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Vet costs?

bapkate

bapkate

Katherine
I wanted to put aside some money in a separate savings account for emergency vet visits (which I'll hopefully never need!) but I wasn't sure how much I should put in.

I only have one snake (for now). How much does everyone set aside 'just in case'?
 
I would recommend that you call your vet and get an estimate on an office call, a fecal exam and an X-ray and than add at least $50-$100 on top of that to cover some additional costs. That should give you at least an amount to get things rolling should an emergency arise.
 
snakewispera snr said:
A good pet insurance is something to consider..... Though I don't know if you can get them in the states......
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I know of 2 companies for pet insurance...VPI and PetPlan. Both operate in the States, but I honestly don't know if they cover reptiles. Good project for me to try to find the answer to when we have a temporary lull at work.
 
Susan said:
I know of 2 companies for pet insurance...VPI and PetPlan. Both operate in the States, but I honestly don't know if they cover reptiles. Good project for me to try to find the answer to when we have a temporary lull at work.
Click to expand...
They cover reptiles over here, but to what extent is the question....
Plus they will only cover 5 animals... So with 2 dogs and over 40 snakes, who do I leave out of the cover???
 
Thanks, guys! Calling the vet to ask how much they charge per visit is a good idea. Pet insurance might not be a bad idea either. I'll set a little bit aside and make some inquiries :)
 
I think Nanci's estimate of about $200 to start is a good one. I had a sick snake a couple of years ago and I think I went in 3 times and each visit cost between $75-$200 with everything. It can definitely hurt lol. I would also make sure you speak to a few vets before you decide on one to go to because there are great vets and then there are vets that are basically advantageous "used car salesmen" that just want to keep doing more tests for more money. Great plan though and way to stay on top of your animals and be a responsible keeper! Whoop!
 
I try to have about $500 set aside, but that's to cover my dog too. That was about how much it cost to treat him when he got giardia. >.<
 
Yeah...Lauren and I are planning to set aside a grand for our many pets emergency visits as soon as I sell the dang house in VA. (anyone?? comes with free possiblity of finding a nice banana king)
A grand will hopefully cover anything our babies get into. We were thinking of looking into pet insurence..but man if it only covers 5 pets.... I guess it will just have to be for the cats and dogs.

Taking my hognose snake to the vet with meds was about 125, and that was to see the exotic pet specialist guy. The turtle Lauren took was about the same.
 
I've had vet visits range from $120 to just over $200. I'd set aside $250. You never know what meds you might need in your emergency visit!
 
I got coverage on my old BP from VPI. My hubby and I have a lot of animals. 5 dogs, 2 cats, and 19 snakes. I have 4 dogs and the BP under my name and he has the 2 cats and a few of his boas under his. We have different last names so it worked out for us.

However, I'm starting to realize that it makes more sense to take the $180/month we spend total for our vet insurance and just put that into an account specifically for the eventual vet bills. I did the math and how much they reimburse me vs how much I put into insurance, it really isn't worth it. THEN again, there are those catastrophic illnesses (like my dog's sudden liver failure at the age of two from eating mushrooms in the backyard), where it soooooo comes in handy. That bill was over $3000 after all was said and done. He's healthy as a horse now, but spent weeks in the iCU.

Jewel and DQ's vet bills have come to over $350 bucks.
 
Treat it as if it was a small rainy day, savings. Start it off with a couple hundred bucks and every week, add to it little by little.

Wayne
 
Like everyone said, I'd set aside $200, but also check what your vet charges. The one time I had to take a snake in for an RI the total was $80, another time surgery for a prolapsed hemipene was under $200 (I don't remember the exact total, over $100).

Personally I wouldn't do insurance... if you just pay the same amount into a savings fund for your snake, odds are you'll probably come out ahead :p If something was so catastrophically wrong that I couldn't afford to get it taken care of, I'd probably euthanize.
 
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