Rabbit surgery

Good morning everybody,

I am new here and have registered this morning. I have a Netherland dwarf bunny who is 4 and a half years old, she is the most beautiful friendly little girl and she is my world!

I took her for her annual injections yesterday and the vet found a lump under her nipple, they have advised to have this removed and sent off for analysis to see if our girl has cancer.
She is not spayed, she was always a bit too chunky for spaying so we never had her done. We got her weight down and she injured her leg and it all went back on again

Our vet has told us the operation will be £1000, I understand i could never put a price on my girl however i don’t have much faith in the vets. They were money lead from the start and didn’t give much information on her condition and what to expect etc.

I am based in West Yorkshire and just wondered if anybody could recommend any vets who are great reputation and brilliant with bunnies?

Thank you so much in advance!
Laura.

Not sure where in W Yorks you are, but my vet is here:
https://findavet.rcvs.org.uk/find-a-vet-practice/northcote-veterinary-surgery-bradfordbd2-4qr/

It's only a small practice in Bradford, but I trust them implicitly with my rabbits - and we've been through quite a lot of 'interesting' conditions over the years. David's surgery is brilliant. He's done some really intricate stuff for me on tiny animals. If there's anything they can't do, they will offer a referral to someone who can - which is a good thing to me, as they know their limits and won't try to go beyond them.

£1000 seems an awful lot to charge for a spay / mammary lump removal. I have always asked my vet to remove suspicious lumps assuming they are cancerous (ie with a good, clear margin), rather than more conservatively, unless it is obviously 'just' a lump. I don't see the point in putting the animal through further surgery if the results come back as cancer, although there is obviously no guarantee that it hasn't / won't spread.

I hope you find someone who can help.

Oh brilliant thank you very much!

This is about a 35 minute drive from us but i am more than happy to travel for the right vet. Bunny is great in the car also so this won’t stress her to travel.
I did think this was expensive but i have never had any surgery with her previously so did not know the going rate. The quote from our vet didn’t even include any pain medication/antibiotics that was additional!
I am happy to pay to keep her healthy just want a vet who will treat her right and care for her.

I will give these a call and ask for some advice, i think the same as yourself. I will ask for the area around to be removed just in case.
Thank you very much for a quick reply, i have sent this to the boyfriend and asked him to give the vets a call and have a chat

Holly House in Leeds has a great reputation, I have friends who use them but I haven't myself.

I use and would very highly recommend Crab Lane Vets in Harrogate. They are renowned for being fairly priced too.

Thank you for the recommendation.
The vet in Bradford can’t take anymore people on during covid as they are busy which is understandable.
The Harrogate vet said they may be able to see her next week.

I have tried to get in touch with holly house as my parrots are registered there but they said they would ring back over the weekend to discuss things. I just can’t sit back and wait so going to try everywhere i can for her

I appreciate all the help here!

Sending lots of vibes for your bunny xx

I travel a 2 hour roud trip to get to Crab lane. I hope you can get in. Ruth is quietly brilliant !
Vibes for your little bunny

It would be about a 2 hour round trip for me also, i am more than happy to travel though! I will give them a call back tomorrow and see if they can fit me in as soon as possible.

Thank you all for the support, going through the cycle of blaming myself and have cried enough i have tired myself out!

Meanwhile bunny is binkying round, sprinting round the living room and winding the parrots up as normal. She keeps coming to me for a cuddle but no change in her fun little personality so far x

Your bunny sounds adorable, sending her loads of vibes, and hope you can get her sorted out quickly at vets. Good luck x

Sending your bunny lots of positive vibes that her lump will be benign and treatable. I hope you will post pictures of your adorable ND bunny. One of my current bunnies is a male, ND; and most of my prior bunnies were ND.

Thank you!
That is my biggest fear, that they operate and find that whatever is going on is not treatable.
I just keep reminding myself 8 weeks ago she had her nails clipped and the vet checked her over and there was no lump at all then, my boyfriend always makes a game of tickling her tummy and he hasn’t noticed anything so hopefully we got this in time.

I have tried all recommendations on here, thank you all for your help and such a warm welcome.
A family friend recommended a vets called Abbey House in Morley. She said that they are wonderful and she worked her whole career there, I gave them a ring and they have told me they have one rabbit specialist (who is off until middle of Jan, sods law!) and there’s another vet who operates on small animals but also does other animals.
They said they would give me an estimate within the day and rang me back within 2 hours after a vet looked at our girls history. They have said £540 for the op and pre surgery consults.

The lady on the phone was lovely and explained the lay out and how bunnies and small animals have their own recovery room away from the noises of cats and dogs, they have told me to ring this morning to book her for a consult and a second opinion by one of their vets.

I’m going to give it a go, just on the off chance they can fit us in. I will let you all know when i have any appointment.

I will certainly post pictures of Eevee, she is a lovely girl! I will get myself settled at work and dig through my hundreds of photos of her and my parrots haha!

:thumb:

I used Holly House years ago for my bunny.

Where are you based in West Yorkshire?
I have been using Valeria who specialises in exotic pets and bunnies. I think she's brilliant and i would definitely recommend her. My bunny also had a lump and she was the one i used. She worked at chantry Vets (which is where I saw her)
but she's now moved to Donaldsons vets in Huddersfield. Shame cos it's a lot further for me!!

I don't know what Donaldson's vets are like but I would not hesitate to recommend her.

Good afternoon all!

Would like to start with saying thank you to everybody for their suggestions, i made contact with all but sadly none were meant to be.

I went to her appointment this morning at Abbey House Vets, early start and a long drive but im so much more relaxed!

Vet was wonderful, he put my mind at ease and explained in detail the possibilities of the lump, he examined our girl top to tail and said she’s in perfect condition. He examined the lump and gave a little squeeze and some substance came out, so with our permission he took her through and shaved where the lump was. He said more stuff came out of her nipple area however the lump was still there after attempting draining so he advised surgery the best way forward to rule all bad out.

He sent us home with antibiotics, painkillers and a surgery date for the weekend. Bunny can come home the same day too!

he was a lovely vet who specialises in small animals, i did not feel rushed out of the room and no question was too much trouble.
I know this should be the normal experience however the previous vet told me in a waiting room full of people my rabbit had cancer, too book surgery and she couldn’t talk as she had two dogs waiting!

I know the outcome may not be the best still, but the fact something came out calmed me a little bit. Bunny is very mad with me now and sat in her room refusing to come to me. She will soon come round when she realises it’s time for night time snuggles haha!
I will keep everybody updated x

I am glad you had a good consultation and I hope that your Bunny’s surgery goes well.

I’m glad it went well today, fingers crossed for the op xx

Good evening all, Eevee had her surgery today and she is back home.

Surgery went very well and the vet was happy with how she did, the lump is getting sent off and results will be within 7-10 working days.

I have to give her the antibiotics tonight but she is dosed up for her painkillers. Worried about giving the meds later this evening as she doesn’t feel like eating and i won’t be able to pick her up now she is inside her cage

Her cut was glued and the vet has said to keep an eye on her in case she chews it, but she is so exhausted right now!

I have read a few things online and seen that hay is not good for after surgery in case they get it stuck to the wound, i have taken her lose hay out and put her hay into one of the rolling ball feeders she enjoys. I have also bought and washed a new padded bed and put this in her cage but she isn’t interested in this yet.

Any advice at all is greatly appreciated during the next few weeks to get this baby back to full health

Another thing to add, which i forgot to pop on the last post.

I am so worried to leave her, eve is a house bunny and has her own bedroom but she is up and down the stairs more than anything. Her cage is a very large two story cage which she has access to day and night however i know if i don’t keep her in the bottom of this cage she will be down the stairs before i can blink! Haha.

But i feel so bad leaving her, im worried that im not watching her all the time. I have a camera which i use for the parrots when im not home and considering moving this to her room but as far as leaving them goes after surgery what’s the general rule?

I even told the boyfriend im sleeping on her floor

This is such a positive update not only from the welfare and professional care for your Eevee,but also from your superb presence of mind to find the forum and have the strength and courage to ask your question and be then guided to expert professional vetinary services which not only help your peace of mind but ensure your Eevee is given the safest and best diagnosis and positive operation. I think having come this far, you would need to confine Eevee to a downstairs routine until the wound heals. This whilst inconvenient will support the healing process and avoid any unnecessary trips back to the vet.
Is a stair gate an option? Eevee will be frustrated but a week or two of inconvenience now will save months of possible problems further down the line.
Topping up the vibes for Eevee and hugs to you. Xx

Good evening everybody!

Eevee has had her first post op check up this afternoon. I mentioned to the vet the pink colouring of her wee, vet thoroughly checked her over and said he has no concerns. He explained this can happen after surgery and in another 3-5 days he would expect her urine to be back to the usual colouring.
He advised if any loss of appetite or if the colouring changes at all apart from getting lighter ring them straight away, i showed him photos and he was happier to see pictures and said he is not concerned.

Other than that, she was perfect! The vet is super happy with how her cut is healing and said we have done great with her, vet explained the antibiotics are so important so do whatever we have been doing as it has worked well.
She has another three days left on antibiotics and another 6-7 on her metacam.

Vet said not to allow her out of her cage just yet, due to the small jump in and out and also he explained we cannot control her behaviour out of her cage and if she gets excited and has a mad binky run she could do herself more damage than good.

She is due her second check up in one week, will have to be a week and a day due to bank holiday but vet said we will reassess then but it is looking likely that after one more week she will be able to do what she pleases. She will be just over one and a half week post op when we return.

Here’s to hoping she accept her antibiotics on her basil the same as last night haha!