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Warning To Those Who Don't Seek Veterinary Care for Sick Pigs

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What I've seen happen very often is that people have a good spell with their piggies' health, decide to get some more (because having however many they have hasn't cost a bomb) and then it all goes belly up cost-wise and people find themselves in trouble.

People need to budget for the worst even if the worst doesn't happen.
 
I know she's not a piggy, but I had Hattie my bunny 3 years and up until 3 months ok, she had never been to the vets other than for her vaccs, and to be neutered. In the last 3 months she cost us well over £500, we only lost her yesterday :(:(

Harmony is now has a water infection, we have had her less than a year, so far her vet bill is £50 but if she has bladder stones it going to rise massively.

I do think people take on a number of piggies in quick succession without thinking about the vet bills, expecially if they all get sick at once. This is the reason I only have 4 pigs, even though I would love more.
 
I agree! Pet=responsibility. If I added up & saved all the money I spend on vet bills then I would be a rich person. My dog alone costs me £160 every month just for her medications for congestive heart failure and the two strokes she has had, but I wouldn't even consider not taking her to the vet. Same with my GPs - I'm currently putting every spare penny away as I suspect that the vet will recommend surgery for a suspect lump as antibiotics appear not to be working. I've spent £90 on a Sunday night dash to the emergency vets with a poorly rat and the same for one of my poor mice. I just don't understand how anyone could let an animal suffer. I know with my vet if I don't have the money straight away they will let me pay in installments and I can't imagine that there would be many vets who wouldn't let a person do this for the sake of their animal.
Brilliant thread, sorry for rant. :)
 
Well Said! I refused to even consider getting my two until we were sure we could afford to look after them and afford insurance and vets bills on top.

I know this is not to do with pigs but my fiance's parents had a dog that had to be put down (I dont know why, they wouldn't tell me) but he was put down because they couldn't afford treatment as he was not insured.

They said they couldn't afford to insure him. Argos Platinum Cover is about, what £5 a month for dogs or something?! And they spend twice that much on cheese A WEEK! Owners like that, whether or not they love the animal be it, cat, dog, guinea pig or any other animal, should simply not have them. Makes me very angry indeed!
 
laura thanks for this post, you have put it so well and have a great way with words. i do feel personally angry at times when i see some things that people say about taking their animal to the vets. Personally i would sell everything i had to take my pigs to the vets and i understand peoples circumstances are different.

i feel passionate about what you have said and i hope people take this post on board. xx
 
Excellent post! and definatley needed to be said.

In September my first rescue piggy had an ulcer behind his eye it came on very suddenly and he showed no symptoms of illness whatsoever, his eye drops and painkillers cost around £30.00, it continued to get worse so he had to have an operation (he didn't pull though, we didn't know his age) which was around £90.00 - this all happened within 3/4 days!

Branston also had to have eyedrops for a haypoke in October around £25.00.

I've been relatively lucky with vet bills, just shows how within a few days they can quickly mount up though. People should definately be prepared for the worse (that sounds awful I know).
 
I have a friends who works as a vet assistent and sometimes she tells me stories from work. It's horrible to hear that people often say: "What 16 pound for the healing? It's only a pig."
My most expencive vet bill was over 80 pounds and I just asked do you take card?:))
If I would summarize all vet bills I would and up by 400 pound or so. But so what as long as the piggie is feeling better than that's ok.

Thanks for this really good and important post!
 
I think the original post by Laura is fantastic and really well worded.

When I was a kid I constantly pestered my parents for pets, guineas, rabbits, hamsters... I wasn't allowed one. Then when I was older but still living at home (so still my parents decision whether I could have them or not) they bought me a bun & a piggy (usual P@H story back then - they'll be a good pair rolleyes ) I realise now that this was because I was earning my own money so I could afford the treatment if needed. And my, Tia the bun needed a lot in her short 10 month life.
My parents wouldn't have been able to afford to pay for her vet bills if I hadn't been earning a wage which was why I wasn't allowed pets before this point. I thought they were being mean parents, they were just being responsible.
 
Emmalouise said:
Also, i know emergencies can happen and they are very costly. One of my guinea pigs had an eye infection and the total for this was roughly £90. However, people put money aside for cars/holidays etc why not put money aside for if the worst ever does happen.
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Exactly! A car, a holiday and what not can wait while a live creature that can only be treated by us now is suffering. We spent half of our holiday money for just one boar's problem this month and we've still not finished. Overall our 4 guinea pigs' maintenance per year costs us the equivalent of a 5 star trip to Maldives for a week. Guinea pigs cost a lot more than people expect, we certainly didn't for a moment believe we'd spend that much on them, but now that they are our responsibility it's not the matter of choice, we have to make sure our pigs have the best.
 
daftscotslass said:
What I've seen happen very often is that people have a good spell with their piggies' health, decide to get some more (because having however many they have hasn't cost a bomb) and then it all goes belly up cost-wise and people find themselves in trouble.

People need to budget for the worst even if the worst doesn't happen.
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I would agree with this. Also in terms of the amount of time it takes to care for lots of sick pigs. Healthy pets lull us into a false sense of security! I know now from having had 10 pets that it was too many for me, after struggling my way through all of them being sick at the same time. When we decide on how many pets we can look after, we really need to imagine a 'worst case scenario' of numbers of sick pets at once, I think.
 
Every payday I always put £50 into my savings account. This is for any emergencies, like if the pets get ill or if anything at home breaks down then we have some savings for it. x
 
Christmas hasn't existed this year due to pets bills, and we've lost a holiday but its worth it because shes just ate a piece of parsley after coming round from the latest GA for teeth work. No money can buy that. It is just irresponsible and wrong to not make sure you can pay for every need of your pet.
 
sport_billy said:
Christmas hasn't existed this year due to pets bills, and we've lost a holiday but its worth it because shes just ate a piece of parsley after coming round from the latest GA for teeth work. No money can buy that. It is just irresponsible and wrong to not make sure you can pay for every need of your pet.
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Oh, dear. Where do you live? There are so many vets who do teeth without GA. What's wrong with the teeth? If they are just too long, you can do it yourself. I can do it now after visiting Vedra (try contacting them for advise: [email protected])
 
I absolutely agree with you, Laura. Thankfully I have a full time job and get paid well enough to get through unexpected vet bills. My other half gets paid well too, and he always helps me if I need it. My piggies are very well looked after and never run out of anything. <3

It isn't fair on the piggies at all if they're denied medical attention. :(
 
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I agree people should definitely take their sick animals to the vets.

But if the animal has a slight problem that is obviously not an emergency, then I think there's no harm on asking on here first. It might be something simple that can be solved without going to the vet. :) Or more information can be gathered to give to the vet, because some vets mightn't know a lot about guinea pigs.

You could also call the vet and ask if it's necessary to bring the animal in. Sometimes the vet might say to just keep an eye on it for a day or two and the animal might get better.

Some people bring their animals to the vets for the slightest things and spend so much money, which I guess is their right and is the safest thing and gives them peace of mind. But it's not always necessary.

If a guinea pig isn't eating, drinking, is acting different like less active, etc. then that could be an emergency. But some things are not emergencies, so asking here first won't do any harm. :) Especially if the vet is closed for the weekend, etc.
 
And I feel really sorry for kids whose parents won't take their pets to the vet. I know the parenst just don't understand that the animals are important to the child. But it's so cruel, and must make the child feel like they don't care about them. It's never the child's fault, they shouldn't be put in that position. If parents knew how much that could damage a child . . .
 
I'm 14 and own 4 guineapigs. one of my guineapigs got pregnant due to the petshop tellings us they were two girls when it turned out one was a boy. anyway the girl got pregnant and gave birth to 2 baby guineapiggles but sadly the mums womb come out we rushed her to the vets. it cost us £125 but sadly she died overnight at the vets. but i had saved up £50 due to putting some away everymonth incase one of my pigs got ill. so i was able to give my mum £50 off the bill :)
 
Here here, truer words never said. I have spent the weekend back and forth to the vets with my little Alphonse, and have spent the rest of my time nursing the poor little mite.
 
People defiantly should take sick pigs to the vet. It's awful if they are stuck suffering because they're owners don't take them. In some parts of the United States though, it is a bit difficult to find a guinea pig vet. I guess a lot of people here don't think they're worth it. :(

I had to drive 45 minutes to the nearest vet. And it was $215 for a teeth trimming. Although expensive, it was completely worth it.
 
This is all true. I would like to remind everyone though that guinea pigs can be very good at hiding the problem until it was too late. I've had pigs for a long time and this morning a normal fit an healthy pig was fine and when I came back from work she was beyond help. I made her comfortable and hopefully she wasn't scared in her last few moments. I don't think we'd have made it to the vets and I know there would have been nothing they could do. Although people need to yak responsibility for their pets, sometimes it is beyond our control and perhaps an almost militant discussion about how people don't deserve pets etc might make people who suffered what we went through feel ashamed or like it was their fault. Responsible care can only come from non biased education and facts about caring for animals, not peoples opinions about other pet owners. That's my thought anyway.
 
Gareth Nelson said:
This is all true. I would like to remind everyone though that guinea pigs can be very good at hiding the problem until it was too late. I've had pigs for a long time and this morning a normal fit an healthy pig was fine and when I came back from work she was beyond help. I made her comfortable and hopefully she wasn't scared in her last few moments. I don't think we'd have made it to the vets and I know there would have been nothing they could do. Although people need to yak responsibility for their pets, sometimes it is beyond our control and perhaps an almost militant discussion about how people don't deserve pets etc might make people who suffered what we went through feel ashamed or like it was their fault. Responsible care can only come from non biased education and facts about caring for animals, not peoples opinions about other pet owners. That's my thought anyway.
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Hi there, you are near to me i live in Bare, just interested in which vets you use and do you rate them?
 
Hi. I use Alison Lee on queen street in carnforth. Fortunately I've only had to go a couple of times but their prices are reasonable (cheaper than longleys) and they do a good job. I've also never taken the pigs for anything too serious so I don't know how specialist she might be but I'm happy going there. Hope that helps doglovinpiggielover.
 
Gareth Nelson said:
Hi. I use Alison Lee on queen street in carnforth. Fortunately I've only had to go a couple of times but their prices are reasonable (cheaper than longleys) and they do a good job. I've also never taken the pigs for anything too serious so I don't know how specialist she might be but I'm happy going there. Hope that helps doglovinpiggielover.
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ok, ta, i went to her years ago with my first dog when i lived in Carny, she was dead nice. Now i use Bay Vet Group on Lancaster Road just because its round the corner from me really, ive been with piggies with pneumonia, teeth probs and bladder stones and they have been great on every occasion, if you ever need a different vet or a piggy savvy one i defo recommend them.

Nice to see someone local anyway :))
 
Warning - soap box!

I do agree with some of your sentiments Gareth......BUT...you need to understand the context of this thread.

This thread was originally posted because the experienced people who regularly posted on health and illness would advise people to take their piggies to the vets "pronto" if there was a serious problem....and, for whatever reason, the owners refused to do so..and didn;t follow the advice given...and the piggies died. ..when perhaps they might have been saved. 8...8...

It has left some of us very frustrated/dispirited and gradually one by one we have stopped posting on health and illness issues and gone to other forums instead..I think the quality/rapidity of medical replies over the last three months (or lack of) is testament to this. .. which is a real shame and loss. This forum has a great history and a great number of "dedicated piggie" subscribers...such a shame it is losing some of it;s best contributors.

I cannot count the number of piggies whose histories have been posted on this forum over the last 5 months that need not have died but for a) immediate "cavy savvy" veterinary attention...and (b) owners paying attention to the posts that were made at the time and acting upon them.

This is not directed purely at the owners ...but also recognises a problem in trying to find a cavy savvy vet.

As you say...piggies are prey animals...however that statement should NOT be interpreted/used by owners as an excuse to absolve them of their responsibilities owing to their lack of action but should instead be conisdered more as an understanding of WHY it is important you act WITHOUT ANY DELAY.

But really it;s about the dedicaton of the owners and how they view their pgiggies .......disposables?......or pets up to a point...or living dependent beings they have assumed ultimate responsibility for and therefore should, no matter the cost, attend to their best welfare?

Make your choice gentle readers as to where you yourselves fit along the spectrum.

Bottom line is ...as you say above..piggies are prey animals..but this is NOT a reason to absolve you of responsibility as an owner for getting them attended to by a vet PRONTO (whatever the time of day or night or however much that may cost)..and also making a few enquries to make sue they get a cavy savvy vet so get the best treatment.

It IS possible to achieve this..with care, research, detemrination and tenacity...and thank goodness more piggies are alive today than would have been 5 years ago due to the increased knowledge of both vets and owners wiling to share and be open minded on forums like this...and the fact that more owners are wiling to "go that extra mile"

I'm pleased to say that there have been a good many successes on GPF...only this weekend I feel a piggie was "saved" because cavy savvy info was given to the owner and they reacted to it immediately....and had a co-operative vet....without that immediate action the piggie would unfortunately probably have been dead within 48 hours....... but as it is they have now made a full recovery.


We can only do our best... However, if we post saying " take your piggie to a cavy savvy vet NOW"...then PLEASE DO SO IMMEDIATELY....as your piggie has every chance....as long as you don;t delay.

x
 
i just saw this sticky and had to say something. pet stores don't even take care of their guinea pigs! i bought sookie when she had mites and am in the process of restoring her back to health. one more injection should do the trick (:

p.s. before buying a guinea pig, remember that paying for vet bills can get very expensive! but having a healthy guinea pig is all worth it
 
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