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Vet Costs $500 for a neuter?

BenAndJerry

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Hi, I was looking to get my male guinea pig, Ben, neutered, as he is somewhat aggressive towards my other male Jerry..

I went to the vet yesterday for a final checkup after dealing with ringworm, and I figured I would inquire about having him neutered. So they printed out the paper for us and it says as follows..

Guinea Pig Casteration - $188.95
- Anesthesia elective $70.85
- Pain management elective $29.65
Metacam 1.5mg/ml/1ml $32.95
Small mammal profile $135.90

THIS TREATMENT PLAN AND ESTIMATE MAY RANGE FROM $460.36 to $575.45

--

Other places online, it has said to be under $150 usually for the procedure. I know that some of the stuff here is more than the procedure itself, like the pain management and anesthesia, however over $500 seems like quite a lot to me. We didn't schedule it. How much did you guys pay for your boars neuter? I still would like to have this done, but this price I cannot afford.

Thank you
 

bpatters

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Neutering won't help.

What size cage are they in? And what all is in the cage?

And what do you mean by "somewhat aggressive?"
 

lunarminx

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Hi, I was looking to get my male guinea pig, Ben, neutered, as he is somewhat aggressive towards my other male Jerry..

I went to the vet yesterday for a final checkup after dealing with ringworm, and I figured I would inquire about having him neutered. So they printed out the paper for us and it says as follows..

Guinea Pig Casteration - $188.95
- Anesthesia elective $70.85
- Pain management elective $29.65
Metacam 1.5mg/ml/1ml $32.95
Small mammal profile $135.90

THIS TREATMENT PLAN AND ESTIMATE MAY RANGE FROM $460.36 to $575.45

--

Other places online, it has said to be under $150 usually for the procedure. I know that some of the stuff here is more than the procedure itself, like the pain management and anesthesia, however over $500 seems like quite a lot to me. We didn't schedule it. How much did you guys pay for your boars neuter? I still would like to have this done, but this price I cannot afford.

Thank you

I paid about $360.00, I think the online price is just the surgery cost and not all that goes with it. Anesthesia elective NOT, they must have anesthesia. What I feel is elective is the blood panel.
 

scoottie

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Neutering will not help the aggression
 

scoottie

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I suspect that you are just repeating what you have read......without any real experience. Be cautious about making such absolute statements unless you are a Vet.

You will notice that @bpatters and I do not agree on the topic. It is a known physiological fact that testosterone fuels both libido and aggressive behavior. Remove the source of the testosterone and you reduce both behaviors. As I mentioned in another thread, a Vet whom I respect responded with, "neutering will reduce aggression toward other cavies, but not humans".

I guess we'll find out after tomorrow. Both my boys are being neutered tomorrow morning! It takes about 3-4 wks for the current supply of testosterone to leave their bodies, so after that time we'll see if there is a change in their behavior.

I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm having my boys neutered for health reasons, and if Chip's aggressive behavior is reduced, then it will be a bonus.
I didn't even read what Bpatters said I was stating what I do know. So please be cautious of saying such things thank you and I do have real experience in the matter thinking possibly it may help with the aggression I neutered a past pig with no difference in behavior.
 

BenAndJerry

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They are in a 5x2 C&C cage with a 2x2 loft. The vet had said that the neutering would help with the aggression towards my other piggy. He isn't aggressive towards me, only jerry. This seems to be the dominate behavior.
By "somewhat aggressive" I mean that he isn't always like that, but he does behaviors like pushing him away from food, pushing him off the water bottle, and nudging him ect
 

Rywen

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Ferb's neuter was $300, that included all meds and a follow up/post op check a week later. I live near DC, everything is expensive here.
 

Paperpapillon

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I'm new to piggies but not a new vet tech. If you're looking for the cheapest possible neuter, it looks like there are things you could decline on their estimate to lower the cost. Bloodwork ("small mammal panel") being $135. I personally wouldn't find it completely necessary, although it is nice to have done. If he's a young healthy pig he should be okay. I would question their double charge of pain meds here - they list "pain management elective" as $29.65 (if it's elective, I would possibly skip this because he's under anesthesia anyway during the procedure) and Metacam (the take-home pain meds that you give for a few days) as $32.95. Prices seem a bit high overall, but if you take off the bloodwork and other elective things it might not be so bad. Can you call around to other vets in the area? They should be able to give you a rough estimate over the phone.
 

Paperpapillon

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Darnit.....I posted a nice long reply to this last night but I don't see it. Any reason why? :(
 

bpatters

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It got auto-moderated for some reason.
 

Rywen

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I'm new to piggies but not a new vet tech. If you're looking for the cheapest possible neuter, it looks like there are things you could decline on their estimate to lower the cost. Bloodwork ("small mammal panel") being $135. I personally wouldn't find it completely necessary, although it is nice to have done. If he's a young healthy pig he should be okay.
Good catch, Ferb needed no blood work for his neuter.
 

lisa325

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<3 Chip & Sparky <3 How are they doing today?
 

Paperpapillon

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That's really not a bad price spy9doc! Sounds like pretty fair pricing. May I ask why you got them neutered? I personally thought about it for Vinnie but being really new to them I'm obviously doing research first. Seems like its not a very popular option? From what I hear about boar & boar relationships in the cage, there can be a lot of arguments, annoyed piggies and bullies. It would bother me to see one bullied and followed around all the time like I hear some people's do. I've heard people respond with its normal boar behavior....but I wouldn't like that to be honest! So in that case I thought him having a girl would be a nice cagemate, but one of them being neutered. Obviously neutering is easier than spaying, so Vinnie could get snipped. JUST speculating here, NOT doing anything for a while.

I emailed a local exotic vet when I first got him just to see prices, and they said: The office visit for the guinea pig is $54.00 (this includes a physical exam and nail trim). The neuter would be about $247.00. We do the neuter usually on Monday and Thursdays. Hope this information helps.
 

pigmommy89

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I'm glad to hear that they are doing well. I'm seriously considering neutering a couple of mine, but my vet charges almost $400, and it's an hour and a half drive. And my vet keeps them in the hospital overnight, so I'd have to drive back the next day.
 

lisa325

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[Quote:.... spy9doc] I would swear that the last time I had a boar neutered, he (the same surgeon) removed the scrotum as well. Chester had no remaining sign of one after the surgery and looked like a girl with the exception of a penis. This time the boys just have one tiny incision mark on each side of the scrotum which probably results in less trauma and a shorter healing time.

I would think they would remove everything too, but as you say...... less trauma, shorter healing time..... must be the reasoning behind the vet leaving the empty scrotum in place. I'm glad they're recovering well, and hope they get back to normal very soon. :eek:)
 

pigmommy89

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The scrotum is not removed in normal castration. The only way the vet would remove it is if it were diseased (cancer, infection, etc.). Some just shrivel up faster than others, for lack of a better term.
 

lisa325

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The scrotum is not removed in normal castration. The only way the vet would remove it is if it were diseased (cancer, infection, etc.). Some just shrivel up faster than others, for lack of a better term.

Ahhh, I see, Thank you, "shrivel" is a great term, I get the picture now.
 
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