Vet Costs / Pet Health Insurance Survey

[hedgiebedgie]

I am interested in finding out about the cost of well-hedgie vet visits in the US. My vet in the Clear Lake (Galveston Bay) area of Houston, Texas charges $65 for the annual well-hedgie check-up. If you have taken your healthy hedge in for an annual check-up lately, please tell me how much the office visit charge (exclusive of any special tests that may have been done because of the vet's concerns about existing conditions, toenail trims, anesthetic for hedge’s resistance to examination, etc.), how much were you charged (exclusive of sales or other tax, if applicable)? Please give city & state, amount and approximate date of vet visit).

Also, if anyone has pet health insurance for their hedgie, what is the name of the insurance company, how much is the premium and how satisfied are you with the coverage and service (i.e. prompt claims payment, premium costs vs amount saved over the period you have had the insurance, etc.)

Cheers

[hedgehog*diva]

$12.00 sometime in august and jacksonville fl riverside animal hospital no insurance

[atorgerson]

$40 for a full exam, $15 for short. Seattle, WA. October, 2003

No insurance.

[starkissed]

$32 per visit - Williamston, MI October 2003

No insurance (and I could use it)

A speculation; given the costs of human insurace for at risk humans, I wonder just how much a company would charge to insure hedgehogs (who seem to have plenty of health problems just by virtue of being hedgehogs). I can only guess that it would be quite high, especially on an animal with known problems.

[hedgiebedgie]

I am doing some research into health insurance for hedgies and will post my findings.

[Kalandra]

Vet costs can just vary something awful from vet to vet.
I've paid anywhere from $20 - $50 just for the visit, then
add in anything else they did.

Let us know what you find out about insurance. It would
be rather nice to have when you have a hedgehog with
cancer or any other of the costly ailments.

[atorgerson]

I checked into insurance about a year ago.

What I found was that any condition that the animal has at the time it is insured will not be covered. So, if you're pet is diabetic before you get insurance, no coverage for diabetes. Also, they severely limit what they'll cover. Many "normal" treatments seemed to fall under the category of experimental. And, even with the insurance, you still have to pay the vet out of your pocket, then wait for the insurance company to reimburse you.

If anyone finds a good pet insurance policy, please let me know!

[hedgieluv]

When I took my Sweetie Pie (who's a very calm hedgie) in for a well check up (her first) it was $35, however, when I brought Shadow in for the same reason he had to get the sleepy gas, although it was a very small amount (he was very huffy and the vet couldn't look at him). He never even fully fell asleep and wasn't even groggy five minutes later. That visit cost me $95 (just to tell me he was healthy!) Oh well he's worth it!

[rodent_luver]

80$ for one vet visit

[kikoalex]

Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic, lafayette, IN
visit-$30
anestesia- $20
fecal- $15
Mite test- $10

Tippecanoe Animal Hospital, lafayette, IN
visit-$30
anestesia-$10
fecal- $15
mite test- free <-- only done because she couldn't believe he'd never had them