How much should I put aside for vet savings every month

Iluvcavies123

Iluvcavies123

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I have about 2k saved in case of an emergency but how much is an appropriate amount to put in savings for vet bills every month or week .

Thank you very much
 
It’s really difficult to answer that question. Partly because of uncertainty around what a piggy might need, partly because of differing vets charging rates and partly because of personal finances and preferences.

What I would do is to find out what your vets charge for various procedures eg consultation fee, X-ray fee without anaesthetic, X-ray fee with anaesthetic, ultrasound scan, minor surgery, antibiotics etc. Then think about a typical year for your piggies in terms of health (eg a hay poke, a urine infection, respiratory infection) throw in an unexpected operation and try to then work out a rough total cost and divide by 12.

All I can say is that if your finances permit it, it’s best to err on the side of caution and save more than you think you will need so that you’re covered for an emergency if it arises. If it’s not needed, you have a nice little nest egg to spend on something else.

Sorry I can’t be more precise.
 
It's hard to say but for example. I had around 3 vet trips recently for one piggy and an abcess with medicine cost me around £300. So if you have to have an operation it could me more, or it could be less. Its really hard to say.
 
This year I have spent over £1,700 on two poorly pigs vet bills. One had a jaw abscess and the other had a bladder stone. That destroyed my piggy fund. I only work one day a week so it’s very hard for me to replenish it quickly. So I would say to you get it up to about £1,500 to give you a good buffer and as soon as you have to use some of it try and keep it topped up. Hope that helps.
 
weepweeps said:
This year I have spent over £1,700 on two poorly pigs vet bills. One had a jaw abscess and the other had a bladder stone. That destroyed my piggy fund. I only work one day a week so it’s very hard for me to replenish it quickly. So I would say to you get it up to about £1,500 to give you a good buffer and as soon as you have to use some of it try and keep it topped up. Hope that helps.
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I am so sorry to hear about your pigs and hope they are doing much better now ((: ❤️ if it is a really big emergency I can ask my family for help but If it is a really dire situation where I need to get them to the vet like immediately I would want to have the money prepared .
 
Jfawbs said:
It's hard to say but for example. I had around 3 vet trips recently for one piggy and an abcess with medicine cost me around £300. So if you have to have an operation it could me more, or it could be less. Its really
VickiA said:
It’s really difficult to answer that question. Partly because of uncertainty around what a piggy might need, partly because of differing vets charging rates and partly because of personal finances and preferences.

What I would do is to find out what your vets charge for various procedures eg consultation fee, X-ray fee without anaesthetic, X-ray fee with anaesthetic, ultrasound scan, minor surgery, antibiotics etc. Then think about a typical year for your piggies in terms of health (eg a hay poke, a urine infection, respiratory infection) throw in an unexpected operation and try to then work out a rough total cost and divide by 12.

All I can say is that if your finances permit it, it’s best to err on the side of caution and save more than you think you will need so that you’re covered for an emergency if it arises. If it’s not needed, you have a nice little nest egg to spend on something else.

Sorry I can’t be more precise.
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Thank u so much this was very helpful ((:
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Thank you so much this was very helpful ((:
 
Jfawbs said:
It's hard to say but for example. I had around 3 vet trips recently for one piggy and an abcess with medicine cost me around £300. So if you have to have an operation it could me more, or it could be less. Its really hard to say.
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Thank you ((: and you’re right you never know what can happen so it’s always good to prepared . I think that literally anything I have to spare I will put in the pig fund .
 
VickiA said:
It’s really difficult to answer that question. Partly because of uncertainty around what a piggy might need, partly because of differing vets charging rates and partly because of personal finances and preferences.

What I would do is to find out what your vets charge for various procedures eg consultation fee, X-ray fee without anaesthetic, X-ray fee with anaesthetic, ultrasound scan, minor surgery, antibiotics etc. Then think about a typical year for your piggies in terms of health (eg a hay poke, a urine infection, respiratory infection) throw in an unexpected operation and try to then work out a rough total cost and divide by 12.

All I can say is that if your finances permit it, it’s best to err on the side of caution and save more than you think you will need so that you’re covered for an emergency if it arises. If it’s not needed, you have a nice little nest egg to spend on something else.

Sorry I can’t be more precise.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much this was very helpful ((:
 
My goal was always to have around 800 pounds a year saved per piggy.
I knew that with 5 piggies it was unlikely they would all need this amount of money per year so I felt this would cover pretty much all eventualities.
What I would say is that I was surprised how one illness could easily blow through 500 pounds with surgery, tests, x-rays medication etc in a matter of weeks.
 
Swissgreys said:
My goal was always to have around 800 pounds a year saved per piggy.
I knew that with 5 piggies it was unlikely they would all need this amount of money per year so I felt this would cover pretty much all eventualities.
What I would say is that I was surprised how one illness could easily blow through 500 pounds with surgery, tests, x-rays medication etc in a matter of weeks.
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it is my dream to be able to afford that many piggies (((: one of my guineas has an eye ulcer at the moment and the emergency vet fee cost 150 for the consultation and i went to an exotic vet that cost an additional 200. )):
 
Also you have already found out that it’s better to go to a good vet at the beginning of any illness as it will save wasted time and money later. Pepper (the one who had the abscess) had a check up first. Then an operation for a dental that wasn’t needed. Then they eventually found the abscess but put him on two weeks of the wrong antibiotic. All that time and money was wasted. 😞
 
weepweeps said:
Also you have already found out that it’s better to go to a good vet at the beginning of any illness as it will save wasted time and money later. Pepper (the one who had the abscess) had a check up first. Then an operation for a dental that wasn’t needed. Then they eventually found the abscess but put him on two weeks of the wrong antibiotic. All that time and money was wasted. 😞
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yes this happened to me previously as well, when one of my guineas had a hairloss on his back (v-shaped hairloss due to mites) they told me that there was nothing wrong and just to wait for it to grow back and that it was due to an injection that he had for a respiratory infection and i had to go to a different vet bc the other one didnt believe in me. (-_____-). fortunately the new exotic vet i went to appears to be better as they are very knowledgeable about guineas but it is ridiculously expensive.
 
Iluvcavies123 said:
yes this happened to me previously as well, when one of my guineas had a hairloss on his back (v-shaped hairloss due to mites) they told me that there was nothing wrong and just to wait for it to grow back and that it was due to an injection that he had for a respiratory infection and i had to go to a different vet bc the other one didnt believe in me. (-_____-). fortunately the new exotic vet i went to appears to be better as they are very knowledgeable about guineas but it is ridiculously expensive.
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It’s not good is it? 😞
 
I always have $500 to $1000 vet bill set aside for my 2 boys. I have already spent roughly $500 at the emergency vet hospital after Bear became our family member this year.
Bear who came from a pet shop, brought his sickness to our house, and spread it to my 6 year old boy Finn. Both boys ended up at the emergency vet hospital. They are both doing very well now.
 
I think 2k is a great amount to have but continue saving! A big illness will knock that savings down. My job offers a pet insurance discount, so I recently got that along with saving money. For all 4 pigs, I pay a discounted rate of $40 (usd) for my pet insurance. You can always do that also; I am in the USA but I think the UK has more insurance options for pigs. I personally have had many sick pigs that cost me thousands, so the more money the better.
 
The vets I have to use in an emergency/out of hours charges £200 (just to be seen) so I would at least make sure you can cover the cost of that
Maybe best phone whatever vets you have to use in an emergency and check how much they would charge
 
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