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  • ONE THREAD per pig please!
    We really want your pig's history all in one place to help you. Please don't start a new thread for a new issue. Just reply to your old one. We can edit the title for you if needed.

Vet Costs Please list your single and cumulative vet expenditures. Are there limits?

SgtBilko

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as many answers as possible please! don't worry about spelling or formatting!
Vet bills are wild! So I had this in a different posting and I'm terribly interested in a broader set of data/experiences. I have a cat, who has basically been free- $90 to adopt and I've taken her to the vet twice (just for boosters) so another hundred there. My mother got a cat who has dental problems and she has spent like 2-3 grand on getting this cats teeth pulled (the result looks very funny and cute, his tongue lolls out of his mouth). I was really happy not to have to face that circumstance myself

Please list the types of veterinary procedures you've encountered and their costs.
what were the lifetime care costs of the animals (distinguish vet procedures and chronic costs like meds please)?
Is there a limit to how much people will spend on guinea pig veterinary care? Are the limits for procedures different for different animals?
Like for a new pig that no one is attached to yet suddenly requiring $1,000 (and of course that's only the beginning) worth of care?
For a mid age pig that you're very attached to would the limit be higher? like a 3 year old suddenly requires 1,200 procedure, with a high likelihood that future procedures will be required, and it will require $125/month medication for the remainder of its life?

Have you undergone severe financial adjustments to pay for vet care, like selling a vehicle, disconnecting cable tv, foregoing Christmas gifts etc? Brought a GP to work to give it meds? Lost a job over a guinea pig?

Related: how many people have pet insurance, and what is the monthly cost, how much have you saved by having pet insurance?

Thanks for the input!
 

4boipigs

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Here is a nice post I made that sums up how I saved money for a surgery I couldn't afford - https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...t-bills-how-I-saved-1200-in-a-month?p=1026519

One thing you can be sure of is that sometime in a pet's lifetime, they're going to require some expensive vet care. Doesn't matter if they're young or old or the species. You always want money saved, have a back up plan, etc. There is no free animal, there is no cheap animal, there's no easy or starter animal. I took in 2 abandoned guinea pigs (technically free) yet they cost me at least $2000 together (one had CHF and the other had chronic eye issues). I adopted a $10 guinea pig baby from the shelter, and already in the first week his vet bill was $200 for ringworm (I could have let the shelter vet treat him for free, but they already showed they didn't know what they doing when they said the lesions were from bullying). We took in a baby kitten from our yard, another free pet, and 4 weeks later she was hospitalized for 4 days at the ER for $1500. That doesn't include all the extra things I had to buy for home care. I have called out of work when my new dog got ill overnight, I have been late from lunch to drive 25 minutes away to check on the kitten in the ER. I don't have loads of money sitting around, and I don't make a ton of money where I work, but I always found a way to get the care they need. Mostly by have a savings/emergency account.

As for a limit, there was a limit last year. One of the abandoned pigs had CHF. The vet wanted to do a cardiac work up. About $1000 IIRC. I was scared at the time, never dealt with this, and was at my new job for a few months, and didn't know what to do. I WANTED to do it, but I turned it all down. It was a good thing I did because he had to be pts not much later. Of course there would be a limit if something bad was happening...life vs death, low chance of survival, etc. His meds were so expensive too. There was one that only lasted about 2 weeks and was $80 each time. The vet is already reasonably price, so I doubt I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere. It also had to be specially compounded for a gpig. A limit for the 4 pigs now would just depend on what's going on, how bad it is, life vs death, etc.

I thought about doing insurance for my new pig, but with his pre-existing condition right now (ringworm) it wouldn't do me any good. AFAIK in USA there is only one exotics insurance carrier. A lot of clients where I work have pet insurance.


I have worked at a vet for about 1.5 yrs, so my new costs for my older cat and dog are reduced greatly. And don't count for this post. The guinea pigs go to their own vet, because we don't see exotics where I work.

Vet costs will vary greatly depending on the area...I have experienced anything from a low $120 for visit, eye test, and two meds to $105 for just the visit/exam.

Life is expensive, and animal care is no different. Car repairs, home repair, children, your own health bills...all too costly, and vets are no different.
 

Smileandnod

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@SgtBilko...I am curious about your post and your true intentions regarding this thread.

On your previous thread you seemed judgemental and balked at vet care for a guinea pig who is, and I quote directly from you, "a bottom of the food chain RODENT".

You demeaned those who were taken aback with your low assessment of guinea pigs in general and refused advise regarding care.

So, why are you so interested? Are you back for a few laughs or to start a new argument?
 

SgtBilko

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im "back" because I'm interested. I don't really see a way to argue over this. You have very very different priorities than I do. Since I think of pigs as pretty low on the totem pole creatures, I'm particularly curious as to the top amounts people spend on their care. Yea, I might laugh at some particularly large sums/effort people might choose to spend, but hey, that's their life.
4boi wrote: life is expensive, and animal care is no different. Car repairs, home repair, children, your own health bills...all too costly, and vets are no different.
Yea I totally understand that. Spending huge amounts of time and money on recently acquired animals that others have literally thrown out is like buying a broken down car and spending tons of money and time to maintain it. It seems really over the top and unneeded. I get that people have REALLY strong emotions when it comes to these animals. More so than people have with even dogs it seems, and that's a level of intensity that is shocking. I imagined more of a laissez-faire attitude regarding some of these things...
 

Smileandnod

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@SgtBilko...you just validated my concern regarding your desire for an argument (argument: an exchange of diverging or opposite views; a reason or set of reasons given with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong) and a laugh. This forum is not for that.

This forum is to educate, offer assistance, and give like minded people (those who care about guinea pigs...hence the name) a place to share & feel welcome.

Your curiosity can be assuaged by taking the time to read through the forum if you wish to do so. Perhaps you will learn more than you expected, but it is not a welcome place for you to troll.
 

bpatters

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@SgtBilko, you're welcome to participate in discussions about guinea pig care, but not to introduce needlessly disruptive topics. Please respect that, or your posts will be moderated.

I'm closing this thread.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

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