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

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We do have a recomended vets list which you can check, you can also put out a plea for anyone who knows a good vet in your area, alternativly google search exotics vets in your area to find one who says they have experience with piggies :) Then ofcourse use the knowledge you gain on here to judge if they know thier stuff.

HTH
 
If * don't want huge vet bills then get them insured.I never got my piggies insured but if i knew i couldn't afford to pay out in one go then i would get them insured. My dog's insurance is only £27.00 a month and thats specialised insurance for life as i have a king charles cavarlier and they are prone to heart problems so it can't be much to insure a piggie, maybe the price of a couple of pints of beer a month.
 
£65 for a visit for my early stage piggie in the URI. I just got back. It was a ten minute check, with grape flavor meds. In the end it was worth it.
 
How awful. That is so sad to read. But I don't think her being a student was really it as I am student and all mine are very healthy, good weight, diet and certainly no mites. I have just started a savings sceme with my new where new vets where it put as much money as I can in every month. I know It would be a struggle to raise the cash for a hefty bill even though there is no way I would leave them to suffer I feel much better knowing its there. I had to change vets after the vet cut my pigs and made them bleed when doing their claws. We do them ourselves now and no cuts at all. It makes me so angry to think parents won't pay for vets bills- what kind of message does its give the kids? Not a very good 1.
 
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE VET, YOU CAN'T AFFORD THE PET.

That's what I tell everyone who mentions to me about getting this animal or that animal. If I had all of the money I have spent on animals just since the turn of the century, I would be a wealthy woman! Most of the animals weren't even mine, they were ones I was rescuing because someone dumped them near my house and they found their way to me because of that cosmic sign over my head that says "Free Help Here", the one that only the animals can see. To be a really conscientious animal owner requires, in my opinion, the ability to put oneself in their place and see if they might be suffering somehow, and then to alleviate that suffering because you would want it alleviated for you if you were helpless.

Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832), English philosopher, social reformer, and early advocate of animal rights, said it the best, I think: "The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but "Can they suffer?â€
 
I agree, being a mum myself I understand only to well that if we take on a pet (and we have many rescued pets) it is MY responsibility to make sure ALL our pets are happy, healthy and taken to a vet if needed. My heart goes out to the all the children on here who's paretns refuse to take a sick pet to the vet ! When our family dog died (at the age of 19 years) it is one of the worst things I have ever been through in my life.
 
Ok rant time........

PLEASE! Do not come on to the forum asking for Urgent help and then spend 24 hours reading people comments, waiting for replies/texts/messages

I cannot believe the amount of URGENT appeals on here lately, to come back on 24 hours later and see that people have been advised to get the animal to the vet quickly, have totally ignored it!

We are all happy to help anyone on here that needs help, we understand that its a very scary and upsetting time for you when you have a sick animal

BUT


please, if people are telling you that you need URGENT vet treatment, we are not saying it for fun...we are serious and it could mean the difference between you posting a new thread on Rainbow Bridge Pets...or an update to say that they are doing better.


Rant over......
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
Ok rant time........

PLEASE! Do not come on to the forum asking for Urgent help and then spend 24 hours reading people comments, waiting for replies/texts/messages

I cannot believe the amount of URGENT appeals on here lately, to come back on 24 hours later and see that people have been advised to get the animal to the vet quickly, have totally ignored it!

We are all happy to help anyone on here that needs help, we understand that its a very scary and upsetting time for you when you have a sick animal

BUT


please, if people are telling you that you need URGENT vet treatment, we are not saying it for fun...we are serious and it could mean the difference between you posting a new thread on Rainbow Bridge Pets...or an update to say that they are doing better.


Rant over......
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Here here. I personally think we have gotten very soft on this issue compared to when i first joined and being more assertive about the importance of immediate vet treatment is a good thing
 
I know we all want to keep it friendly and good natured on here, otherwise it could be seen to be bullying, but i did see a thread on here earlier in the week where a piggy passed away after numerous members advising the owner to seek urgent medical attention.

An unnecessary death, that could possibly have been prevented if the advice that was given had been followed.
 
This forum is a lovely friendly place to be, but i dont think that us being sweetness and lights should ever come before the welfare of the piggies, so i tend to walk away from threads like that and let people less hot headed give advice. :)
 
No I agree, welfare first every time.....but if the poster feels they are being bullied, we then risk them going off the forum completely and we lose contact with the piggie :...
 
This is true, but the kind of people who dont take advice in the first place (ie the kind of people subject to "bullying") have proven 9 times out of 10 that even if we are sweetness and lights, they still dont take the advice then all we get is bad news. :( That sadens me more, atleast if i dont know i know i did everything i could possibly do.

But like i said thats why i tend to walk away from those threads, i dont want to do more harm than good.
 
I think there should be stricter laws. If it were a child in critical condition and the parents sat on a forum they'd be up in court. An animal should be no different. None of this banned for keeping pets for life rubbish. The consequences need to be harsh to act as an actual deterrent.
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
No I agree, welfare first every time.....but if the poster feels they are being bullied, we then risk them going off the forum completely and we lose contact with the piggie :...
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I agree. Nowadays I couldn’t give two hoots what internet people think but I have in the past gone to rodent forums to ask for medical opinions and have been bullied in force by hysterical women and teenagers getting their knickers in a twist. I’ve been banned from forums because I haven’t taken my pets to the vets as demanded. Well my own judgment has done me ok so far, the rodents I have are still alive. They seem to have a lot of medical problems between them but if I’d rushed them to the vets with each thing every time I’ve been told to online, it’d have cost me a fortune and they’d both of had unnecessary treatment. Some of which they have had, I’ve taken them a few times to the vets when I felt a visit was necessary yet nothing I’ve ever been prescribed by a vet has solved the problems. I think each case should be taken individually and rodent-lovers shouldn’t be so harsh on people who come to forums looking for advice. Acting like school ground bullies is non constructive, members should feel welcome and not scared to post in fear of a cyber execution. Giving advice to tell someone a pet needs vet treatment is fine but admin should intervene if things get out of hand. I was getting told I could face a £20,000 fine and 51 week prison sentence on a forum once when I told them I wasn’t taking my rodents to the vets. Pretty funny. & even after I’d been lynched and banned I still didn’t take my rodents to the vet. They were fine. Some people are just hysterical.
 
Where do i take my sick piggies?/
I take my sick piggies to Maltman and Coshom in Slinfold, West Sussex, England because they have a degree in rodent care. I also go to Cavies Castle in Hastings because they a very good rodentologists. I hope this helps some people.

Katherine x
 
LittleNippers5 said:
Where do i take my sick piggies?/
I take my sick piggies to Maltman and Coshom in Slinfold, West Sussex, England because they have a degree in rodent care. I also go to Cavies Castle in Hastings because they a very good rodentologists. I hope this helps some people.

Katherine x
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We have a sticky about vets recommended by members (can be very subjective) or they can always ask for local members' recommendations - ideally you start looking for an exotics/piggy savvy vet before you get your piggies or latest as soon as you get your pets.
 
I'm always monitoring my tribe, 20 minutes after spotting Rebel's abscess he was on the vets table getting treated. I'm very fortunate to have an extremely cavy savvy vets practice in the next town to me. ;)
 
I can’t understand why it’s allowed that vets don’t have expertise in treating rodents. Why the hell as pet owners do we have to traipse miles to see vets which we think are better than others? They should all be trained the same. I think it’s ridiculous that they’re allowed to practice as vets but only really know how to treat dogs and cats properly. Every flippin’ pet shop around the country sells rabbits and guinea pigs and other small rodents, it ain’t like rodents are flippin’ rare and exotic. It just ain’t good enough. There should be tighter rules for vets and they should all be cavvy savvy.
 
I'm sorry but i disagree, doctors specialise and they only have one species to treat! imagine trying to know every animal we keep in our homes that well.

Theres
Cats,
Dogs,
Birds(parrots etc),
Rabbits,
Guineapigs,
Gerbils,
Mice,
Hamsters,
Ferrets,
Fish.
Not to mention serious differences between the health of different breeds when it comes to larger animals.
 
Sue_P said:
I can’t understand why it’s allowed that vets don’t have expertise in treating rodents. Why the hell as pet owners do we have to traipse miles to see vets which we think are better than others? They should all be trained the same. I think it’s ridiculous that they’re allowed to practice as vets but only really know how to treat dogs and cats properly. Every flippin’ pet shop around the country sells rabbits and guinea pigs and other small rodents, it ain’t like rodents are flippin’ rare and exotic. It just ain’t good enough. There should be tighter rules for vets and they should all be cavvy savvy.
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As lovely and re-assuring as it would be for all vets to be savvy savvy it will just never happen, doctors and surgeons aren't all qualified to deal with anything and everything human related. xx
 
It isn't just about them learning though - I imagine that much will depend on the demographics of an area. I'm sure that vets tend to become more specialised in the species that come though the doors most often. I live in the centre of a city; the vets that I go to are very good with small furries, but I would imagine that many in more rural areas are probably better with horses, dogs etc. This is, of course, a bit of a generalisation, but I accept the fact that not all vets are specialised in every species.
 
primrose said:
It isn't just about them learning though - I imagine that much will depend on the demographics of an area. I'm sure that vets tend to become more specialised in the species that come though the doors most often. I live in the centre of a city; the vets that I go to are very good with small furries, but I would imagine that many in more rural areas are probably better with horses, dogs etc. This is, of course, a bit of a generalisation, but I accept the fact that not all vets are specialised in every species.
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When are you going to share piccies of your gorgeous ginger piggy? drooldrool
 
Sue_P said:
For the amount of money they earn they should damn well learn!
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You're an idiot but I'm not going to rise to it.

Vets earn very little compared to what people think they earn.

When I qualify as a vet, I'll have put myself through 25 years of education with no break. I will also have worked during this period of time to support myself. Currently I study full time Monday-Friday, 40 hours a week, and I work EVERY Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday, 8am-5pm, with additional studying after work.

I will come out of university and will be lucky to be earning 20k a year. The financial commitment of this (ignoring the social, mental and physical ones), I will owe in the region of two hundred thousand pounds.

Vets get 5 years training that covers the basics. 6 weeks of those 5 years is spent on exotic species. A vet isn't like being a GP either. You have to be a GP and a surgeon and a dentist and a pharmacist etc. etc. etc.

If you don't want to put in the effort to see a decent pet, either put up with sub-standard care, or just don't have the animals.

I shall be doing a 300 mile round trip to see a good vet in a few weeks time, but that's just because I care.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
When are you going to share piccies of your gorgeous ginger piggy? drooldrool
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Do you happen to mean my lovely Violet by any chance? She is my boss/mummy pig and all round gentle soul. They are due a little photo shoot, I think, so will definitely post some piccies this week. :)
 
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