Vet Care - how much should I budget?

[Nyxietrixx]

Area: Belfast, Northern Ireland. [Used Vets 4 Pets situated on Boucher Crescent in the local Pets at Home.]
Vet fund: Topped up as needed, but have emergency money put away of about 30 a week earned from tips.
Number of Hamsters: One big, diva of a Syrian.
Previous costs: N/A
Small Animal Consulation: 25 pound.
Eye drops: A further 20.

[Vectis Hamstery]

Area: Southampton, UK
Vet Fund : £200 in an online savings account with as good interest as possible. i pay in £5 per month via standing order and mostly keep it for larger or poorly timed vet bills
Number of Hamsters: 30
Previous Costs: I prefer not to think about how much I spend each year at the vet though I have spent £175 I the last 2 months due to several poorly animals. I find it tends to come in phases rather than spread out in a convenient way.
Small animal Consultation : Often discounted as I'm a repeat customer, can be £15 for multiple animals at one time
Follow up consultation: mostly included
Antibiotics : £7
Eye ointments :£8
Steroid injection: £10
Consultation followed by Lump removal under GA: £70
Consultation, antibiotics, spay and follow up: £150
PTS with group cremation (no ashes returned): £21
Post mortem with laboratory tests: £105
Stool sample: £40

[_nod]

Area: Cheshire, UK
Vet fund: Currently topped up as needed.
Number of Hamsters: 3 Robos
Previous costs:
Out of hours consult + antibiotics £54

[LawaRawr]

Area: Bolton, UK
Vet Fund : £20 Currently being topped up weekly as i've recently had to spend money on vet bills.
Number of Hamsters: 6
Previous Costs: £85
Small animal Consultation : £20.95
Follow up consultation: Free
Consultation plus antibiotics : £25.95
Consultation plus eye ointments :
Consultation followed by Lump removal under GA:
PTS : £21
Private cremation with casket: £65 +

[BrainGirl]

Area: BC, Canada
Vet Fund : Currently down to 100 (and climbing slowly) but relying on the credit card.
Number of Hamsters: 1 (plus other pets)
Previous Costs: Last month alone, $1000
Small animal Consultation : $100, give or take
Follow up consultation: $50
Consultation plus antibiotics : $150
Consultation plus eye ointments : $120
Consultation followed by Lump removal under GA: $300 +
PTS : $150
Private cremation with casket: $300 +

[GhostsInSnow]

Area: Wolverhampton, UK
Vet Fund : £85 at the moment but it's normally over £100
Number of Hamsters: 3
Previous Costs: £95 (emergency treatment)
Small animal Consultation : £12.50 (I think, can't remember off the top of my head but it's around that)
Follow up consultation: Free
Consultation plus antibiotics : £17.50 (For my mice, haven't needed to go with the hams)
Nail Trim: £4.80
PTS : £5
Emergency Consult at Emergency Vet: £65 before 1pm, £95 after 1pm
Private cremation with casket: No idea

[HammieandMerlin]

I live in two parts of Ontario, so I thought I'd do both as they are quite different

Sudbury Ontario, Canada

Vet fund: $400, my partner and I keep this as a separate account which we add to with our side jobs like dog walking, this is the lowest we keep it at

Number of hamsters: 3

Previous costs: $150 for Toothless, which turned out to be a huge waste, as the vet was not specialized which is not uncommon in Northern Ontario, so keep that in mind when you move somewhere

Small pet consult $75-125 on a weekday, an emergency is at least double

Follow up: 40 dollars

Most medications: 20-60 dollars

PTS: 85 WITHOUT cremation

Oshawa, Ontario (and most of the Greater Toronto Area), Canada

Vet fund is the same

Consultation: $85-140

Previous costs: about 150 dollars for m sister's dwarf, that was 100 dollars for the consult and 50 for medications

The main difference for hamster owners in Southern Ontario is that you will pay more but you will have more ready access to specialized vets.

[Jessie]

Originally Posted by HammieandMerlin

I live in two parts of Ontario, so I thought I'd do both as they are quite different


The main difference for hamster owners in Southern Ontario is that you will pay more but you will have more ready access to specialized vets.

You would be so surprised. I had a problem with a rabbit and got laughed at by one vet... and 3 others had no idea who saw small animals in my area. Closest one was about a half hour away and wanted $245.00 just to see her. I was so offended. waited til the next morning as it was not an emergency and I called the spca and a few small animal rescues to see who they use. Ended up finding one they both recommended but by the time I left his office I was well over $300.00...

[ThePipsqueakery]

Area: Indiana, USA
Vet Fund : $200 at the moment although we need to save more because we have several medically needy hamsters
Number of Hamsters: 13
Previous Costs:
Small animal Consultation : $40 to $70
Follow up consultation: $38
Antibiotics : $8 to $11
Consultation followed by Lump removal under GA: $150 (this was a luckily easily removed lump generally it would be much more expensive)
Emergency care including observation, oxygen, antibiotics, and xray: $350
Nail Clipping: $9

[Mizzou]

(I've only had 1 hamster that I've taken to the vet and the costs were lower than I expected but here's a summary of what I was billed)

Area: Saskatchewan, Canada

Exam/Consultation: $45 (I wasn't charged for the follow-up)
Anesthesia/Surgical Services: $45
Antibiotics: $10
Steroids: $3
Pain meds: no cost