I organised Nova to get her Filavax vaccine for the 29th June. Again, I had to travel to Inverloch because that was the only vet who had an appointment available within the two week period.
Nova had a Cylap injection on the 6th of January, so that meant I had to wait until July to get her vaccinated with Filavac. The end of June is close enough.
I actually want to get Buttons and Nova vaccinated at the same time next year, just to make it easier. So, I’ll organise their appointment for the middle of June 2024, that way Buttons’ is extended by 2 weeks, and Nova gets her’s 2 weeks early. That won’t make much of a difference in the scheme of things.
Preparing for the car trip
I always give the bunnies a travel box a several times over a week or more before they go in the car. That way they don’t learn that the only time they see it is when they are going in the car.
Nova was happy to hop in the box. She played around in it for about an hour.
I gave Butty a box too. He dug around and ate holes in the purple blanket. Naughty boy.
The Vet Visit
Nova’s appointment was at 11:15am in Inverloch. We ended up seeing a 25-ish year old vet who continually asked me whether Nova was showing any parasitic symptoms like sneezing or a runny nose. That rang alarm bells to me because it sounded a lot like vets have had a training course about new parasites in rabbits, and I’m happy to say it’s because of Maple and Lunar. Thank you, babies, you will save many bunnies in the future.
Nova got her vitals checked: she weighs 1.87kg, she has a heart beat, and gut rumbles. The vet didn’t take her temperature or check her ears. She was given her jab and we headed home.
I got home to find out that Buttons was acting a little strange while I was leaving. He didn’t want to go with me, but when I gave him a travel box, he thought he should have been going in the car. But I didn’t pack him up in his box. I admit he was thumping before I left, but I thought it was because he knew something was happening, not that he was unsure if he was ever going to see Nova again. Bunnies should learn how to talk, that would make it easier.
He would have been saying: “I don’t want to go with you, but I do want to go with you. But I don’t. Make sure that Nova comes back. I want to go with you, but I don’t.”
From about 4:00pm to 6:00pm, Nova chose to lay next to me on my armchair wrapped in a blanket. The longer she was in there, the longer she became. She slept soundly for those two hours.
By about 6:30pm, Nova wasn’t very well, she drank and ate a little bit, but I think the jab affected her. As long as she keeps eating and drinking, she should pull through. I’ll have to keep an eye on her. By 8:00pm, she was seeming to be OK. She ate some of the Wombaroo Clover Pellets and a little bit of grass. She also had a few big drinks of water. She then happily hopped into her litter box and started digging around.