Vet Costs Suggestions for an emergency fund?

LittleSqueakers · Oct 5, 2014

I'm a relatively new cavy owner. I got my first pair of brother boars in spring 2012 after taking time to research how to care for them and provide them with the best of everything to the best of my ability. Recently, one of my boys passed away at just 2 1/2 years old.

Soon after, I realized that I never did put any money aside to be used for a medical emergency and that this should be my first priority for my surviving pig (along with finding a veterinarian competent in treating exotics local to my area, as I have recently moved)

The question I'm having is: what is a good amount of money to have available for a guinea pig medical emergency???
And if anyone local to the Chattanooga, TN area knows of any good exotic vets or clinics, I'd be very appreciative!

Also, I know plenty of you out there will be politely concerned about my single-pig situation. I assure you that I am intending on finding a new friend for my lone pig, but I need to take care of finances/vet requirements first.

Guinepig · Oct 5, 2014

I would put 5 dollars or so in your emergency fund every week

bpatters · Oct 5, 2014

$5 a week would take a very long time to save up for an emergency vet visit. Things like surgery can cost $250-$700 or more. Normal vet visits with x-rays can be $125-$150. I'd try to save enough so that my budget wouldn't be blown if I ran into a problem that expensive.

pigger123 · Oct 5, 2014

I would have at least $500 set aside but preferably more. Vet bills can be very expensive, especially surgery can reach several hundreds of dollars.

LittleSqueakers · Oct 5, 2014

Oh wow! I guess I never realized how quickly vet bills could potentially add up for a guinea pig! I should know better, I'm a vet tech, but I've really only ever worked in dog/cat clinics.

I do have a few thousand dollars saved up for general use already, so I can take care of Tribble if something comes up unexpectedly. I'll definitely want to earmark some of that money just for him. And I guess I'll need to double that amount in preparation for adopting a new pig at some point.

Can anyone tell me how much I could expect to pay to get regular teeth trimming on the back teeth? I know that some pigs end up with genetically bad teeth that need to be trimmed and filed sometimes every couple of weeks. I think this could have been what caused the death of Nibbler. Since Tribble is from the same litter, I want to get him checked out now while he's healthy and before any problems start. Thank you all for your input, and keep the suggestions coming!

sallyvh · Oct 5, 2014

The cost of teeth filing will depend on how much your vet charges. There's a huge variance in the cost of vet bills. In my experience about 10 years ago I had a guinea pig that required teeth trimmings and my parents paid about $270 each time he needed it done. He ended up having it done 3 times before passing away. Teeth trimmings will add up to be very expensive if a guinea pig requires regular teeth maintenance.

As for my vet fund, I have about $1200 put aside so that I should be able to cover most visits and if I ever need to rush to the emergency vet I know I have the funds for it.

lovemyguineas27 · Oct 24, 2014

I had to have emergency dental surgery on one of my piggies and it was about $300 for the surgery, an overnight stay, and antibiotics/painkillers. I put it on my credit card (bad, I know). I would definitely recommend having an emergency fund available if you can!

dani_starr · Oct 24, 2014

Just an idea, have you considered pet insurance? My local rescue recommends getting pet insurance, and it seems to be very cheap. Only $13 a month for 2 pigs

https://www.laguineapigrescue.com/ (if you scroll down, it's in the middle of the page)

EDIT: I'm not sure how I feel about VPI anymore after reading multiple bad reviews.

It seems like it'd be smarter to just have $500-$1000 saved up, more is always better of course.

foggycreekcavy · Oct 25, 2014

LittleSqueakers said:
Can anyone tell me how much I could expect to pay to get regular teeth trimming on the back teeth? I know that some pigs end up with genetically bad teeth that need to be trimmed and filed sometimes every couple of weeks. I think this could have been what caused the death of Nibbler. Since Tribble is from the same litter, I want to get him checked out now while he's healthy and before any problems start. Thank you all for your input, and keep the suggestions coming!

It's not very common for pigs to need frequent teeth trimmings. Usually a pig starts to go downhill very quickly once dental issues arise. In my experience most pigs with malocclusion don't survive very long. These small prey animals tend to "shut down" at some point.

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Vet Costs Suggestions for an emergency fund?

LittleSqueakers

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Guinepig

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bpatters

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pigger123

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LittleSqueakers

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sallyvh

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lovemyguineas27

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dani_starr

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foggycreekcavy

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