Vet very expensive.

spongbob

Bough a bunny rabbit to vet today, nurse treating him it for diarrhea. Mostly Caused by changing of food from a commercial breeding bag to a retail mix I bought from a pets hop.

1 vaccination, a drip for 30mins collected rabbit in the same evening time, recieved bill of 163euro.

I am on disability allowence my self and I don't even get that much a week to keep myself housed food and what have you. This vet has the rabbit best part of 3 hours.

Where is the humanity in this?

Cherry Blossom

Hi spongbob, I have moved your post to a new thread as the other one was four years old. You can edit your post if you feel you wish to add anything as it is now a new thread.

CB

Irishchick

spongbob wrote: »

Bough a bunny rabbit to vet today, nurse treating him it for diarrhea. Mostly Caused by changing of food from a commercial breeding bag to a retail mix I bought from a pets hop.

1 vaccination, a drip for 30mins collected rabbit in the same evening time, recieved bill of 163euro.

I am on disability allowence my self and I don't even get that much a week to keep myself housed food and what have you. This vet has the rabbit best part of 3 hours.

Where is the humanity in this?

Did you ask for a break down of the bill? I highly doubt the vet vaccinated a sick rabbit?

Sometimes exotics sometimes require specific / often expensive antibiotics.

Perhaps you could ask to pay it off week by week but they may not allow payment plans.

VincePP

That seems expensive.

Had dog at vet today for scan on a leg issue. She was there from 10am to 4pm. Scan, check, inspection, 30 minutes chatting about the issue, advice to minimise it - €85 in total.

empacher

you're really wrong. my dog got knocked down a year ago. knocked clean out cold. rushed him to the vet. vet checked him for broken bones. then told me he'd ring me later.

Dog had an xray, blood work, stayed overnight, and got 3 weeks worth of pain meds for €100. i wouldnt get that attentive care off my doctor. best €100 ive ever spent.

Kovu

Every vet is different, depends on the region you're in and local pricing tbh.
I find our vets are dear enough for small animals yet the large animal work is very fairly priced.
That does sound quite dear for a rabbit though, but I think that vaccination they get is a dual one and is rather expensive.
Definitely ask for a breakdown of cost though & ask if you can pay it off in small amounts, most practices are willing to accommodate.

Silverfish

Seems pricy, I just picked up my rabbit today after she had dental surgery on Monday, she was in since last Saturday, so thats 5 nights, inc surgery, and 3 bottles of medication and critical care feed, total bill was 250.

Jen Pigs Fly

Seems very expensive ... To put it into context my horse received 6 X-rays of her spine, sedation and ulcer scope ..cost me 250 ... And that's for a 500kg large animal ...

thegreatgonzo

Ask for a breakdown of cost. As Irishchick says, exotics sometimes need medicines specifically formulated for them and as most practices don't see that many they don't buy large quantities of the stuff, therefore more expensive.
Comparing the cost of treating larger animals is irrelevant.

spongbob

I'm just glad the bunny survived. It's back to its young-self again like nothing was ever wrong with him in the first instance.

I went in feeling really sad for the little thing, very emotional, he was numb and lifeless.. Vet gave him Just 5 percent of pulling through.

I can't help the feeling that the vet knew how much I am attached to the little creature and i get an annoying gut feeling he took advantage of the situation!

In the back of my mind I am hoping I am not going to be called in for a follow up visit incase I get billed for that too, it's been 4 days since the visit and It looks as tho this little thing has made a great recovery in such a shourt period

The premises has signs up in all the waiting rooms and reception, saying that please don't ask for credit as refusal can often offend. So I didn't want to bring it up

Aragneer

I have had guinea pigs, rabbits and hamsters all of my life, alongside dogs and cats and I find that the smaller animals are the most expensive because they require such attention since they are so fragile.

One of our guinea pigs once cost us up to 200euro! Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads.

I would ask for a vet bill break down - like the others have said and ask for a way to pay weekly or monthly. In comparison to your animal's life, it is a small price to pay for his/her happiness and more years.

Deagol

spongbob wrote: »

Bough a bunny rabbit to vet today, nurse treating him it for diarrhea. Mostly Caused by changing of food from a commercial breeding bag to a retail mix I bought from a pets hop.

1 vaccination, a drip for 30mins collected rabbit in the same evening time, recieved bill of 163euro.

I am on disability allowence my self and I don't even get that much a week to keep myself housed food and what have you. This vet has the rabbit best part of 3 hours.

Where is the humanity in this?

Seems very expensive to me, I had both my male bunnies neutered at €80 each and my female spayed at €130.
She was at the vets recently for an infection (she's 10 years old) and she got a shot of vitamins, antibiotic and general checkup for €40.

Both my males stroked (at different times) and had to have multiple antibiotic shots on successive days and he only charged us €20 a time as he knew how stressful and upsetting it is to have sick buns.

If I was you I'd be changing vets as that one sounds like a money grabber.

Incidentely, I presume you know not to give your bunny lettuce? Gives them terrible diarrhea, I'm surprised a change of dry food would do it.

We've found the best mix is a small handful of dry food each day (no matter how much they slam the food bowl around ) and a small amount of greens (a very small bit of dandelion they love, or even some regular grass) and the rest, good quality hay.
And they get a probiotic yogurty treat twice a day which they love

Capercaillie

Vaccination for rabbits can be expensive. Drip with my vet could be 60 euros. Whether or not you are on disability allowance should not come into the price.

the beer revolu

Compared to what others have paid for small animal care, it sounds crazy expensive. Like others have said, ask for a detailed breakdown. However, it appears that vets can and do charge whatever they like and pet owners have no choice but to pay. In my experience, vets in more affluent areas take the complete mick.

Over the years, I have had great value and service from some vets and others have left me feeling very ripped off.

Out of interest, is there a vets body/association /organisation /society to which one can bring complaints?
Although, if it's anything like the human doctor's equivalent (IMO) , it is highly unlikely that anyone would get any satisfaction from such a self regulated body.

Kovu

The IFJ does a cost comparison each year on veterinary call outs/costs for every county in Ireland. I assume that's just for the large animals but surely someone has done it for the small animals too.

Actually I see one vets with a price list - http://kildarevet.ie/price-list/

thegreatgonzo

Rent on a premises is one reason why vets in an affluent area will charge more than a vet in less upmarket area. It's well documented how small businesses are affected by rising rents in Dublin, it's the same for vets. They are usually one or a few individuals who have set up a business and unlike human health clinics there are no medical card schemes to claim back for services.
This might sound obvious but I'm often asked by clients if we accept medical cards.