Vet Costs Good Vet Fund?

ThePigAlchemist said:

The most I've spent on a single vet bill for one of my pigs is about $1000 for a bladder stone surgery. I think $1000 would be a good start for peace of mind, but this number varies depending on where you're located and your personal tolerance for risk. Hopefully you wouldn't need to spend that much, especially not right away, but you never know so it doesn't hurt to be over-prepared. I'd also recommend adding a bit to your vet fund regularly to increase it further without as much pain to your monthly budget.

Click to expand...

Are bladder stone problems common? And is that $1000 per pig?

Guineapigsyay said:

Hi there!

How much of a vet fund should I generally have before getting a pair of guinea pigs? So that I don't have to worry for not being able to pay if any medical issue comes up. Thanks!

Click to expand...

As the previous poster said, costs will vary considerably depending on where you live.

One thing that I did was actually call up the vet clinic where I take my pigs and ask about potential estimated costs for certain services -- boarding costs for healthy guinea pigs, day-boarding costs for sick pigs who might need extra care/attention or medication/IV fluids (in case I need someone to watch over a sick pig while I'm at work), office and exam fees, estimated costs for certain surgeries such as neutering or bladder stone removal -- stuff like that. I had to be passed to a few different people at first who didn't understand why I was asking these theoretical questions when I didn't actually have an animal, until I finally got on the phone with someone who understood that I was trying to be a responsible pet owner and form a budget before I committed to bringing home any animals. They won't be able to give you more than a very rough price range on things like surgeries, as a lot of the actual price for surgeries is determined on a case-by-case basis, but it's still a very helpful way to get an idea of how much you should plan to have ready in case a pig needs the vet.

I keep around $1000-1500 per pig as my vet budget. Keeping up a vet fund has definitely the heftiest portion of the costs of owning guinea pigs for me, and it is the main reason why I choose to keep only 2 pigs at a time.