How far away the vet should be?

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Hi everyone,

I have been looking for a vet for my 2 rabbits (in case of emergency) and have not been able to find a 24 hour exotic vet (that sees rabbits) closer than 2 hours driving time away. I was wondering how far you guys drive to the vet, how far is considered too far (how much of a difference will 2 hours make if the rabbit has GI stasis?). Also, that would be 4 hours of driving with a sick rabbit (which hopefully won't happen but just in case) . . . would that stress them out too much?

Thanks!
 
I had one of my buns develop a tooth root abscess so had to take him to the vet. The one I found is about 40 min from me. has exotic training and I have seen one other rabbit at the office and from what I was told they see them not too infrequently. Although I do question his ability due to him giving my bun a particular med for mites which he did have.

$0 min may not seem like much but there is no other vet in the area that sees rabbits and I have to take 3 different highways, two of which I hate. It's worth it to have my bun taken care of though.

I did worry about the stress on my bun since he hasn't left the house since we brought him home 2 years ago and all of the strange surroundings, smells and noises. Even all of the poking and prodding by both the vet as well as myself at home. He has always done amazing and has taken it all in stride. He loves attention even more now!

2 hours would be long with an ill rabbit but if you learn all you can so you spot any issues as soon as possible and depending on how well your bun would do with the trip and all, I think being able to take them to a rabbit savy vet would be well worth it.
 
2 hours won't kill a rabbit with stasis, except of course if you waited too long before deciding to take him - the last time one of my rabbits had stasis, I was out of town and my petsitter had to go to 3 vets before finding one, in another town, who could see her. She recovered ^^. I think a lot of times, it's best to wait a bit more before the rabbit sees someone but to have a good useful consultation with an exotic vet which will actually fix the problem rather than an appointment with a closer vet who won't be able to do much.
Generally, rabbits do well in cars as long as they are in a comfortable pet carrier with a lot of hay. I used to live in Paris and I had to walk to the underground, take two different lines and walk to the vet. It was smelly, noisy, there were a ton of people and I think it was a lot more stressful than a ride in a car. I still thought it was better than the vet next door who had no equipement and rarely saw rabbits. Just... you know... take the timing into account and call the vet as soon as you notice any issue (to be truthful, no matter where the vet is, if I notice a rabbit is showing signs of not wanting to eat or pain, I don't wait more than 10mn before calling because I just feel like panicking and I really need to know that we're going to get help soon).
 
No, I mean an appointment - like a consultation in the consultation room ^^. I wondered if I'd gotten the word wrong for a second (seeing a doctor / vet is a "consultation" in French too) but my dictionary says it's fine (or maybe it's british?)
 
No, I mean an appointment - like a consultation in the consultation room ^^. I wondered if I'd gotten the word wrong for a second (seeing a doctor / vet is a "consultation" in French too) but my dictionary says it's fine (or maybe it's british?)

Oh, okay, got it. :)
 
Consultation isn't the wrong word at all! We TEND to use the word appointment for in-person meetings (just a random nuance of the American version of English). Your English is .actually very good, by the way. Better than my second or third languages by far.
 
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My regular vet is about 40 minutes away - it's an exotic specific vet. They're not available 24/7, however the practice they work out of does have emergency after-hours services, so in an emergency they can receive care and be seen by an exotics vet in the morning.

I used to see one with a similar setup about 20 minutes away, but unfortunately the exotics service no longer operate out of their practice. I took Felix to these guys twice after midnight with suspected GI stasis; they gave him an injection that perked him up and sent him home with me once, and once kept him overnight for an exotics vet to check over in the morning.
 

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