Scipio's first trip to the vet and it was an ordeal...

[Scrappy's Little Helper]

...for the vet!

Scipio has been out of sorts today. He was unusually quiet, unable to settle and hadn't eaten or pooped anything for around 4 hours. He refused the fresh herbs i offered so I decided we really needed to go and see the vet.

At the appointment I warned the vet he was, ahem, "difficult " to handle. So she decided to take him out the back to examine him with the help of a nurse. They were gone for ages and I was really worried they'd found something bad.

When the vet eventually came back she looked absolutely traumatised. Apparently Scipio screamed when they picked him up to examine him. He then went on to make the whole experience as difficult as possible. He was kicking, thrashing around, scratching and running away at every opportunity. In the end they had to put him in a box with a hole cut out to examine him. They gave me the option to have him kept in or I could nurse him at home. She seemed to be pushing for the latter option. I don't think they wanted to have to deal with him there!

Anyway, we're back home and I gave him his meds and a syringe feed. He was surprisingly well behaved for that. Maybe he'd got his tantrums out of his system earlier.

Good update is that he has eaten some hay and some coriander. Not a huge amount though. I'm debating whether to top him up with another syringe feed but I'm a bit concerned the stress might send him backwards. I might play that one by ear. He has also done some poops, which were a pretty good size.

Oh and the vet put a note on his file to forewarn those poor souls who will have to deal with him again in the future.

 

[Pets mum]

Oh dear, poor Scipio, I hope he'll soon be better, although his antics did make me smile. It took me back to the time I had to take my cat George to a vet in Scotland, for blood tests. I warned him that George would need sedation as he gets so scared and lashes out, but he said it would be ok they could do it without. An hour later, collected him from a very pale vet with a bandage on his arm, yep George had shredded him, so had to be sedated :lol: Hope Scipio starts eating normally soon, sending lots of vibes xx

 

[Zoobec]

Sending lots of vibes xx

 

[InspectorMorse]

Poor lad, he sounds to have been terrified rather than ‘difficult’ Bunnies only scream when in extreme pain or in great fear I hope that he will soon be feeling much better.

 

[Scrappy's Little Helper]

Oh dear, poor Scipio, I hope he'll soon be better, although his antics did make me smile. It took me back to the time I had to take my cat George to a vet in Scotland, for blood tests. I warned him that George would need sedation as he gets so scared and lashes out, but he said it would be ok they could do it without. An hour later, collected him from a very pale vet with a bandage on his arm, yep George had shredded him, so had to be sedated :lol: Hope Scipio starts eating normally soon, sending lots of vibes xx

Thanks Petsmum. He's doing a lot better now. He's a lot brighter and has been eating a lot more.

Poor vet, although maybe he should have listened to your warnings about George!

 

[Scrappy's Little Helper]

Sending lots of vibes xx

Thank you x

 

[Scrappy's Little Helper]

Poor lad, he sounds to have been terrified rather than ‘difficult’ Bunnies only scream when in extreme pain or in great fear I hope that he will soon be feeling much better.

I know that if a rabbit screams it's usually due to fear or pain. But Scipio's a bit of a funny one. When I adopted him the rescue warned me that he had a reputation for screaming whenever his foster carer had to pick him up. However he's never done that when I've had to do it, so I'd assumed his fear of being picked up had abated a little. When I said he was difficult, it was because from my own experience he does fight quite violently against me when I've had to pick him up. I understand that animals can get stressed and frightened at the vet, but it just struck me as a bit of an extreme reaction for him to scream at a fairly routine veterinary examination.

Hopefully he'll be a bit calmer when he next has to go to the vet. Although in the future I think it might be best if I insist on holding him if i can during the exam, as he might not be as frightened with me.

He does seem to have gotten over it fairly quickly and seems to be recovering well. He's eating pretty normally again now and is much more like his usual self.

 

[bunny momma]

You must be relieved he has made such a quick recovery. Sending vibes scipio continues to do well.

 

[Omi]

Poor Scipio I'm glad he's feeling better and eating normally.

 

[joey&boo]

Gosh ! I anticipate similar (but hopefully no audio) when I take Eddy to the vet. I'm glad he's recovered from his vet trip & appears to be on the mend

 

[a reader of books]

Oh, poor boy, it sounds like he must've been really scared. I hope next time they'll let you hold him, as that might help, like you said. It's such a shame that we can't explain to them that the vet is trying to help them, isn't it? I'm sorry he was feeling unwell, too. I'm so glad he's eating pretty normally again. It must've helped that you got him to the vet quickly!