# Furball lodged in throat



## fang (Dec 24, 2012)

Hi, 

We have a bunny approx 3.5 yrs old. She had been having breathing problems resulting in mouth breathing and not eating(due to wanting to breath) After going to several vets who diagnosed it as a respiratory problem with antibiotics etc which didn't seem to help or even address the symptoms we noted. This went on for over a week. We finally found a competent vet to look at our bunny got an xray and found a blockage, had the vet go in and it turned out to be a hairball a long one that the vet believes was stuck one of her back teeth . She had surgery.. (expensive as all get out) had it removed and was doing fine. Today, three days after surgery she has developed another one. We had trimmed down all her fur as a preventative measure to stop her from swallowing long hairs.. but somehow she got another and is now she is starting up with the same problem.. trying to cough it up, but like the last one, she just coughs it up and then swallows it again and it just gets stuck there. We want to help this bunny, but this year has been pretty harsh on our finances and we are already into this bunny for almost $1,000. in just the last week and a half. Her breathing is only slightly labored at this point but we know where this is headed. It is so sad because this is my GF's rabbit and she just recently lost her dog of 12 years ( a very expensive illness where they never found out what was wrong with her). Has anyone run into this problem and knows of another way to help this rabbit rid itself of this furball stuck between her back molars and her Epiglottis? This is killing me watch my GF suffer, and watching the rabbit go through what should be an easy fix. but we are out of $$ to pay for another vet surgery. 

Also if anyone has witnessed this before.. is there some other issue that is causing this to reoccur. My GF also has this rabbits brother, and there have been no issues like this with him what so ever.

Hopeful...

Thank you


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## Imbrium (Dec 24, 2012)

ugh, poor bunny! another one of our members had the same thing happen recently but was able to pull the fur out by hand while someone else held the bunny... not sure what would be causing this problem to reoccur or how to fix it without surgery if you can't reach in there and get it


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## LakeCondo (Dec 24, 2012)

I agree. Try to pull it out, maybe using tweezers. I hope something works.


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## fang (Dec 24, 2012)

It is so far back in the throat and her mouth is so dang small we can't see it to get a hold of it.  Are there any tricks to holding her tiny mouth open?


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## Imbrium (Dec 24, 2012)

I'd worry about accidentally poking her mouth with tweezers, since she's bound to struggle... maybe you could buy a cheap kids' toothbrush (with the tiniest head you can find) and try to catch the edge of it with that? (btw, if you don't already know, bunnies can't throw up so I assume they don't have a gag reflex... on the one hand, that prevents her from dislodging the hair herself... on the other hand, you don't have to worry about setting off the gag reflex)

you should probably dose her with pain meds a little while before you start, too - it can't feel good to have something pulled out of your throat, plus it may help her relax a little. metacam/meloxicam if you have it (vet stuff); baby aspirin, low-dose aspirin or baby ibuprofen if you don't. this website has dosing info for pain meds - http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

not sure how to *keep* her mouth open, but to pop it open, stick a finger (or thumb) in the gap between the front incisors and the back molars.


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## JBun (Dec 24, 2012)

Does she get fed unlimited grass hay on a daily basis? That can help a lot in keeping hair problems cleared up.


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## fang (Dec 24, 2012)

Yes, there is unlimited amount of grass available for her. She was eating fine after the first surgery, so you think that would have taken care of any more hair sticking in her throat.


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## Nancy McClelland (Dec 24, 2012)

ray:


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## Imbrium (Dec 24, 2012)

any luck getting the hair out of her throat? ray:


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## LakeCondo (Dec 24, 2012)

I'm glad someone thought of using something better than tweezers.

You can hold an animal's mouth open if you hold the head still & press in on the cheeks so that the animal would be biting its cheeks if it closed the mouth. On the other hand if you once got a toothbrush in, it woldn;t matter if the mouth closed on it, just turn it in circles & hopefully the fur will wrap around the brush.


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## Imbrium (Dec 24, 2012)

hehe... I thought of tweezers before you said something about them, but decided against suggesting it so I just hoped someone else would come up with a decent idea 'cause I couldn't think of anything "grabby" that wasn't also "pokey"... then after you said something and I thought about it again, a little light-bulb went off about using a little toothbrush .

I figure it's got the unique combination of properties where it's small enough to fit in a bunny's mouth, it has a good chance of gripping onto hair and it's soft enough it shouldn't hurt the bunny if she struggles... plus you wouldn't necessarily need to aim much the way you would with tweezers. I *really* hope it works for the poor bunny! I'd hate to see her suffocate, but at the same time there's only so many $1000 surgeries a person can afford


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## JBun (Dec 24, 2012)

It sounds like this might be caused by overgrooming. If you are able to resolve the current crisis, you may want to consider keeping her fur trimmed short. Normally cutting rabbits fur isn't recommended(unless a long haired breed like angora) because their fur protects them, but If it's a choice between keeping the fur for protection, or trimming it to prevent suffocation, I would go with the trimming.


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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

She is an angora. We cut her hair down to almost nothing. I couldn't wait any longer.. she ran up to me frantically pawing her mouth and then scratching my leg.. I took that as a sign and rushed her down to the vet. Surgery was a little more expensive this time. I took my last $500 and paid the vet.. He said If I hadn't brought the rabbit in, she wouldn't have made it. (He may have said that just to make me feel better ) If it happens again, we will have to put her to sleep. (unless we can get a toothbrush to work. but her mouth is so incredibly small I can't see how we could fit one in it. ) It's so sad that something so simply done and so simply and quickly taken care of by the vet.. should cost so much. It's blackmail I tell you, Blackmail. It's the same thing with Normal healthcare costs.. We need real reform in both vets and human healthcare not Obama care that only allows the medical profession to keep overcharging for services. ok, my rant is over, and we pray our rabbit will pull through this. She is wearing an e-collar for now. It's the only thing we can do to make sure she isn't getting the fur from grooming. Vet says the back teeth are uneven and that is causing the fur to snag on a tooth and hang in her throat allowing more and more fur to accumulate there which blocks the air passage.. 

Merry Christmas Everyone. 

Thank you for your help.. any more Ideas would be greatly appreciated.


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## whitelop (Dec 26, 2012)

If her back teeth are uneven, could you have them trimmed or filed or whatever it is that they do? 

I'm so sorry you had to take her to the vet to have ANOTHER surgery. That has to be so stressful! I really hope this doesn't happen again. If it happens again, a baby tooth brush, like the ones with the really small heads, you could probably get that in her mouth and down towards her throat. She may not be happy, but it could happen. 

It really sucks that this is happening, I'm so sorry. Does she eat enough hay? I know you said she gets hay, but does she eat enough? Good luck!


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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

Hi, 

It was stated earlier that another member of the forum had the same problem with their rabbit. I have used the search feature to try and find the post from the other member but have been unable to find it. Does anyone have the link to it in here?

Thanks


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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

She doesn't eat as much as the other rabbits but since this last surgery she has been going to town on the grass. She prefers pellets but we make sure she eats plenty of grass with the pellets. Currently we have pulled all pellets and are feeding her only grass and her antibiotics mixed with a anti wool block concoction.


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## JBun (Dec 26, 2012)

I hope the vet didn't just tell you the back teeth were uneven, but actually filed them smooth while he was at it. Maybe just this vet is really expensive. Do you happen to have another vet near you that is good with rabbits? Might want to give it a try if you do. I'm assuming she's an indoor rabbit. Could you just give her a nice buzz so the hair is too short to be causing any problems?

I think this is the thread you are talking about, but I think she just pulled the stuck fur out of her rabbits mouth with her fingers. You could try to PM her and ask what she did to get the hair out.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f14/fraggles-almost-suffocated-her-own-hair-tonight-72221/


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## Imbrium (Dec 26, 2012)

yeah, that's the thread I mentioned

I'm sorry you had to cough up for another vet visit, but I'm really glad she's ok!

some things you might look into:
~ care credit (http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/ ) - looks like it works kinda like a credit card, but it's possible to pay vet bills over time without having to pay any interest as long as you pay it off within a certain time frame
~ health insurance - the only one I know of that covers rabbits (and I've looked around/asked my vet) is VPI... I haven't actually used it and never got around to calling to get the details (exotics plan details aren't available online, only cat/dog plans), so I don't know for sure if they'd cover this sort of thing (especially since she's already had two surgeries for it) but it wouldn't hurt to look into it - http://www.petinsurance.com/plans-and-coverage/bird-and-exotic-pet-insurance.aspx
~ IMOM financial aid - http://www.imom.org/fa/index.htm ... only life-threatening emergencies qualify (basically, a vet needs to state that the pet will most likely die or have to be put down within 10 days if treatment isn't given), but I imagine this would qualify. not sure whether or not your financial situation would qualify, but again, it doesn't hurt to look into it.
~ you might give this page a read; it suggests a few other options - http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html


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## Geoff (Dec 26, 2012)

Just some comments... have to say I have never in 27 years come across this sort of problem with a hairball getting stuck in the throat, though with over grown molars I could see how that could happen. It seems THAT is the primary problem, and the hairballs are secondary. So then you should think about doing two things: one is to get her teeth filed/drilled soon, and keep that up as needed. And 2, figure out WHY the molars are overgrown. Overgrown molars are usually due to improper diet (though rarely we do see congenital molar defects.. .they are just rare, at least compared to incisor genetic defects). If diet is a problem try to change things up a bit (stop pellets, feed ONLY hay and as much green leaf vegetation as possible... and fresh lawn if that is available)... something to increase the amount of silica in the diet to help keep the teeth worn, along with low calorie food to keep your bunny chewing all day long. And keeping the fur groomed short will help, too (Angoras matt up super fast and are very hard to keep up with unless you are using them as a constant source of fur for weaving). 

About sticking something down the throat of a bunny... very risky. Sharp things are extremely likely to do some serious damage if the bunny is awake and you can't see anything (which you rarely can in those tunnel-shaped oral cavities). Sometimes you can shove something down the throat with a large smooth plastic tube (once down the throat past the wind pipe breathing should be OK)- a technique often used in emergency rooms when there is no endoscope available and we know there is something stuck in the esophagus- easier to push things down rather than blindly pull them out with something sharp. Once in the stomach, if its something large and indigestible, removing it is more straight forward (doing surgery on the esophagus is very tricky indeed).


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## LakeCondo (Dec 26, 2012)

I don't understand why the vet didn;t file down the molars when she was "under." If it wasn't done during the 1st surgery it should have been done the 2nd.

I tried VPI and dropped it as soon as I read the policy. I knew that it wouldn't cover preexisting conditions, then when I read they could drop you any time they wanted to, ie as soon as some serious treatment was necessary. That is, they'd have to pay for one claim, but then would drop you. So I decided it was a waste of money, unfortunately.


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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

[FONT=&quot]File down the teeth when he was in there.. of course not..lol The vet was in there twice, and wanted another $200+ just to file them down even when the rabbit was already out and he was already in there. I say + because he would never give us a straight answer on any of the prices. I am really tired of being held hostage by our local vets.
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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

Geoff, Are you a vet or tech? In your experience what would teeth filing normally cost?


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## JBun (Dec 26, 2012)

I'm pretty sure Geoff is a vet.

You've got to find a different vet. This vet sounds like he's trying to run up costs or something. I would think that a good vet, as soon as he saw that the teeth were part of the problem with the hair getting caught on the sharp points, would have taken care of the problem right then and fixed the teeth. It's just unbelievable that he didn't and now wants to charge you more. Could you maybe contact a rescue or the humane society. They may be able to help you out with info on getting your rabbits teeth done. I would call around to some different rabbit vets and ask for a price on getting the teeth done. If they won't give you a definite price, I would tell them you'll find someone else then. There's no reason they can't give you a set price for a procedure. I'm not sure of the best method for smoothing out the sharp points. I read that clipping them can cause fractures in the tooth that can lead to future tooth problems, so you may want to investigate the best method and ask which method the vet will use to trim the teeth as well.


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## whitelop (Dec 26, 2012)

Geoff is a vet, he's been a vet for like 20+ years I think. 

Here is a link of vets offices around the country, some in other countries too. Hopefully you can find another rabbit vet in your area and go to them. Because the vet you have now sounds like he is ripping you off. 

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/

Do you by chance live in a rural/impoverished area? (Not talking about you personally, but the charges for vets a lot of times depend on the area you're in)


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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

So far this has been the most capable vet for rabbits in the area. We have tried several other vets in the area that "treat" rabbits. Cost us a lot of money for people who had no clue as to what they were doing. This is a really bad area for vets, and they have sort of gotten together and set prices way above normal costs. Example [FONT=&quot]. I have a dog that they wanted $750 to fix an ear hematoma. Yes $750! I took my dog down the hill to lost angeles (yes I said LOST) where they charged me $250 to fix it, full wiring/stitching of the entire ear. A vet in [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Los Angeles[/FONT][FONT=&quot] mind you who's overhead is triple what it is in my local area. 
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## fang (Dec 26, 2012)

We can't really afford to take the rabbit to the vet if it happens again. We need to find a way to clear this on our own. Gf's credit cards are up there now. In the last month we have spent 2k on the animals. last several months 3K (and the loss for an unknown reason of her beloved golden retr. and don't get me started on that one. I have never EVER seen so many inept vets in my life as there are up here. ) Unless we can find a way to do it on our own we will have to have her pts. And it is just too sad. I have left her e collar on to make sure she cant do any grooming on her own, but we will have to take it off soon and I am afraid it will happen again at that time


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## Sweetie (Dec 26, 2012)

For me, when I had Prince and he had molar spurs, it cost me $130 to get his molars filed down. Yes, vets are expensive for rabbits.


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## JBun (Dec 27, 2012)

If going back in is absolutely impossible right now, maybe until you can afford it you could just do the normal things we do to keep our rabbits teeth worn down. I would do very limited pellets so that she will eat more unlimited hay, and offer a variety of different grass hays, also have different chew toys that she can chew on like apple sticks, willow, I buy 1x2's at home depot and cut them up and make chew toys for my rabbits. There are also those hanging chew toys with wood blocks and a bell at the end. And also different veggies, introduced correctly to avoid digestive problems. You just want to give her as many ways to naturally wear those spurs down, as possible. I would also keep her coat shaved short until her teeth are ok again. And if it were me, I would be calling into that vet office and giving them a piece of my mind about not taking care of the teeth at the time the problem was found, just so they could charge for another procedure to be done, which you can't now do because thay've taken all your money. Jerks!!!


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## fang (Dec 27, 2012)

GF cut her fur down short... but I think we should take it down more. It is still long enough for her to suck down her throat while grooming herself (which is why we want to keep the e collar on) Rabbit now has fur mights go figure, which is really irritating the rabbit especially with her collar on , but GF doesn't want to give her the meds while she is having this issue and on antibiotics.. so we are using diatamous earth only. With the collar on, the irritation non withstanding she is happy.. eating drinking and breathing fine. not quite as happily hopping as she used to .. but living "comfortably". Bought her a chewtoy ball last night but its too big to get into her collar lol so we will be breaking it down so she can find a way to chew on it. We put her on grass only on Christmas. Hopefully that will help too. This would be more tolerable if the life of this sweet simple little animal was not at stake.


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## JBun (Dec 27, 2012)

Did you ever ask the vet why he didn't just take care of the teeth at the time? I'd be interested to know what his excuse would be. 

Mites, wow, your bun is having a hard time lately, poor girl. I'm glad she's doing ok with the collar on. I had a bun that got really depressed when I tried using a collar on her. Had to take it off.


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## fang (Dec 27, 2012)

She doesn't really like it on her. She has tried to take it off a few times, but for now it's not an option to take it off her.


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## Trixie (Dec 27, 2012)

I just wanted to add that my bunny went for her check up and had a small molar spur, they immediately filed it down...it cost me nothing. I just paid for the full check up. I hope your bunny is going to be okay.


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## fang (Dec 27, 2012)

Hi Trixie, 

Hmmmm... we have never had a bunny go for a regular check up. What is the ave. cost for something like that , and what do they actually check?


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## Kipcha (Dec 27, 2012)

Babbitty gets his molars trimmed for spikes every 3-6 weeks and it costs me $70 a pop, although he does not require any sedation or anything.

Sounds like you guys are really getting a run around  Sorry you're having such rotten luck.

For just regular vet checks here, the cost averages at $80 to get in and see a vet (A GOOD vet, there are plenty of cheaper ones around but I don't trust them for a second). For our vet, the cost includes checking everything on the bun (Teeth, eyes, ears, nost, feet, hocks, etc.) and if the bun has a problem that you need to keep going back for, there is no cost for the recheck. So we don't have to pay a visit for Babbitty every time we go in, or in Spyro's case where he is respiratory problems, he can go in for them to listen to and we don't have to pay anything.


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## Trixie (Dec 27, 2012)

fang said:


> Hi Trixie,
> 
> Hmmmm... we have never had a bunny go for a regular check up. What is the ave. cost for something like that , and what do they actually check?



Well I'm in Canada and Mocha's check up cost me $62.00 for a full health check, heart, mouth, ears, butt, privates :spintongue weight, etc. They did her nails for me as she's hard to get the back ones done.


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## fang (Dec 27, 2012)

Yeah that's another thing about this vet. we get charged for the "office visit" each time we walk in there even though its all for the same reason. Never had this happen before.


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## fang (Dec 27, 2012)

Anyone in southern California have a place where we can have her molars trimmed and it not cost an arm and a leg?


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## Imbrium (Dec 27, 2012)

office visit at my vet (who is *really* good) is $45 for one pet/$58 for multiple pets. it's really a steal if you have a menagerie - I took in 2 bunnies, 2 sugar gliders and 14 hammies for well-being checks at the end of november and still only paid $58


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## fang (Jan 29, 2013)

Update.

We kept the collar on her for several weeks. since non of the other symptoms that the vet said she might have ( fur coming into her throat from her stomach) and she was healthy etc we decided to go ahead and have the tooth filed. The vet said that in filing the tooth the "post" actually came out and it was a bad tooth he filed the remains and told us that we should bring her back in 3 to 6 months to have the tooth checked out to make sure it wouldn't cause any more problems, and that now she should be fine from now on. The vet had nicked her mouth in the procedure so we had to keep her on anti-biotics for two weeks We got the bunny back to the house and she was amazing. Full of energy, acting almost like a "puppy" lol it was great. We keep her fur short now just to be on the safe side. . She was great. Then a day before we were supposed to stop the antibiotics it started again. I was a little pissed , but calmly called the vet. I explained to him I thought this was supposed to take care of the problem. He wanted to get her into his office again later that day, (since he wasn't in at the moment) and I asked him again how much this was going to cost... It was still going to be $500.. but he would try to keep it as low as he could..(which is what he had said before on the second time we had her throat cleared and it was MORE expensive the second time. Honest to god, we have already spent almost 2K on this rabbit at this vet. At what point does the vet go.. just bring her in?? We didn't make it there in time. She died. Suffering.. I am so upset at the vet and myself I am beside myself. She was screaming for help, never heard a rabbit scream like that before. then just collapsed She tried to stay alive long enough for me to help.. but there wasn't anything i could do, I couldn't get anything into her mouth that would catch on whatever was down there. She just lay there alive but unable to breath. all breathing had stopped but she just laid there looking at me to help nudging me..Her brother was screaming too, and thumping. IT gets worse but I just can't even type it in here. It all happened so fast but seemed to last so long. I guess I am just really getting upset that todays vets, seem to be in it more for the money than the love of the animals. I dont begrudge anyone making a living. But watching these vets up here continually expanding their offices, then charging more.. its frustrating. This McVET (like McDonalds's ) business approach that has been taking over as business models in all areas of business in the u.s. is disheartening. Set fees no matter how skilled or unskilled a service is. I can go online and see what I can pay for animal medications and can see that the vets are charging 300% markups on what I can get it for. This vet is a nice and caring vet definitely more able than most of the vets up here concerning rabbits... but really. You used to be able to bring your pet into a vet to get looked at free of charge He/she would charge you for the treatment. Then vets started charging a fee to see them.. well ok, that's ok.. But after they have seen you and after you have already paid them, you get charged again for a visit for the same problem?? Really? A problem they were supposed to have fixed? And now vets won't give you a cost over the phone for ordinary procedures.. No shopping. and of course you won't find out what their cost schedule is like until you have PAID for the visit. Seems a little more than unfair. This is state is screwed up bad already.. I now expect this kind of business practices and I am rarely disappointed. I am sorry for this post, I guess I needed to vent. I cant tell my girlfriend what her poor rabbit went through it would break her heart.


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## sarah222296 (Jan 29, 2013)

definitely don't tell your girlfriend about the screaming! Your a saint for doing what you did for that bunny and putting up with that jackass vet. I work at a vet and i guarantee you you should not be taking the other rabbit to that guy. The vet should have filed down her molars the first time when he figured out that was most likely why the hair was sticking, and charged you afterward especially if he hadn't given you a price to begin with. Most vets will eliminate vet visit costs after you spend 500$ and just make you pay for the surgery. I have no clue what kind of vet sees a problem and doesn't fix it, the only time that happens is when the owner tells them not to fix it because of cost. Which was clearly not the case with your situation. There is a list of rabbit savvy vets on the rabbit house society's website and i think there is a link on the main forum with where to find rabbit house approved vets. Once again your great for doing what you did and your girlfriend and her rabbits are very lucky to have you around.


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## sarah222296 (Jan 29, 2013)

oh and by the way most vet offices have a prices codes for surgery's and procedures so prices are already decided upon. They should always be able to give you an estimate thats very close to what it actually will be. The only time it comes out very different is if they don't see exotic pets on a daily basis so they don't have a price standard setup for that, and have to make one up as they go.


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## JBun (Jan 29, 2013)

I'm just heartbroken reading this! I'm so sorry about your rabbit and what she went through.


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## fang (Jan 29, 2013)

I still am so very upset about this.


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