# Bella’s spay day....nervous!



## poiuytrewq (27 April 2021)

So the day has finally come that Bella the rabbit is old enough to be spayed and the vets are back to routine stuff. 
Very nervous now we are here. 
fear no.1 that Bella is a boy 🤦‍♀️
I know lots of smaller animals struggle with GA 🤞 this go’s well and she can be properly introduced to her new husband!


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## Kay Burton (27 April 2021)

I hope all be fine. Hold on. everything will be great with your rabbit, because the bunnies are so cute and positive!


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## splashgirl45 (27 April 2021)

good luck


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## Birker2020 (27 April 2021)

Sure she will be fine.  I love rabbits


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## poiuytrewq (27 April 2021)

Phones playing up so I couldn’t answer when they called. Just managed to get to voice mail though. 
It’s all done, went well and she’s ready to be picked up soon. I assume the message would have said if she was a he 🎉


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## Birker2020 (27 April 2021)

That's good news! You must be so relieved.  

When we had the dog spayed they told us not to let her jump onto the furniture.  She knew she wasn't allowed on it, she never had been allowed, so we didn't think it would be a problem.  After we got home from having collected her we put her basket in the lounge and left her to doze.  When we went in half an hour later she'd jumped up onto the sofa and was fast asleep!  Typical!


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## poiuytrewq (27 April 2021)

Turns out Bella is a boy! I’d just assumed because they didn’t say otherwise 🤦‍♀️😳
He has a cone on his head!


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## splashgirl45 (27 April 2021)

change his name to fella,  quite handy it sounds the same..glad he is ok


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## Redders (29 April 2021)

Is he still wearing the cone? I don’t like commenting on other vets treatment plans, BUT this is something not all vets know and isn’t a reflection on their skills in general....rabbits shouldn’t wear a cone. It interferes too much with their natural behaviours so can be a little distressing for them, plus they need to be able to perform caecotrophy and the cone prevents this. Provided he has adequate pain relief (what was given as part of his premed and twice daily metacam or equivalent) he will leave the area alone x


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## poiuytrewq (29 April 2021)

Redders said:



			Is he still wearing the cone? I don’t like commenting on other vets treatment plans, BUT this is something not all vets know and isn’t a reflection on their skills in general....rabbits shouldn’t wear a cone. It interferes too much with their natural behaviours so can be a little distressing for them, plus they need to be able to perform caecotrophy and the cone prevents this. Provided he has adequate pain relief (what was given as part of his premed and twice daily metacam or equivalent) he will leave the area alone x
		
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Yes, I tried to take it off this morning as hes struggling to eat. I was having to hold food up. I’m going to get my husband to help me get if off when he gets home.
Thank you


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## poiuytrewq (29 April 2021)

@Redders The collar is off. I’d been worried I was doing the wrong thing but a combo of your knowledgeable comment and his real misery was enough! 
He’s far far cheerier now, had a big bowl of food which had painkillers on and a pile of hay to munch through. He also enjoyed a really good neck scruffle 🥰


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## Redders (29 April 2021)

E


poiuytrewq said:



@Redders The collar is off. I’d been worried I was doing the wrong thing but a combo of your knowledgeable comment and his real misery was enough!
He’s far far cheerier now, had a big bowl of food which had painkillers on and a pile of hay to munch through. He also enjoyed a really good neck scruffle 🥰
		
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Excellent!! Sounds like he is doing very well  I bet he will be having a mega grooming session now it’s off. Just keep an eye that he isn’t paying much attention to his castrate wounds. Like I said, generally they leave them alone so long as they have the right pain relief on board, but important to check the area to make sure


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## poiuytrewq (29 April 2021)

Poor boy, I can’t actually check the area. Whilst he’s super friendly as In I sit with him and he comes over for fuss he really freaks out if I pick him up (I’m really surprised how I’ve picked up the him/he’s!) 
I will keep an eye out for any interest in the area though.


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## Kay Burton (11 May 2021)

Redders said:



			E


Excellent!! Sounds like he is doing very well  I bet he will be having a mega grooming session now it’s off. Just keep an eye that he isn’t paying much attention to his castrate wounds. Like I said, generally they leave them alone so long as they have the right pain relief on board, but important to check the area to make sure
		
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I think it will be all right when the animal adapts. Over time, feeling a good attitude towards itself, the animal in return will also treat the owner well. Empathy generally works both ways.


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## Crazy_cat_lady (13 May 2021)

Is he feeling up for you taking a photo of him so we can see him?

also, didn't you acquire another bunny? Could we see him too?


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## poiuytrewq (13 May 2021)

Crazy_cat_lady said:



			Is he feeling up for you taking a photo of him so we can see him?

also, didn't you acquire another bunny? Could we see him too?
		
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Yes of course, they will post sideways as even if I put them different ways before uploading they always come up wrong!


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## Crazy_cat_lady (13 May 2021)

No problem with that, I can tilt to see them 😊 had bunnies when I was a child so like seeing other's photos of them!


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## poiuytrewq (14 May 2021)

This is Bella


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## splashgirl45 (14 May 2021)

pretty or should i say handsome....lovely colour


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## Redders (14 May 2021)

Oh he is just so precious 🥰


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## poiuytrewq (14 May 2021)

I’m obsessed with his ears! They are really massive!


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## Redders (14 May 2021)

His ears are AMAZING!
I also love his mouff and his thick little front legs!
I just love rabbits


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## poiuytrewq (14 May 2021)

Redders said:



			His ears are AMAZING!
I also love his mouff and his thick little front legs!
I just love rabbits
		
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His legs all round are huge! His hinds are giant and so strong!


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## Crazy_cat_lady (15 May 2021)

Oh wow he's huge! Those ears are fabulous! how much does he weigh roughly (if let's you pick him up)
Love his set up, has he got his own room?


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## poiuytrewq (15 May 2021)

Crazy_cat_lady said:



			Oh wow he's huge! Those ears are fabulous! how much does he weigh roughly (if let's you pick him up)
Love his set up, has he got his own room?
		
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He hates being picked up, very friendly but prefers to come to me and stay at floor level!
When he was spayed which was a few weeks ago they weighed him at 3.4 kg!  He eats his body weight daily aswell  😂


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## poiuytrewq (15 May 2021)

They kind of have their own room yes, winter quarters!
We live on a farm where an old cow shed (I think) got converted into a rough dining room for shoot days. I’ve fenced it in half and they get half of it. It’s pretty huge but currently split as they are still separate for now.


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## Crazy_cat_lady (15 May 2021)

poiuytrewq said:



			He hates being picked up, very friendly but prefers to come to me and stay at floor level!
When he was spayed which was a few weeks ago they weighed him at 3.4 kg!  He eats his body weight daily aswell  😂
		
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Wow that's a lot of bunny! It's nice that he's friendly and comes to visit with you 

Could we see a photo of your other bunny?


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## splashgirl45 (15 May 2021)

he sounds huge!!!!!  he looks so  cuddly as well


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## poiuytrewq (15 May 2021)

Crazy_cat_lady said:



			Wow that's a lot of bunny! It's nice that he's friendly and comes to visit with you

Could we see a photo of your other bunny?
		
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Yes, I need to take one, will have a go tomorrow. He’s the same colour but normal rabbit size, lopped ears and has really pretty white patches underneath?


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## poiuytrewq (15 May 2021)

splashgirl45 said:



			he sounds huge!!!!!  he looks so  cuddly as well
		
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I’d love to grab him up and cuddle 😂 his hind legs are really something else though and when picked up his panic is to thrash them round.


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## splashgirl45 (15 May 2021)

bet they could do some damage as he is so big, he is lovely i can see why you got him


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## Crazy_cat_lady (15 May 2021)

poiuytrewq said:



			Yes, I need to take one, will have a go tomorrow. He’s the same colour but normal rabbit size, lopped ears and has really pretty white patches underneath?
		
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Ooh he sounds really cute, I'd love to see him


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## poiuytrewq (15 May 2021)

splashgirl45 said:



			bet they could do some damage as he is so big, he is lovely i can see why you got him
		
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My vet said they can really damage their backs because their legs are so strong. We waited for the GA to check gender!


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

And this is Fiver. He’s the one someone found on the side of a road!


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## Crazy_cat_lady (16 May 2021)

poiuytrewq said:



			And this is Fiver. He’s the one someone found on the side of a road!
		
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Oh isnt he sweet! Love his white nose. He looks a fairly big bunny too?


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

Crazy_cat_lady said:



			Oh isnt he sweet! Love his white nose. He looks a fairly big bunny too?
		
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He is cute. He’s not no. I’m not sure what he is but he wouldn’t be a whole lot bigger than our last one which was a dwarf.


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

I just love them poiuytrewq, please keep us updated with photos. I would especially love to see bonding pictures, it honestly fills me with joy to see these social creatures with their companions 🥰 if I could figure out how to put pictures I would share ones of my girls but it always seems such a faff to get them to work I give up half way through!


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

Redders said:



			I just love them poiuytrewq, please keep us updated with photos. I would especially love to see bonding pictures, it honestly fills me with joy to see these social creatures with their companions 🥰 if I could figure out how to put pictures I would share ones of my girls but it always seems such a faff to get them to work I give up half way through!
		
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Aww, I will do! They have had a lovely afternoon. We went and picked willow boughs for them today and I hung them over the dividing wall. Happy rabbits!


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

@Redders  I’m pretty useless at the whole photo thing but if you click the attach file, then photo library, choose photo. Under the photo says actual size or something. At this point I click there and change to medium. Then post. Feel free to experiment here! I’d love to see


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

Ah well that doesn’t sound to complex! I’ll give it a whirl!


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## Redders (16 May 2021)




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## Redders (16 May 2021)

It’s sideways! But it worked!


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

Redders said:



			It’s sideways! But it worked!
		
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Yeah I can’t get my head round that. No idea why Bellas came out the right way!
They are lovely! They look quite big too?


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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

Are they sisters?


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

They are Rexes, so a fairly big breed, although Margot is a little fat! They are the labradors of the rabbit species. Their ideal weight is probably around 2.8kg ish, but in this one Margot is about 3kg - we had just moved house and I was a bad owner by overcompensating for the stress with snacks


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

Yes, sisters, never been apart but have been temporarily separated But next to each other and rebonded following Margot being ill. They came from my university small animal barn where we learnt handling etc, and actually looking back, the university should not have been breeding the animals knowing how much of a crisis there is in rescues, so I raised this with them once I was better educated and they neutered the remaining rabbits


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## Redders (16 May 2021)




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## poiuytrewq (16 May 2021)

Gorgeous colours. 
I hate over breeding. Bella is the first baby I’ve had in many years and now I see her breeder advertising the same cross over and over so they are puppy farmer types sadly. I wish I’d looked into that more before buying. 
I read they only need tiny amounts of hard feed but he is always starving!


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

Ah yeah they are so good at acting like they are never fed. Like they are starving, really starving. Mine inhale anything they are given! I feed a lot more forage these days now I know what I’m looking for, but they still go mad for their tiny ration of pellets. It’s handy though because I know if one of them doesn’t come running to see what I might be feeding them, I know something is wrong. Rexes are more prone to fur blockages due to the type of fur they have, plus mine seem to love to eat carpet for some ridiculous reason only known to bunkind


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

The RWAF website has a guide for grams per kg body weight for feeding pellets, it’s much more useful than saying an egg cup full or following packet feeding guides. But I just give mine 8 each as they are always on a diet!


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## Crazy_cat_lady (16 May 2021)

Redders said:



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What pretty colours! Are they friendly being house bunnies?


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

Yeah they are. Bunnies mostly hate being picked up and interfered with, and prefer contact on their own terms, but they sleep on my bed - usually by my feet, sometimes on my pillow, tug at my PJs if they want snacks, climb up my legs for snacks, like strokes between their ears, Occasionally lick me to groom me and are fine to be picked up and don’t make a fuss, but I only pick them up when I have to. They like to bounce on my tummy when doing zoomies around the room!

thanks, their colours are unusual. Apparently it’s called Magpie, but I call them marbled.


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## Crazy_cat_lady (16 May 2021)

Redders said:



			Yeah they are. Bunnies mostly hate being picked up and interfered with, and prefer contact on their own terms, but they sleep on my bed - usually by my feet, sometimes on my pillow, tug at my PJs if they want snacks, climb up my legs for snacks, like strokes between their ears, Occasionally lick me to groom me and are fine to be picked up and don’t make a fuss, but I only pick them up when I have to. They like to bounce on my tummy when doing zoomies around the room!

thanks, their colours are unusual. Apparently it’s called Magpie, but I call them marbled.
		
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Oh they sound very friendly, do they have a little ramp to get on the bed? They sound like they have a lot of character


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## Redders (16 May 2021)

Ha no ramp, at 4m they were jumping over a 3 foot fence, so they just go ‘ping’ and they silently land on the bed! Sometimes I’ll be half awake and bleary eyed, not yet moved, and they sense I am awake and suddenly, a bunny appears right in front of my face! If it’s Margot she nudges my face with her face 🤣. If I ignore that because, y’know, it’s 5am, she will tug my hair or the duvet 🙄 very demanding! They have the run of all upstairs which has 2 double rooms and a box room and when they are one one’ they zoom around the whole floor space and ping on and off of the beds repeatedly!
Edit: she once snipped a chunk of my hair off from the top of my head!


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## chaps89 (17 May 2021)

I had to come and read this thread because everytime I scroll down the main menu the title kept catching my eye - Bellas SPA day was what I swear it said, not spay day. Anyway, I'm glad I did, I've loved seeing cute bunny photos!


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## poiuytrewq (17 May 2021)

Redders that’s amazing! Do you have any other animals in the house? Before moving here original bun was a house rabbit and I loved that. He never got into bed with me sadly!
They cant really live in here, not our house and one got a bit destructive with her chewing, Bella also loves chewing. We now have a cat and dog I didn’t have as a puppy so wouldn’t totally trust.
@chaps89 i read it as spa day too 🤦‍♀️


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## Redders (17 May 2021)

I don’t have any other animals in the house, mostly because I can’t afford any more pets!
i have friends who have cats and dogs and they live happily side by side although I don’t think I would trust them alone together as I am paranoid and don’t like to ask for trouble so if I did have other animals and introduced them and all was fine, I would give the rabbits their own room with a door I could shut properly for when I wasn’t in. 
my friends cat snuggles up to her rabbit and they are best buddies, which surprised her as he was a prolific rabbit hunter when they lived rurally! 
my house is rented, and Margot is a chewer, but I have developed strategies to protect stuff which isn’t mine! I rabbit proof areas, and I am a very good tenant in that anything they may damage I would replace straight away. But it’s only my stuff they damage, and even then it’s only cosmetic, so I just don’t have things I don’t want potentially chewed in the areas they go. I say ‘you’re so naughty bunnies!’ When they chew a hole in my bed sheets, but actually, it’s not naughty, it’s just normal rabbit behaviour so I just accept that and don’t buy massively expensive sheets!


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## Redders (17 May 2021)

Poiutrewq, I can’t remember if you have, but did you look into insurance for your buns? I was doing some researching for some clients of mine and Agria and Sainsbury’s both cover dental treatment if it’s causing a problem (rather than routine) and are cheaper than pet plan with decent cover levels. Worth an investigation if you were looking to insure, but I would always advise calling insurers about rabbits and checking that if the rabbit became unwell and it was found to be a dental issue, is it covered. And then request that in writing before buying the policy. Can’t be too careful with insurance these days!


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## poiuytrewq (17 May 2021)

Redders said:



			Poiutrewq, I can’t remember if you have, but did you look into insurance for your buns? I was doing some researching for some clients of mine and Agria and Sainsbury’s both cover dental treatment if it’s causing a problem (rather than routine) and are cheaper than pet plan with decent cover levels. Worth an investigation if you were looking to insure, but I would always advise calling insurers about rabbits and checking that if the rabbit became unwell and it was found to be a dental issue, is it covered. And then request that in writing before buying the policy. Can’t be too careful with insurance these days!
		
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I did look into it and got a few quotes but no never did anything else about it. 
I’ll have a look at those companies, I’d kind of just figured I’d wing it a bit with them tbh. Last time I had a big non insured bill I put it on my credit card and had to suck it up 🤦‍♀️
I guess it would be a more sensible option though.


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## Redders (17 May 2021)

I insured because I don’t have quick access to credit and I was a student, and in my final year, Margot had a bill of around £2500, and that was with my discount for working at the vets! Granted she had CT and a specialist operation and referral to a specialist, but I wanted to be able to provide that if I needed to so I was very glad of insurance at that point! Even now as a vet I couldn’t afford the cost of a CT without insurance, and they are the best imaging modality in small furries for many common conditions. It’s amazing how much of a bill they can rack up overnight and when I was a student, I would have been majorly scuppered!


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## poiuytrewq (17 May 2021)

Redders said:



			I insured because I don’t have quick access to credit and I was a student, and in my final year, Margot had a bill of around £2500, and that was with my discount for working at the vets! Granted she had CT and a specialist operation and referral to a specialist, but I wanted to be able to provide that if I needed to so I was very glad of insurance at that point! Even now as a vet I couldn’t afford the cost of a CT without insurance, and they are the best imaging modality in small furries for many common conditions. It’s amazing how much of a bill they can rack up overnight and when I was a student, I would have been majorly scuppered!
		
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It honestly never occurred to me that vets had to pay vet bills!


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## Redders (17 May 2021)

Haha it never did to me either before I started this journey! But yes, we do. The only way you could get it for free is if you own the practice, which is hard to achieve these days. I can do my own ‘consults’ and checks but have to pay for anything else, plus vets find it hard to treat their own so usually have to pay as one of the other vets will consult for you and policy may be that all consults are charged then discounted. Almost all of my vet based friends will have insured pets because of this, and because if their pets ever need referral to specialists, that is full price (unless you already are a specialist). One perk is I can write my own prescriptions for free! But still have to pay for the meds 🤣
if one of my pets needed say a surgery, I could keep the costs down slightly by saying I will do it in my own time and not work time, but I will still need a nurse and animal care assistant, I’ll still be using equipment and medication and I would be blocking a theatre that can’t be used for a clients pets surgery, and all those things cost money so me trying to do a surgery on the cheap at 0100 on a Sunday night wouldn’t actually make it that much cheaper! 
It’s one of the reasons why the comment of ‘if you loved animals you would do it for free’ is a bugbear, because we can’t actually do it for free!


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