In case anybody still thinks these are easy and cheap pets!

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caruba
Supporter in '10

Post   » Tue May 10, 2011 12:36 pm


The sad reality though, I suspect, is that the average person does not choose to spend that much money on a guinea pig. People who get a pig with the mindset that they are cheap disposable pets probably have them put down rather than treat them. The (incredibly kind) staff at the animal hospital in the not-so-super-nice area of my town were surprised that I opted for extensive testing and a barium swallow for my sweet Cocoa, and when in the end, after everything, the sad decision had to be made, they were so touched that they didn't charge me for the euthanasia so I could afford individual cremation. They said they never saw anyone care so much for a guinea pig, which I thought was terribly depressing.

It's "wonderful" to see you guys listing your vet expenses because it gives me hope to see that others value their little lives just as much, but on the other hand I can't help to wonder how many people just don't bother. (Sorry... depressing thought of the day.)

lou1600

Post   » Tue May 10, 2011 12:42 pm


Mr Demus - that makes me feel marginally better! I've dropped a lot of money on emergency vet fees. The problem is with our vet, they don't have enough exotic staff, so you have to book appointments two or three weeks out. Well, obviously guinea pigs don't give you two weeks notice before they get sick, so we always have to pay the $150 or whatever for the emergency vet (who is usually a non-exotics intern). The intern then usually admits the guinea pig so she can be seen by the exotics vet for another $65.

One thing that I notice on this thread, is that people are paying wildly different costs for the same treatment. While I obviously agree that we should be prepared to pay for whatever is needed, some vets are clearly overcharging. I feel like my vet costs are so high, that I would not want to have more than two guinea pigs at once.

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seraphanjil

Post   » Tue May 10, 2011 1:27 pm


I agree with you Lou. Some of the vets out there are way overpriced! I feel so lucky to live where I do. My vet only changes $30 for a check up, I think a spay/neuter is only $75 and my emergency visits are usually under $200. (quick everyone pack your bags and move to Jersey!! lol)

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Mr Demus 625
Supporter in 2012

Post   » Tue May 10, 2011 2:58 pm


lou what is worse is they don't always have an exotics vet on call. When we lost Simon last January we almost switched vets. We called the ER number and were told we were pretty much SOL because an exotics vet wasn't available. He was siexing like crazy and IMO the humane thing would have been to have us come in so they could PTS. They didn't and he suffered for a few more hours. I was livid! In the end though there isn't another extocis vet in town.

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tashab

Post   » Tue May 10, 2011 9:42 pm


Our vet is an exotics vet, and almost the rest of the staff at the clinic are exotics vets, which is nice if there's an emergency. We also live in a major city, which tends to make costs higher.
When I first joined GL, I emailed some members who live in the same town and did some price comparisons, and they were in line with other local exotics vets.
Regular check-ups are $50 and emergency visits are $80 at our vet. Princess is just a special pig who never has a normal problem.

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Mr Demus 625
Supporter in 2012

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 1:28 am


Regular visits for us tend to be around $60. Between the ferrets and the piggles it adds up quick.

Charybdis

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 1:49 am


Rain cost me $1200 the first week I had her (x rays, ultrasound, urinalysis, exam fees and meds). Now her Lupron costs either $140 or $280 every three months, depending on whether or not I can find someone to split the shot with us. Her tooth trim is $160 every other month. And I pay pet sitters almost $300 a month to feed her and Deputy Doofy while I am at work.

Out here just a hay poke runs about $100 to treat. A major surgery is about $500.

We have a question on our adoption application that lets people check how much they are willing to spend. The question gives examples next to each amount. A surprising number of people check "$100-200 for minor illness only, no tests or surgery." And they still expect us to adopt to them. Really?

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rkog

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 7:40 am


The regular vet visit is ~40/pig ( I have 2). If I didn't feed them dandelions and other outdor picked goodies, I wouldn't feel compelled to check for parasites every time.
The big problem with ER here is that none of them are equipped for exotics. We had a new one recently open with 10 minutes of my house, but I haven't heard much about them. The ER bill for Snickers was over $400 of the $1200. That included an x-ray, oxygen, a shot, and a misdiagnosis - nothing else. I even had to go home and get food & a water bottle. I believe the oxygen may have kept him going through the night, but I don't believe there was any value to the treatment. In fairness to the ER, they did say they would only stabilize until I could get him to my exotic vet.

I think that is interesting that the adoption contract spells out different procedures and costs. I doubt many people owning their first pig have ever really considered just how expensive it can get. Have you ever had anyone read the contract and say, "Nevermind?"

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 8:24 am


Our piggies cost us 300$ a month, I kept track since 2004. That's not included the hideys we buy for them. This is all the rest. Average salary in Belgium is 1850$ a month per person. That should give you a clue on how much they cost here.

EllieMom

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 9:17 am


I think our pigs are actually more expensive to keep than our 90-lb dog was.

Mainly because they tend to be more fragile and, I've found, that they require more medical intervention than our dog did. Every one of our pigs have had to have at least one major operation in the past four years, while our sweet Midnight lived to be 14 years old (not bad for a big dog) and only had major medical expenses toward the end of his life.

But medical expenses aren't the only thing. We buy the pigs organic veggies, and while we try to buy in season, that's not always possible. We do at least three loads of laundry to clean their fleece every week. And they love their hay, which can also be a major expense.

I love my girls, but they are anything but "cheap" pets.

SkittleandTwix
Supporter in '11

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 5:49 pm


I love this site. I often don't talk about how much we spend on vet care for our small animals because I don't expect people to understand.

I had a cockatiel with no medical issues for 24 years. We spent $1,000 in the last year of his life for vet and emergency issues due to heart conditions.

We had scent gland removal surgery on our gerbil and I had to hand feed him for two weeks while he had a cone on his head to keep him from picking off the stitches. I thought it was well worth the cost since he lived for a year (to the day) from the date of the surgery. (The vet gave me critical care to feed him with after the surgery which the gerbil hated since it is mostly hay and gerbils don't like hay. I recommend peanut butter, yogurt and soft bread for gerbils.)

When our gp Ginger stopped eating, we ordered every possible test for a cost of $800. The vet could make no firm diagnosis but thought it was cancer. The vet didn't give chemo much hope and I had two friends each of whom had done chemo on their cats. Despite the fact that cat chemo is much better developed than gp chemo, both cats died. We didn't do the chemo. I was interested to read rkog's post - you feel guilty for doing the chemo and I feel guilty sometimes for not doing it. The truth is, we don't really know what is best for them. Anyway, thanks for posting rkog. It helped me feel better about my decision.

I didn't want to give up on Ginger, so I hand fed her around the clock for three months. As she lost weight, we considered having her PTS but I just couldn't give up on her. She died the night before we were finally going to have it done. For most of the three months, she seemed pretty happy and normal as long as she had pain killers and Critical Care, but I should have had her PTS a few days sooner. Her last days were rough. I just couldn't quite give up on my wild hope that her problem would somehow turn out to be something minor.

I agree with Elvis' post.

Ginger's cagemate, Skittle was treated for bloat for $200ish dollars but thankfully has otherwise been fine.

I think people underestimate the food costs too. I spend $10 on Oxbow pellets and $10 on hay. I think lasts me about 3 months with two pigs. (I haven't kept very close watch on it.) I supplement the hay with bales from a local farmer, so that keeps the expense down a little. I also go through about $5.00 of lettuce a week, along with other veggies.

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Wed May 11, 2011 8:03 pm


So this got me motivated to look through my old vet receipts. I was surprised who's been my most expensive pig for medical costs. I would have guessed Eclair.
Teddi - $479.27
Eclair - $1516.96
Athena - $473.68
Victoria - $1669.22
Pippin - $1001.01
Willow - $1288.66

Total for six pigs: $6428.30
Average per pig: $1071.38

Most of these expenses came later in their lives. Teddi was probably 3 years old before her first visit. I adopted Athena and Victoria as 2.5 and 3.5 year olds. Eclair went through two surgeries. Surprisingly, Victoria didn't go through a single one -- her expenses were from multiple laboratory tests trying to determine what was wrong with her bladder and how best to treat it.

Willow is still around - so her expenses could rise. And so far Bertie and Pinniped have not had to see the vet. Knock on wood.

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