current vet (who is fab) but its just the amount of stress they go through, they absolutely hate being in the car. I thought Dizzi was going to keel over the journey home last time. I can't keep putting them through that. Wish I lived nearer the vets but hey ho!
 
No 1 sounds like my vet and if it is her I can't recommend her highly enough. :D Besides sorting out Cheeky for me my last appointment cost me......£5.37 :shock: Yep just the cost of the injection she was given. While I was there a lady arrived with a huge bunch of flowers for her as she'd saved her dog that was dying with meningitis

Oooh who's your vet??
 
I prefer 1 and 3. I really don't like the sound of 2, mainly because they say they can't always take a bonded pair if one of them is ill. To me this is very important. Unless the healthy rabbit is bothering the sick one in any way, the reassurance of having their friend with them really helps lower their stress levels. This also means you aren't bringing back a rabbit 'smelling funny' and reintroducing it to the other. This could cause fights between them.

My rabbit expert vet practice doesn't allow the bonded partner to stay with a sick rabbit in all circumstances - if the rabbit is not eating for instance the partner doesn't stay. I know a lot of very rabbit savvy vets around the country give it different priority but just saying don't rule them out because of this.

My vets (Harcourt-Browns) also don't let you visit an inpatient as it is deemed to upset the rabbit when you leave without them, this again goes against so much I've seen on the forum with other vets but I know mine to be top rabbit vets so go with it as I trust their judgement from years of experience.

Also, re the health check with vaccination - it's an essential part of the procedure. The others might not have made mention of it because they take it as read that they will get a health check. I'd be extremely concerned if any vet did a vaccination without first doing a health check. (I've had this experience with a local vet with Esme and she won't be vaccinating any more of my rabbits!!)

I'm quite impressed with the length of response from all of them, I'm assuming the 6 monthly VHD vaccination is just a wording error - but worth following up.
 
Despite it being the shortest, I would actually say that 1 filled me with the most confidence. 3 is not too bad but prices are high and it still seems like a standard rehearsed answer. I like the fact that 1 mentions dentals and incisor removal etc too.
 
Also just been checking on google maps.

Number 1 is an 18 min drive

Number 2 is a 10 min drive

Number 3 is a 7 min drive.

Also Numbers 1 and 2 are RCVS accredited practices!
 
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Shamelessly bumping as I have to make a decision soon as their vaccs are due at the beginning of June! :shock:
 
I'd go #3 for the vaccs, that way, you can evaluate their performance and quiz more while you are there.

Experience can often be better than letters :)
 
1&3 are definitely the most favourable. If 1 lives on site then if bun is in overnight they will have a vet on hand at all times. I normally think people whose homes are tied to their work are more dedicated but there are no facts to back this up, just a feeling. :wave:
 
Just double checked with Number 2 about the vaccinations being given 6-monthly and this was their reply:

Yes a health check is done when vaccinations are given. It is now recommended that both vaccines be given at six monthly intervals - if you have any concerns, the vet will be able to discuss this with you when you attend for your appointment.

Has anyone else heard about this??
 
Just double checked with Number 2 about the vaccinations being given 6-monthly and this was their reply:

Yes a health check is done when vaccinations are given. It is now recommended that both vaccines be given at six monthly intervals - if you have any concerns, the vet will be able to discuss this with you when you attend for your appointment.

Has anyone else heard about this??

No I hadn't heard this :shock: Always thought it was myxo 6 months and vhd yearly.
 
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