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Vet Costs Fair? For Uti

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LukeStanforth

LukeStanforth

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Just wanted to check I'm not paying too much as I hear this is a common problem and expect I will be going to tbe vets again at some point in the future.

I have taken Dolly and Smokey once each to the vets and I have paid just under £90each.

This did include medication and a follow up visit approx one week later to check all was ok and the medication.

thanks
 
What medication were you given? If it was antibiotics & Metacam for pain relief, plus the consultation then that could be about £80 ish. I would ask for an itemised receipt next time you go :)
 
My vet charges around £20 for a first consultation and then something like £10 for the second and then they charge for medication on top.

Did your vet carry out a urinalysis i.e. testing the blood for urine? My vet doesn't with me but some vets also charge for that.

I would say that you have been charged the higher end of the scale but it all depends on the vets as they all charge different. I have also come to learn that it can depend on area. There are three vets all close together here and a new one has just opened.

I am a regular at my vets and have used them for all my animals so they sometimes 'cut corners' when it comes to price but I have been using them regular for the last 8 years. They usually charge around £8 per pig / rabbit for nail clipping (that includes a health check) but they never charge me the full amount for example.

You could asked for an itemised bill to show you exactly what you are paying for.
 
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My vet charges just under £50 for first consult (but is worth every penny as he is an exotics referral vet)

With metacam and ab x on top I would be looking at approx £65 before discount (I have a lot of pigs so am a valued client!). I would then pay an extra £21 for a follow up consult so a total of £86

Given your location I would expect to pay that to see Maria at Edgbaston but i certainly wouldn;t expect to pay that amount to see a vet who wasn;t a certified exotics specialist.
 
I've just been going through a bunch of vets visits..

Last week was a nail cut, baytril prescription and consultation £25 - for a potential small infection.

Unfortunately my girl developed gut statis and bloat - Saturday's vet visits broke down to:

First emergency consultation, pain killer injection, fluid injection and perscription of Zantac and emeprid for the gut: £55

Then had to go back in the afternoon, she didn't charge me a consultation fee again for coming back but she had another injection of fluids, a different painkiller and an X-ray: £70

Today I went back again for a further follow up to see how she is getting on and painkiller injection £22 - this one was near to the cost of the first appointment as the only person available was the owner of the vets, who has a slightly higher consultation rate.

My vet is in deptford SE London and has highly recommend small animals specialists...

They're a very small establishment though and we have been going to them with our girls for nail cuts an check ups for the last 2 years - to me it seems like you paid quite a bit but I guess the main part is going to a vets where you feel confident in their knowledge base and comfortable with them!
 
Alanaf said:
I've just been going through a bunch of vets visits..

Last week was a nail cut, baytril prescription and consultation £25 - for a potential small infection.

Unfortunately my girl developed gut statis and bloat - Saturday's vet visits broke down to:

First emergency consultation, pain killer injection, fluid injection and perscription of Zantac and emeprid for the gut: £55

Then had to go back in the afternoon, she didn't charge me a consultation fee again for coming back but she had another injection of fluids, a different painkiller and an X-ray: £70

Today I went back again for a further follow up to see how she is getting on and painkiller injection £22 - this one was near to the cost of the first appointment as the only person available was the owner of the vets, who has a slightly higher consultation rate.

My vet is in deptford SE London and has highly recommend small animals specialists...

They're a very small establishment though and we have been going to them with our girls for nail cuts an check ups for the last 2 years - to me it seems like you paid quite a bit but I guess the main part is going to a vets where you feel confident in their knowledge base and comfortable with them!
Click to expand...
I hope shes ok now
 
Thank you, we're getting there slowly I think - hope you're two are feeling better :)
 
Yikes. That's high. I must just have a really good vet. When Alby was ill I was £17 for first visit and they just charged £7 for the next visit. She have him 2x injections each time, anti biotics and anti inflammatory.
Hope all your poorly piggies get better soon.
 
I'm just back from the vets with Lloyd, also suspected uti. All in for consult, metacam and baytril was £42, much cheaper than the vet I have taken my girls to previously. Nala cost me about £70 for baytril and a consult alone at a different branch of the same vet company.
 
My vets are really good. They don't charge for nail clipping but ask for a small contribution to their stray fund. I went yesterday with both my pigs because Barry had a sore foot and Bob has a growth on his foot. They didn't need any treatment fortunately and again I was just asked for a contribution to the stray fund.
 
I think when it comes to vet practices, it very much depends on the area and the expertise of the vet.

My nearest exotics vet who are a good hour away are a lot more pricier than my local vet (the exotics vet just happens to be my local vets preferred referrals practise) but for anything the good small animal vet at my local and regular vets couldn't do, I am happy to pay the higher rate for expertise.

There are four regular vets near me but the vets I go to do have a good small animal vet who I see with all my guinea pigs.

If you were charged that amount from a regular local vet where there are more than just that vet in the area then I think it is very expensive but if you were charged that from a well known exotics vet, then you are paying the higher end of reasonable I should think.
 
Get yourself an itemised receipt and then you should see what this has gone on. Exotic specialists will charge up to £50-60 consultation but a normal non specialist around £20-40 (depending on area of the country). But of course there's the medication too. If they had any injections these often cost more than the going home oral meds too. There may be in house urine tests, I can't comment but if you had a bit done then I'm not surprised. To put it this way in the last year (on just 4 separate guinea pigs) I have racked up a bill of £1,500, and I still have more treatments etc to go through.

Hope this helps at least a little.
x
 
We tend to use a Vets for Pets vet. He doesn't describe himself as an exotics specialist but he does see a lot of guinea pigs (I have seen them all coming in and out and not just from Pets at Home but also individual owners). He charges £35 for the first consultation - that's first time he sees a particular piggy not first time per illness issue - and £25 for each subsequent consultation.

Any drugs on top of this of course but I've never had a bill for any single visit of more than £60-70. I've had Baytril, itrafungol and the main mite injection (forget its name) and when I've looked up after to compare his prices for these against getting them online, there is usually only a small saving to buy online after taking into account cost of getting the prescription so I've always felt it was worth the extra to walk away with the meds straight away.

I agree ask for itemised bills -our vet offers these to me when I pay. They are used to people wanting them for pet insurance claims.
 
thanks guys I have no complaints about the vet he seemed very good and didnt rush. I will go back again.

Last thing I want is cheapest vet and it to reflect in there care.
 
Have a chat with the guys at RSPCA Walsall as they will have a good vet that doesn't charge the earth.... I think there are a few good ones your direction and it's worth finding one you trust before you have a big problem.
 
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