Written by Rabbit Hole Hay
You will do just about anything for your pet rabbit and that includes making sure they get the best rabbit veterinary care possible when they’re sick or injured.
To make sure your little bun has a long happy and healthy life, there are a lot of pieces to the rabbit care pie to be aware of. These include feeding them a healthy diet, keeping their cage clean and knowing what to do in case of an emergency. The last thing you want to do when your bunny is ill is worry about searching for the nearest vet who can medically assist rabbits.
What do you look for when choosing a vet?
Don’t just choose the nearest veterinarian out of convenience. Instead, create a list of all the vets in your area and their phone numbers. Go through the list and call them to see if you can get your questions answered or if you’ll need to make a phone appointment with the vet on call. Remember to verify that the vet has experience taking care of rabbits, if they don’t then it might be best to cross them off your list and move on.
Questions you can ask are:
As a potential patient and customer, you have every right to get answers to your questions. This will be the vet you go to for annual checkups and in emergency situations. You want to be confident in their ability to help your little one and be kind to you in the process. If the vet doesn’t want to take the time to answer your questions, they may not be the right vet for you and your rabbit. Again, cross them off the list and move to the next one!
Continue reading below for some more in depth questions to ask them.
As mentioned above, you’ll need to verify that the vet you are thinking of using has any experience actually treating rabbits. Rabbits are considered an exotic pet, so not every veterinarian will know how to properly treat a rabbit.
When you ask them about their experience, you can just directly ask them if they have experience with rabbits or you can be broad and ask them if they have any experience in treating exotic pets. You may already know this, but your little bun has specific rabbit veterinary care needs that must be met by a vet that is knowledgeable on the subject of rabbit care.
When you’re lucky to find a few vets that do treat rabbits, ask them if they are the ones that are called in for extreme situations or if they refer you out to someone else. If they aren’t the ones that are called in and they don’t have any to refer you to then once again it might be time to move on to the next veterinary clinic.
Bonus question: Ask if they have gone to any conferences or classes on how to properly treat rabbits.
Once you have found a vet that you like, take your little bun in for a visit. Think of it as an interview for you to get to know the vet and the vet to get to know your rabbit.
It’s smart for you to take your rabbit in for a check-up so your vet can have their normal vitals on file. So, when there is an emergency, your vet has something to compare your pet’s symptoms to. If your vet requires initial tests to be run on your rabbit, it is because they want to get as much information on your rabbit to have on file.
During this checkup is the perfect time to ask them any questions you may have on basic rabbit care and what kind of emergency procedures they have in place.
When or if an emergency arises, try not to panic. You already have a vet that you can trust who is on your side. Call your vet immediately and inform them of what your rabbit’s symptoms are. There may be things you can do immediately, which the vet should be able to walk you through, to help save your little bun’s life before you take them to the vet’s office.
Now we don’t want you to be a worrywart about your bun, but we do want all owners to be well informed and be prepared when those not-so-fun times may arise. Rabbits can be great companions that can live upwards around 10 years old. But you have to give them proper rabbit care with love and affection to keep them happy and healthy, and that includes choosing the right vet for your small pet.
To learn more about rabbit care, what you should be feeding your rabbit, and what to put in your rabbit first aid kit, download our free offer below.
