Contradicting a Bunny Vet?

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BlueGiants

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Long Island, New York, USA
Forgive me if this ends up being a littlelong... but I could use another opinion... I sold a white Flemish buckto a young man in New Jersey. He's had the rabbit for 8months. The bunny is now 10 months old, 15+ lbs. generallyvery healthy, but hates hay... any kind... timothy, alfalfa, sweetgrass, etc... I recently suggested he give the bunny pumpkininstead and switch to a higher fiber food... Therabbit loves the pumpkin. But the rabbit went into stasis...not eating, not pooping. Advised him to get to a good bunnyvet, suggested he contact the HRS in his area... (Told him if hecouldn't get into the vet to use NutriCal and pumpkin with Benebac...)

Got the rabbit in on an emergency visit to a HRS vet... The Vet hadNEVER SEEN A RABBIT THIS BIG!!! (Tried to tell the guy he wasoverfeeding the rabbit!) Vet kept the rabbit for3days, on the second afternoon, they called him to tell him the rabbitwasn't eating. He went in and got the rabbit to eatsome pumpkin. The vet had a fit! Pumpkin is unfitfor a rabbit.( But IMHO, at least the rabbit ate something...)

The next day (yesterday) he brought the rabbit home with antibiotics(metronidazole), Oxbow Critical Care, Ensure Plus Nutritionalsupplement, and a $400 bill. They said they found mites andstarted him on Ivermec. (Bring him back in 2 weeks...) Whenhe asked about the Benebac and the NutriCal, the vetstartedberatinghim that he was going to kill therabbit if he insisted on using such products... if any vet eversuggested using NutriCal on a rabbit, he should have his licenseyanked...And no one should be feeding CANNED PUMPKIN to arabbit!(I know the Critical Care contains the bacterialsupplements, but if the rabbit doesn't eat ANY hay at all, I wouldthink a regular dose of pumpkin or NutriCal would keep things"moving".) As of today, the rabbit is pooping again, but he'sleaving "Strings of pearls"... he's shedding a lot and cleans himselfreguraly.

On top of that, they told him the rabbit has to have his Incisorsremoved (for another $400). I have never had any of myrabbits develop malocussion... the only thing I can think of is hepulled his teeth on the cage wire... (He does yank the door around toget attention). But I told the owner to ask the vet to showhim the teeth and what is wrong... the vet couldn't/wouldn't showhim... but he did charge the guy for teeth trimming....

The guy is upset... I asked him to take the rabbit to another vet foranother opinion. I offered to pay for it. Or Ioffered to take the rabbit back and give him another baby. (Ican get the teeth taken care of here for a LOT less money!And I'd rather have the rabbit back here!) But the guy isattached to the bunny... he'll let me know.

Has anyone dealt with a vet like this? Wouldn't even listento the owner... and in my opinion, the owner wasn't doing anythingwrong or asking "stupid" questions... What do I say to theowner (who now thinks I don't know what I'm talking about...)

Sorry for the long story... I'm kind of upset... I feel like I let the owner (and the rabbit) down.


 
Wow... What a storey.

First off if the vet doesn't know about flemish and other giant breeds,then he must not be very rabbit savy. Almost all the books Iread as a child about rabbits mentioned the giant breeds, so I wouldimagine a vet should be able to come across some literature about giantbreeds.

I would definitly push for another opinion.

If a vet, or any doctor for that matter, is not willing to show andexplain the problem in great detail, then I would not have very muchtrust in them.

So sorry to hear about this situation, don't worry, it will work out inthe end. And I'm sure your customer doesn't think you have noknowledge. You've got lots of rabbits and they are allhealthy, so you must know what you're doing, right?

--Dawn
 
You have letneither one down, the Vet is a ***munch, Any vet ever spoke to me in such amanner he would be delt ithharshly , First off The Rabbitis in need of a different Vet ,this guy doesnt know his elbowfrom his ear obviously. And for the samereasons should never be let around anotherrabbit or any other animal asfar as I am concerned .

Have the Owner bring the Rabbit toyou and you examine it. in MHO this vet is out tomake the big dollars 400.00 seems likean awful lot for gettingscreamed at and berated for . Ido believe he could have donesuch for free . Personally I would reoffer the second opinion ., andalso suggestto the owner to get adifferent vet ASAP , report this vet tothe HRS and let them know whathad happened . They wont recomend him asecond time .

It really inflames me :mad:that any vet would take the opertunityto over charge and yet producesuch little benifit to the animal .

As for the Vet not showing and e xplaining theproblem such as teeth ,ummmmmm then there is not much wrong withthe teeth its just a chance torape more money out of this owner , notknowing what breed it is , screaming its overweightand still not looking to see what breedis just plain wrong , this idiotneeds him license sent back toSears where he got it from .

 
Sears? You give too much credit Gypsy, I was thinking more like a K-mart blue light special.. :p

What an @sshat!!!!! That is unreal...I really hope the ownergets a 2nd opinion and I'm glad the bun is starting to poop...Wow,Unreal!

I don't see BlueGiants how you failed ANYONE....sounds to me like thedumb vet is the one who failed EVERYONE! Sounds to me like if itweren't for you BG, the bunny may not even still be here.....
 
I'm just bummed out about it all. I'llcall the guy again tomorrow and urge him to get a second opinion aboutthe teeth. (If he'll listen to me! He's really anice guy... but this is his first rabbit...)

Wish he didn't live so far away... I'd really like to see the teeth myself. (Not eating hay doesn't help either...)
 
BlueGiants .. you know that you produce highquality excellent rabbits and have always done everything in your powerto keep it at that standard and because of this i also believe thatyour experience in dealing with their various health conditions isexcellent. you cant put out quality like that w/o having to deal withand effectively get rid of bumps in the road.

That vet is just plain dumb and big red flags should have gone off inthat owners head as far as what he's getting charged for and whatsgoing on . I mean if you somone told you, you had some disease butdidnt want to show you any proof would you just say oh okay and let itbe unecessarily treated ...no

on top of that you accomodated the situation the best you could and covered all angles of it.

you certainly did not let any person or bun down!

hope everything gets straightened out for the better!
 
I think everyone else has pretty much summed up what type of vet this guy is, so the only thing I"ll add is...

First sign of a problem:
The Vet had NEVER SEEN A RABBIT THIS BIG!!! (Tried to tell the guy he was overfeeding the rabbit!)


'Nuff Said! :growl:
 
OMG! What a nightmare for the bunnyand the owner. If the vet has never seen a rabbit that bigthen he really isn't a rabbit vet, in my opinion. I found outabout using canned pumpkin or a mix of canned pumpkin and pineapplejuice from 2 different HRS chapters. Nutrical and Benebec areboth used byall the HRS members I know and that's a lot odpeople in many different stes! I have a top notchrabbit savy vet and he recommends all the above treatments as do otherrabbit savy vets I know. I believe my rabbit vet is one ofthe best in the country and I cannot imagine him ever behaving as thisperson did.

Why is this quack on HRS' list? He needs to be removed andthe owner needs to let the HRS chapter know what his experience hasbeen.

Something is very wrong with a vet who refuses to show an owner aproblem he claims to have identified onan animal - very, verywrong. My vet examines the teeth with aminiaturized camera and I get to see the images as he is doing theexam. I think this owner really got raked over the coals by akook!

If this guy lives anywhere near Orchard Grove, NY or West Chester, NY,I can get the name of a really great rabbit vet from friends in thearea. I don't know if that is too far for him to travel ornot.

Please feel free to print out my comments or to share them with theowner. He needs to know that you gave him good advice andthat this vet is bad news. I have been a rabbit owner for 16years and have never encountered a vet like this one. Ireally feel for the bunny and the owner.

Again, please feel free to send him my comments. I would runlike the plague from this vet. PM me if you want the names ofother vets in the areas mentioned.

Ann
 
WOW, I went to a vet in the summer, who,although very nice, didn't give me a good feeling. My little Kweli wasnot held properly, and I was not 'allowed' to hold her for 'insurance'reasons. well, i paid $80 for a check-up, and the vet couldn't even cutall her nails, or tell the sex for sure. Needless to say I will nevergo back there.

Everyone else who responded is 100% right. I think you are awonderfully caring person. to offer to pay for a second opinion, or toreplace the rabbit, shows how much you care!!!

(and as harsh as it may sound, i believe that no one takes advantage ofpeople, people allow themselves to be taken advantage of.) So hopefullythis guy doesn't go back to that vet.

Nicole
 


My opinion, get the guy to take the rabbit somewhere else anddefinately get a 2nd opinion and yes I would be telling him to tell thenew vet what the other moron aka vet said.

If any vet charges that much and cannot show the client where the work was done is out to rip people off.

I know it's hard for you to believe this but,,,,,, you have done theright thing, you have spoken to this man, offered him help and advice,you have done nothing wrong.
Please don't be too hard on yourself. Easier said than done I know.

Try calling the man and even if you say to him"I have been talking tosome friends of mine and..........." I dunno just an idea, but try andget him to get that bunny to a new vet.
 
Wow! That is completely insane! That vet has to be reported.

I have the most amazing vet and when Abby was in stasis, I told himeverything I was doing for her and he said that there wasn't anythingelse he could do for her except give her prescription meds and hedidn't really think that was necessary. This insane vetobviously doesn't know what he is talking about at all. I'vehad a lot of people say they have never seen a rabbit that big, but nota vet or even a vet tech. I think if my vet said that, Iwould pull my rabbit out of there immediately.

I'm sure the rabbit is of fine quality. You are a responsiblebreeder. I don't believe there is a problem with the teeth,but if there is, I agree that they were probably injured. Asfar as pumpkin and Nutrical, we all have used those on our rabbits andat least my vet has said they are just fine, and if they were so badall our rabbits would be in trouble.

Jen
 
Babybunnywrigley posted her vets careinstructions when Wrigley went into stasis. It includescanned pumpkin. Check it out on her thread:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=9662&forum_id=1&page=3

This creep sounds like a witch doctor to me.:mad:Hello? How are you overfeeding a rabbit in a way that makeshim grow big but not fat? That flemish wouldn't even be fullgrown yet! Not to mention that pumpkin has done wonders formy buns when they start getting lots of hair in their poop.Clears it up and gets them going in no time flat!

As for the teeth, I agree that you could check them.Malocclussion on a rabbit that isn't even full grown yet should bestrong, right? Like the teeth would be way out ofwhack? And this vet is way too eager to jump into a surgerythat can have complications. Does he know what happens if ascrap of tooth root gets left behind? In most cases it'sbetter to just trim the teeth for the rest of the rabbit's life.
 
My mother fed her rabbits raw pumpkin for yearsshe never had a case of stomach trouble.If the vet didnt show him whatthe tooth problem was before he cut them i think he needs another vetQuick.I think if the owner has had the rabbit this long you are notresponsible for its teeth i think you have already done plenty.I thinkyou are being very generous to offer another rabbit.bluebird
 
Thanks for your words ofencouragement. I was just so upset yesterday after the guycalled. It's just hard cause I'm so far away. I'dreally like to see the rabbit teeth myself!

Seniorcats, thanks for your idea... if anyone can refer a decent bunnyvet in south Jersey (areaeast of Philadelphia) please PM meand I'll pass it on to him. I don't mind paying for a goodvets opinion.

I'm guessing my advice wasn't too awful, the rabbit is still alive andcame through the stasis OK so far! The guy told them hewasn't full grown yet and you should see his mother! He saidthat shut them up for a bit! He did say the guy was an "Exotic AnimalSpecialist" but that most of the photos on the wall in the waiting roomwere of Iguana's and snakes.... is that a clue?


editted for geographic accuracy... I got east and west mixed up...duh! New Jersey is EAST of Philly! I knew That!
 
BlueGiantswrote:
He did say the guy was an "Exotic AnimalSpecialist" but that most of the photos on the wall in the waiting roomwere of Iguana's and snakes.... is that a clue?
Yes, maybe the vet meant that's an awfully large rabbit for a snake toeat. You know, all these darned mammals are so hard to takecare of.
 
Blue Giants , The Phrase Exotics Vetscares the hell outof me , most peopleassume JUST because a Vet can properlyVet Snakes and Lizards that they know rabbits, ( they must know what they are talking about , after allthey tend Exotics ) right?Wrong , Snake and Lizard Vettingis totally different from Rabbits andBirds , I cant Believe HRS even recomendeda Vet and not checkedHisQualifications with rabbits first ,:disgust: But then again withthem Kicking in with PETA , well I haveno clue as to their real agenda.
 
hi,

i know a great rabbit vet here in new jeresy .she's my bestfriend & has owned rabbits so she knows all about them.hernames is dr janice goode chief of staffshe's at lawrenceanimal hospita princeton nj 08540

here's the phone# 609-924-2293.i think there open today

good luck

michelle
 
Thank you! I'm going topassthe vet namesand everything I received from allof you,to the rabbits owner. (Hope he'llstill listen to me... I'm not blaming him, he's getting a lot ofconflicting advice.) Thanks again!


 
hi,

i hope that poor bunny gets well soon.i know what it's liketo get the run around from vets.before i found dr goode.my 10 year oldrabbit bandit had swollen buck parts so i took him to 1 vet he saidbandit had a tumor & said bandit needed surgery.so i took himto this vet named dr horn dr horn told me bandit had a hernia &wants to run thosands of dollars in tests .i wasn't buying it so mylast shot was dr goode.dr goode told a look at bandit said i know whatswrong with him my buck had the same problem it's an infection .so shegave bandit some meds & with in 3 days he buck parts went downto normal.

so now i only trust dr goode for any of my pets.

my bunnies send hugs

michelle
 

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