First time vet visit with a shy bun

Hello!

I have a two month old Netherland Dwarf that I am planning to take to the vet soon for his first routine check up.

Moby is very shy, and though he has become accustomed to me, he is still reluctant to be petted and touched. So I am worried a vet visit will traumatize him.

My question is whether I should wait until Moby is more comfortable being touched or picked up before I try to take him to the vet? I have had him for about a week, and he seems to warm up to me more and more each day.

(The vet I am taking him to is listed on the House Rabbit Society's register, so I trust them.)

No need to wait. --especially because he has other issues that need to get checked out.

It is a myth that early handling of a baby bunny makes them like to be handled when older. A rabbit either will or won't tolerate handling. An article in the 2014 issue of Rabbits USA magazine explained that when all the babies from numerous litters are each handled equally and frequently, once each of those rabbits is an adult, some will tolerate handling while others will still despise it. It has more to do with their innate personality than with frequent handling.

Close to this idea is that babies usually do tolerate handling. It is when their hormones kick in and they become adults (they are adults at 6 months of age) that they begin to resist handling. If I had a penny for every time I've heard, "my bunny used to be fine with me petting and holding him and suddenly he resists me and runs away." This is just (often) what bunnies do as they grow out of babyhood.

Babies can be completely different as adults, so don't fret over any baby behavior. You won't know what your rabbit is like until after hormones.

Most rabbits don't like to be handled, but they can come to a state of acceptance. You have to get them used to it--not their choice, but your's--or else nail trims and all the other maintenance will be really bothersome for yo both. You have to be the alpha and don't let your bunny train you.

Aki hates being handled and struggles when you try to hold her. I previously had a rabbit who was horribly scared of being above the ground (just being on the vet table made him scream). As a result I generally handle the rabbits and keep them in my arms whenever possible while the vet examine them - I even go and hold them during x-rays. It works fine. The vet is never a very pleasant experience, but they recover quickly. Aki avoids me like the plague for a few days afterwards but she gets over it eventually ^^.

We have a bun like that. She was adopted and didn't like people touching her except my daughter. But, taking her to the vet did not traumatize her. She recovered just fine. And the second time she went, she was less upset because she already knew what to expect.