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cost of spaying/neutering

fashion victim

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I wanted to know what's a reasonable price range for altering male or female piggies. I've called 5 different places and one of them wants to charge me 120 dollars for neutering and 150 for spaying. However, there's other places who will do it for considerably less: 65 males and 85 females. All of the places I checked come highly reccommended from different sources, but I want to know if you consider paying more than a 100 dollars as too expensive. They told me (in the most expensive place) that the price is very high because it's hard to operate on such a small animal, but I think if they were truly experienced then they shouldn't find this operation so difficult and thus charge so much.

Also, how come the price for altering rabbits is so much cheaper? Does this have to do with the other places giving me the same rates they give to alter cats for altering rabbits but a higher price for pigs? Do cats and GPs get a different procedure, then? Or is it more expensive because of another factor (don't respond well to anesthesia)?
 

Jennicat

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I wanted to know what's a reasonable price range for altering male or female piggies. I've called 5 different places and one of them wants to charge me 120 dollars for neutering and 150 for spaying. However, there's other places who will do it for considerably less: 65 males and 85 females. All of the places I checked come highly reccommended from different sources, but I want to know if you consider paying more than a 100 dollars as too expensive. They told me (in the most expensive place) that the price is very high because it's hard to operate on such a small animal, but I think if they were truly experienced then they shouldn't find this operation so difficult and thus charge so much.

Also, how come the price for altering rabbits is so much cheaper? Does this have to do with the other places giving me the same rates they give to alter cats for altering rabbits but a higher price for pigs? Do cats and GPs get a different procedure, then? Or is it more expensive because of another factor (don't respond well to anesthesia)?

I've never had a pig spayed (mine came that way), but the male I got neutered cost $100 to do so, and had he not been lumped in as a rescue pig, it would have been more like $120. That's relatively cheap for this area. There is a specialty exotic vet on the other side of town that I reserve for emergencies, and I was led to believe it would be more around the $200 range to get it done there, but they also have a lot of specialized equipment, etc.
 

this_lil_piggy

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The only vet in my immediate area that I have heard a price quote from wanted 100.00 to spay or neuter. He quotes a cheaper rate (75.00 each) if you brought in more than one pig at a time to be fixed.
Rather than basing pro's and con's on price though, I would be more compelled to call each of them up and ask them cavy specific questions to see how cavy savy they each really are, and most importantly I would ask how many spay/neuters that have done specifically on gp's, and how many/if any have perished during the proceedure.....sicne it is a risky surgery, I would want to know how much experience they have.
 

dextersmycutegp

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When Dexter got neutered it only cost me $35. But it was a really cheap vet who wouldn't give me antibiotics or pain killers. I have since changed vets because I didn't like how they talked to me when I asked for pain killers ("he won't need them, he can't feel the pain") and antibiotics.
 

HowietheGreat

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Teddy was a $100 to have neutered. I would expect to pay no less from a cavy savy vet. Most run closer to $120.00. Keep in mind that spaying is more complicated $150 and up sounds about right.
 

fashion victim

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When Dexter got neutered it only cost me $35. But it was a really cheap vet who wouldn't give me antibiotics or pain killers. I have since changed vets because I didn't like how they talked to me when I asked for pain killers ("he won't need them, he can't feel the pain") and antibiotics.

I would've smacked him and reported him somewhere because he doesn't deserve to have a veterinary license.

I had a similar experience today when I called a vet. I got her number from the yellow pages in the phone book. She told me to not bother altering rodents because it wasn't worth it and told me to just house them separately. Hello, the whole point is having them together for company! Also, she didn't want to give me price quotes on the telephone and wanted me to go to her and pay up 25 dollars for the visit so we could "discuss my options" instead of telling me her credentials on the telephone.
Her ad on the phone book claims she's an exotics vet.

Now back to my original post: I am absolutely sure they are cavy-savvy because as I said they all were reccommended from some source, some by more than one source. There's one I really liked because it was reccommended by two of the employees of the Humane Society and from another vet I called. Apart from having successfuly treated piggies and bunnies they have even treated hamsters. They charge 75 for male GPs and 100 for females, and 50 for male bunnies and 75 for the females.

I called 2 other places and one is going to e-mail me the information and the other said they'd call back by tomorrow. I honestly don't mind the price, I just don't want to get cheated out of my money by someone who wants to pull my leg. Maybe they'd charge more than 300 and I wouldn't know better and pay up, and it turns out they charge that price because they're inexperienced and find the surgery to be too difficult. Then again, I'd GLADLY pay up the 300 dollars if the vet was specialized in Guinea Pigs only, but I have yet to find a single one.
 

aqh88

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By the time you add in the pain med and antibiotics most vets are over $100. Ours is right at that mark,~$80 for the neuter itself. If it's too much lower they must either do a ton of neuters or they aren't using the right anethestic. It's that darn anethesia gas that takes up nearly all the cost. Pistachio's bill for neutering is around here somewhere but I can't find it. I believe around $50-$60 was just anethesia. Quite frequently I've heard of vets charging $200-$300 so $100 is pretty good.
 

fashion victim

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By the time you add in the pain med and antibiotics most vets are over $100. Ours is right at that mark,~$80 for the neuter itself. If it's too much lower they must either do a ton of neuters or they aren't using the right anethestic. It's that darn anethesia gas that takes up nearly all the cost. Pistachio's bill for neutering is around here somewhere but I can't find it. I believe around $50-$60 was just anethesia. Quite frequently I've heard of vets charging $200-$300 so $100 is pretty good.

Believe me, I know about anesthesia *shudders*. For ANY dental procedure, even a simple surgery such as removing extra loose gum I have to get intravenal anesthesia. I've been bitten, cut, hit and generally had my body hurt through a fall or something and I can stand it. I've gone through so many blood tests and penicillin and allergy shots that I can't even feel the needles anymore. However even when it's just a routine cleansing of the mouth I'll totally freak out there and then and have a hysteric/nervous attack in which I start hyperventilating and shaking uncontrollably. This isn't covered by the medical plan and a single dose costs about 200 dollars.

So I take it that I should expect a neutering/spaying to cost around 200 to 250 INCLUDING anesthesia, surgery, and medications?
 

Percy's Mom

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Including his pre-op visit, Percy's neuter was close to $250. That included that pre-op, the neuter, anesthesia, antibiotics, pain meds, and a post-op visit at 10 days once he finished his antibiotics.
 
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