How to find a rabbit-savvy vet near you

What makes a rabbit-savvy vet?

Every registered vet can treat a rabbit, but rabbits are not small dogs. They are prey animals that hide pain, their teeth grow all their lives, their gut can stop in hours, and they need careful anaesthetics. A vet who sees rabbits every week knows what normal looks like and spots trouble earlier.

The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RWAF) has set out what a good rabbit practice looks like. To be listed as Rabbit-Friendly, a practice is assessed on 16 areas, including client communication, the waiting room, rabbit checks, dentistry, imaging, surgery, gut stasis, end-of-life care, out-of-hours cover and what the vets and nurses know. Each area is scored and the practice gets an overall grade of Silver, Silver+ or Gold.

Rabbit vet near me: the fastest way to find one

1. Check the specialist list first. In the UK, search the RWAF Rabbit-Friendly Vets map for your area. In the US, open the House Rabbit Society's vet page and the AEMV search.
2. Widen the search. Use RCVS Find a Vet (UK) for every practice near you. Look for practices that mention rabbits or exotics on their websites.
3. Ask other rabbit owners. The RWAF suggests asking friends who keep rabbits, or your local rabbit group, who they use and what the care is like.
4. Ring two or three practices. Ask the questions in the checklist below. How happily they answer tells you a lot.
5. Register before you need them. Note the out-of-hours number, and where you would go at night, in your phone today.

Where to search: directories for rabbit vets

If you keep other small pets too, our guide to finding an exotic vet covers guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats and the rest.

Questions to ask a vet practice before you register

These come from the RWAF's own list of questions to ask a new practice:

• Do you have a separate waiting area, room or appointment times for rabbits, away from dogs and cats?
• Do you have a separate ward for rabbits staying in, or days when dogs are not admitted?
• Will you keep my bonded pair together if one of them needs to stay in?
• Do you spay and castrate rabbits routinely, and how often?
• What is your anaesthetic plan for rabbits, and do you use a breathing tube during operations?
• How do you handle pain relief, and will you send some home?
• Are front teeth trimmed with a burr or disc, never clipped, and are back teeth only ever done under anaesthetic?
• Is there one vet here who especially likes seeing rabbits?
• Who covers you at night and at weekends, and do they see rabbits?

What happens at a rabbit's first check-up?

A first visit usually covers a full health check, a weight to compare against later, a look at the front and back teeth, ears, eyes, nails, feet and bottom, and a chat about diet and housing. It is also when you plan vaccinations and neutering.

PDSA's vets recommend three things for every pet rabbit: register with a vet, keep vaccinations up to date every year, and neuter. In the UK, vaccines protect against myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD or RVHD) types 1 and 2, which PDSA says are almost always fatal. Neutering prevents some serious illnesses and lets rabbits live together happily; our rabbit neutering guide explains the timing. Our rabbit health guide has the full routine of daily, weekly and yearly checks.

Taking your rabbit to the vet

• Use a sturdy carrier that opens from the top, with a towel and some hay inside.
• Take the bonded partner too if the practice agrees; it calms most rabbits and keeps the bond.
• Cover the carrier with a light towel in the waiting room.
• Keep the car cool and quiet, and never leave a rabbit in a parked car.
• Bring a note of what it eats, any changes you have seen, and a photo of recent droppings if they looked odd.

When is it a rabbit emergency?

Rabbits hide illness until they are quite unwell, so act fast. A rabbit that stops eating or stops passing droppings needs a vet the same day, not tomorrow. Other signs that need a vet straight away:

• No droppings, or tiny, dry droppings, for several hours
• Maggots or flies around the bottom (flystrike can kill quickly, and PDSA says to check under the tail at least once a day, and twice or more in warm weather)
• Breathing through the mouth, or noisy, fast breathing
• Screaming, sitting hunched and still, or grinding teeth loudly
• A sudden head tilt, falling over or not using its legs
• Bleeding, a bad injury or a suspected fall

Out-of-hours and emergency vets for rabbits

The RCVS explains that every practice has to provide or arrange 24-hour emergency cover, often through a separate out-of-hours clinic. When you register, ask who that is, whether they see rabbits, and where it is. Save the number in your phone. Out-of-hours care usually costs more than a daytime visit.

How much does a rabbit vet cost?

Prices vary a lot between practices and areas, so ask for a price list when you register. In the UK, PDSA offers lower-cost care to owners who meet its rules on where they live and what help they receive. For the full yearly budget, including vaccines, neutering and insurance, see our rabbit cost guide.

For everything else on keeping rabbits well, start at our rabbit care guide.