Please help! Rabbit not eating, I need a good Rabbit vet - Bolton.

My bunny needs a vet

Right now he is at the Companion Care vets which is actually in the back of a Pets at Home store. The vet seems really nice, and maybe I'm being paranoid, but I got the feeling they were charging me money simply for the sake of it. She couldn't tell me an exact figure, I had to sign loads and loads of forms about pricing and costs.

Bunny isn't eating. Tried syringe feeding last night, no good. Just lies there, hardly moving. She said it's his abdomen. She gave him 5 injections yesterday. Is this normal?

Is there actually anything a vet can do to help in this situation? Or does my bunny need putting to sleep and the vet is just trying to make money out of me? This has happened to me before which is why I'm so untrusting of vets, and it really upsets me if this is the case because I don't want to put my bunny through any pain. How do I know they are actually treating him, instead of leaving him in a cage all day and charging me when I pick him up?

I like the RSPCA one in Eccles but I can't use it anymore since I'm no longer in a low-income household.

I've tried many different vets with different animals. I don't trust any of them

Please, can someone give me the names of vets they trust? Areas in Bolton - Lostock, Horwich. And Chorley even.

And what is the normal procedure a vet would follow for a bunny suffering like mine is?

Thank you so much if you read all that, and sorry for my paranoia.

I cant help re Vets in Bolton, but as far as the treatment your Bunny is having right now, do you know exactly what the Vet is doing ?

What medication ?

What diagnostics, if any ?

Any suggestion of a primary cause for the Gut stasis- eg a Dental problem ?

There are quite a few RU members from your area, I'll cross post this thread into 'Rabbit Chat' as it may get more views there

She spent a lot of time talking about money which is why I'm here. She wanted to put him on a drip and get an xray done but I can't afford that at the moment and I don't want him put through something that he might not need. I know nothing about rabbits not eating because this has never happened to a rabbit I've had before. If xray and drip is what is used in these circumstances then I will pay with a credit card, no problem! I want my bunny happy and healthy.

She said she was pretty much keeping him for the day (picking him up tonight) for observation. She was going to try and get him fed on liquids and give him more injections. That comes to around £170. I feel that vets care more about money than animals which is why, when I'm paying that sort of money, I want a vet that I know will look after him.

The form said "treament for colic" but she never mentioned the word "colic" to me once.

She checked his teeth, said they were fine. Said it's very likely he's had too many pellets and not enough greens

She seemed very nice. I think I'm paranoid.

Is this what they usually do?

It actually sounds as though the Vet is not only suggesting doing all the right things clinically she is also being up front about cost. Not because she is 'in it for the money' but so as you are not met with a Bill you cant pay.

Treatment for Gut Stasis usually includes ascertaining a primary cause- eg could there be a full obstruction- hence the need for an Xray

Fluid therapy is also essential- hence the need for an IV drip

Medication usually includes pain relief (ESSENTIAL) and gut motility meds.

To me it sounds as though the Vet is not ripping you off at all but is being honest about potential costs at the outset.

I hope that your Bunny recovers.

Thank you very much for easing my mind. Hopefully then it sounds as if I've found a good vet. Again, sorry for the paranoia. I'm picking him up later today - is shes had no luck feeding him then I'll go along with the xray and drip.

I used to go to Queens Park vets but they were all about selling you stuff.

I changed to Vets for Pets near ASDA and Thornleigh School, I've only been for their neutering so far but they were brill! They were really nice, the prices were so much cheaper than everywhere else plus they seemed to know what they were talking about

I don't know about what a vet would do with the suffering sorry, but hopefully these vets would help!

rabbitbunny said:

She spent a lot of time talking about money which is why I'm here. She wanted to put him on a drip and get an xray done but I can't afford that at the moment and I don't want him put through something that he might not need. I know nothing about rabbits not eating because this has never happened to a rabbit I've had before. If xray and drip is what is used in these circumstances then I will pay with a credit card, no problem! I want my bunny happy and healthy.

She said she was pretty much keeping him for the day (picking him up tonight) for observation. She was going to try and get him fed on liquids and give him more injections. That comes to around £170. I feel that vets care more about money than animals which is why, when I'm paying that sort of money, I want a vet that I know will look after him.

The form said "treament for colic" but she never mentioned the word "colic" to me once.

She checked his teeth, said they were fine. Said it's very likely he's had too many pellets and not enough greens

She seemed very nice. I think I'm paranoid.

Is this what they usually do?

Click to expand...

That concerns me, rabbits don't need greens but I'm no expert on stasis (or anything much else)

RedFraggle said:

That concerns me, rabbits don't need greens but I'm no expert on stasis (or anything much else)

Click to expand...

Yes, that doesn't sound right to me.

"Too many pellets and not enough hay" could be a cause of dental problems. "Too much veg" of certain types could either cause a build up of gas, or veg with too much calcium could cause kidney/urinary problems.

Are you sure that's what she said? I hope the vet can help. Sending lots of vibes xx

Sorry I know this is a bit late but the following I've used:

Pet Medics (Just outside Eccles)
Priestley Road Priestley Rd, Worsley, Manchester M28 2LY
0161 794 4999

- Saved my little Leo's life, mainly because they're an emergency vets that we went there - but they're pretty good!

Ashleigh Vets
221 Upper Chorlton Road Manchester, Lancashire M16 0DE
0161 881 6868

-if you can get here tomorrow they are amazing. I've just come back from there with Evie rabbit. They're the exotic specialists in the area


Vibes for bunny xxxx

ashleigh vets are brilliant if you could get to there.

ashleigh vets is great, hope your bun will be ok

Pennine Vets in Tottington have been great with my rabbits. I know My Pets' Vets in Leigh come highly recommended too.

how is your bunny now?

Just to jump on the bandwagon Ashleigh Vets are amazing, they even fixed up a half dead mouse one of the cats down the road had chewed and then got bored with and left outside my house.

Am really surprised that you liked Eccles RSPCA, I felt they tried to put my hamster to sleep way too soon, took her to another vet and she got another 12 months after treatment. They have a reputation locally for putting the animals to sleep rather than treating them.

Hope your bunny is feeling better.

I hope this isn't too late

Rabbitbunny,
I hope that your dear bunny is still with you. My wife was looking something up and came across your plight and felt that we had to offer advice even at this stage as it may help others if not you. We have had rabbits for 13 years and learn something new every day. We have a dwarf lop that is prone to gut stasis as many rabbits can be though you're never told this when you buy one and you don't know till it happens. We learnt the hard way thru a £800 vet bill with a 2 night stay in the vet hospital then another £300 bill a week later for the same thing. Your vet has done everything right for your poor bunny but after our two huge bills we did a lot of homework on the net and learnt a few tricks especially from U.S sites. We found that some vets over there give bunnies Simethicone to help their tummies to clear any wind that may be trapped just as in a baby. Here you can get this in the form of Infacol from the chemist and give 1ml every hour for 3 hours then every 3 hours after that(we have never got further than the first 3 doses). Also you hold them on your lap and massage their tummy which they love. Now you rub their tummy not their belly so you rub the area between their hind legs(gently). You also have water at hand and try to coax them to eat by "shoving" food in their faces(they get fed up eventually and tend to have a nibble). Of course there is the critical care which you can buy from your vet but you can also syringe baby vegetable food and there is our old favourite "banana hay". Mash up a small piece 1/2" of banana and cover a good handful of hey with it. Bunnies love a bit of banana so a very little slither once a day won't hurt. Our Honey was 2 1/2 when this happened, she is now 7, still has problems but we cope with them and she still manages to get to the vets for other things as bunnies do.
All bunnies should get greens at least a handful a day along with plenty of hay. A little apple and carrot but not too much, we give our bunnies Dill, Watercress, Parsley and a little Kale. Not too much Kale as it is full of calcium so a piece half the size of the palm of your hand is plenty. A half eggcup full of dried food is all they should get of that despite what the packets say and ours get even less. Dried herbs are also good for your bunnies tum and the Woodlands range from Pets at Home is pretty good.
Your vet may say no to the simethicone(infacol) but it won't harm your bunny and believe me it does a power of good and we wouldn't be without a bottle in the cupboard.
Hope that this has helped and we really do hope that your bunny is still with you as it can be devastating to lose one.

The Whisperer

Hope your bun is doing ok!
Bit late and jumping on the bandwagon again but the Ashleigh vets in Chorlton really are excellent and I'd definitely recommend them if companion care vets still aren't having any luck.
I think it might be worth investing in a couple of X-rays if you can stretch to it, they might work out cheaper than hospital stays.
Hope bunnys doing a bit better now xx

Companion Care are amazing vets!
I don't know about Bolton Companion Care, but the Warrington branch saved my little Harvey's life!

They told me exactly what they were going to do and what they were going to try and gave me a rough estimate of the absolute most that the treatment would come to. It didn't quite come to what they estimated as he started to pick up so it was a win win situation.
I know this is probably a bit late, but they'll update you all day if need be, and they don't overcharge you at all. Harvey-Bun had stopped eating and it turned out that he had dental spurs (something that 3 vets, including the emergency vet, had missed (and the emergency vet charged me £500 just to keep him in overnight ))

Hope your little one is okay!

This is an old thread from march 2012, the OP hasn't been back on RU since :wave: