how often does your pig get sick?

[loves2travel]

I am trying to asses how often the average guinea pig gets sick.
Please answer the following:

1. How many year or months have you had your pig
2. In that time, how many times have they gotten sick in which vet treatment was necessary
3. What was it they had, and how it was aquired
4. cost of treatment, vet visits, medication, etc...final bill

if you could please answer these questions it would be really great. I am trying to estimate how much vet bills might cost yearly as i don't yet have a pig. You expierience would be thoroughly helpful.
Thanks so much!

 

[Denise]

1. How many year or months have you had your pig
2. In that time, how many times have they gotten sick in which vet treatment was necessary
3. What was it they had, and how it was aquired
4. cost of treatment, vet visits, medication, etc...final bill

ANSWER:

1. Bought pigs 4-2-04
2. 3
3. 4-6-04 URI-came home with it.

5-11-04 sore on side, a bacterial infection of unknown origin (bite?)

8-7-04 URI-not sure if it was gone from first visit.

4. 4-6-04 office visit and SMZ antibiotic $25.00
5-11-04 office visit and antibacterial cream $31.00
8-7-04 weight check and SMZ and Cipro antibiotics $25.72

Hope this helps. I am pretty sure they are well now. I tend to be over-protective of my animals, so that explains the many vet visits!

 

[loves2travel]

denise, where did you buy your pigs? From a pet store?

 

[Denise]

Yes. From PetsMart.

 

[loves2travel]

that explains them coming home with something...I'm glad you helped them feel better!
back to the original question...

 

[mncavylover]

1. Got mine 1/11/04 (almost 9 months)
2. Once
3. They had mites from the store they were from (I know)
4. First exam with first dose of ivermec (2 pigs)--$25. Two subsequent doses of ivermec--$13 each. Total--$51

 

[Denise]

Yes, I bought them from the petstore before I realized it wasn't a good idea. We don't have any rescues locally, and just found out there is a Cavy Club not far from here. Next time, I do more investigating!!!

 

[mncavylover]

Yep, same thing happened here. I feel bad, but I can't change the past. =)

 

[sofiemuffins]

I also got one of my guinea pigs from a pet store, 2 I got from a shelter, and 1 I got from someone who was moving to another country. I got Walter (from a pet store) on 7-24-04, and had to bring him to the vet on 7-31-04. He had a URI, in total I spent $100 because I brought him to the MSPCA Animal hospital which is tres expensive! But it was worth it, he's doing great now!

Oh and the other 3 pigs that I acquired from places other then a pet store:

Oscar and Henry (shelter) I got in April, never had to take them to the vet

Agnes (owner was moving) I got 2 weeks ago, haven't had any problems with her either...

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

I am trying to asses how often the average guinea pig gets sick.
Please answer the following:

1. How many year or months have you had your pig
2. In that time, how many times have they gotten sick in which vet treatment was necessary
3. What was it they had, and how it was aquired
4. cost of treatment, vet visits, medication, etc...final bill

if you could please answer these questions it would be really great. I am trying to estimate how much vet bills might cost yearly as i don't yet have a pig. You expierience would be thoroughly helpful.
Thanks so much!

To Answer your questions I will use only two of my piggies.

1) 9 months
2) 1 time for sickness, 2 times for just check ups, so 3 times all together
3) Mites, (one was from a petstore, the other caught it from the one from petstore)
4) 19.99 for both piggies to walk into the vets treatment room *sarcasm* , $26.99 for skin scaping, to tell if they had mites, and to have the vet press face up to microscope *again sarcasm*, 9.99 for 1st ivermectim injection, 5.99 for second ivermectim injection, 4.99 for 3rd injection, (repeated for second piggie) 1st injestion 9.99, 2nd 5.99, 3rd 4.99. So it cost $82.93 to cure the mites, 2nd check ups for both piggies cost $19.99 for two piggies the check up was just a regular check up. To see how they were doing etc. (I was a little bit annoyed about having to have a skin scraping because I knew that they had mites thats why I took them to the vet, but the vet insisted on a skin scraping. I ended up treating all my piggies for safety, but by myself I bought my own ivermectim to treat the rest of them)
-If you got your piggies from a rescue/humaine society then you wouldn't have to worry about treating mites. So depending on how many check ups you do per year, would determine how much on vet bills. I would average it to $60 a year for two piggies just for vet checks, and if they get sick add another $60. Or more depending on how much your vet costs, my vet is pretty cheap. Compared to other places.

 

[ChadWPB]

After having excellent luck for 2.5 years (one scuffle resulting in a $90 emergency vet bill, I've had two piggies get sick in recent months (one had bacterial enteritis, the other a UTI) and have racked up almost $1,000 in expenses. It's hit or miss. Some folks keep pigs for years without incident.

 

[loves2travel]

uh oh, my parents aren't going to like this...

 

[mncavylover]

I believe Chad has a whole bunch of pigs, so he will probably have greater expenses than those of us with just two. Also, since that's after 2.5 years, that $1,000 averages out to about $400 a year--not too bad when you look at it that way. Good luck on getting those pigs!

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

uh oh, my parents aren't going to like this...

I averaged it up for this year so far and got, $300 but that is with 9 pigs (I have to say that I have been lucky so far this year). You should be fine with two. I would say maybe about $100-$200 a year for two piggies. Depends on if they are healthy when you get them etc.

 

[ChadWPB]

I believe Chad has a whole bunch of pigs, so he will probably have greater expenses than those of us with just two. Also, since that's after 2.5 years, that $1,000 averages out to about $400 a year--not too bad when you look at it that way. Good luck on getting those pigs!

I have six. More than the casual piggie person, but pales in comparison to some extreme pig lovers on Guinea Lynx. By the way, my avatar pig is our cuddle boar, Fuzzie Lumpkins.

 

[Katie]

I am trying to asses how often the average guinea pig gets sick.
Please answer the following:

1. How many year or months have you had your pig
2. In that time, how many times have they gotten sick in which vet treatment was necessary
3. What was it they had, and how it was aquired
4. cost of treatment, vet visits, medication, etc...final bill

if you could please answer these questions it would be really great. I am trying to estimate how much vet bills might cost yearly as i don't yet have a pig. You expierience would be thoroughly helpful.
Thanks so much!

1. I have owned many cavies in the past 8 years.

2. I would say roughly 20.

3. Ceasarian, Diabetes, Neuter, Mites, Lice and Bioposy for lump.

4.I have had sows that have needed Ceasarians (3 sows @ $500 ea., only one sow survived.)

I have had pigs with mites which costs roughly $80.00 a vet visit.

I have had pigs with lice, I just use advantage on that, only $10.00 a tube.

At this time I have a Diabetic boar, his medicine is roughly $150 a month, he was also neutered which was $180.

I have a sow with a lump on her hip, her biopsy came back, it's non cancerous, but the cost was $200.

Final bill around $5,000 in 8 years, but this doesn't include health check ups.

 

[LiciaMommycott]

I have two pigs (both from PetCo). I've had one since Feb and one since May. Neither one has ever been sick. They each saw the vet for a "well-piggie" checkup when I got them and got a clean bill of health. I think each of those visits were about $40.

 

[loves2travel]

From what it seems like, guinea pigs can get sick very, very easily.
Am I wrong on this notion?

 

[LiciaMommycott]

After having excellent luck for 2.5 years (one scuffle resulting in a $90 emergency vet bill, I've had two piggies get sick in recent months (one had bacterial enteritis, the other a UTI) and have racked up almost $1,000 in expenses. It's hit or miss. Some folks keep pigs for years without incident.

This will be an unpopular post but I've got to say that if I had a pig that needed a $1000 treatment, that would be the end of that pig. We spent over $5000 getting our cat over cancer in 1999 but that was before kids when we actually had money to spare. Routine illnesses we can handle but no more major stuff like cancer treatments for animals.

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

This will be an unpopular post but I've got to say that if I had a pig that needed a $1000 treatment, that would be the end of that pig. We spent over $5000 getting our cat over cancer in 1999 but that was before kids when we actually had money to spare. Routine illnesses we can handle but no more major stuff like cancer treatments for animals.

I agree that if a piggy of mine needed to be treated and it was going to cost $1009 then no I would not do it. There is no way I could afford it. Most people probably won't agree. But I would not be willing to spend $1000, on just one piggy. You have to set the limit some where, and $1000 is my limit.