£84 to see vet about hamster

[Hamsterloversrme]

Still reeling now. My hamster had sticky eyes, was gently wiping with cotton bud but thought I should get her checked out with a vet.

Was in and out of vet consultation room in under 5 minutes. She listened to his heart, looked at his eye and prescribed an ointment for his eye.

Almost reeled I’m shock when receptionist told me the cost. I like to think I’m a responsible pet owner but can see why some people just wouldn’t bother taking a hamster to the vet when the cost is extortionate.

@Missdotty they can. I’ve never heard of a vet refusing someone to take a body home. I would say 30% or so take the body home, the rest cremate them.

We can’t put them in the bin. We can’t even put body parts in the bin without risking a fine. It’s clinical waste which has to be paid for, if the council goes through the bins and finds random dead animals in there the business would be in serious trouble. There are different regulations between medical/clinical waste and food waste.

They are not transparent because each case can differ vastly, we can do 10 op's some days each one being an individual procedure taking different amounts of time and resources- but the vet will have discussed costs clearly with client before .
You would not believe some of the things we have to do , it is impossible to advertise prices in the waiting room as some problems we have to charge for have never even been seen before , every day differs.
All you need to pay is the consult fee ,after that it is your choice , the vet will give you a quote with cost breakdowns if you ask ,also regarding medications you are not committed just advised , then either buy them or not or ask to buy a written prescription and source them yourself.
I can't understand all the comments about unknown vets prices ,just ask at the consult we expect you too.
Would you let the mechanic go ahead without knowing what he will charge you or book a full head of highlights at the hairdresser without asking the cost first ?
Vets are no different we are offering a service and we fully expect our clients to ask /want to know what the charges will be .

The lack of transparency leads to higher prices. You can phone around and compare prices for neutering. But most of the time when you take your pet to a very they are ill and need treatment. If you start phoning other places to compare costs you will not get an appointment for days at another vet if you have never used them before. So you have no choice but to pay what they charge and they know it.

And transparency is possible. If I phone up and ask my vets receptionist the cost if the rabbits need a consult and antibiotics, they can tell me.

Why should medical care cost less because the poor creature can be purchased for a pittance?

Takes the same veterinary expertise to evaluate a hamster as a dog. Same overheads, staff, cost of vet's education, cost of medication, etc.

Maybe stop supporting the vile trade in small defenseless animals.

£80 is the standard fee at mine. I took my cat who had a slight limp after our holiday (which was the first for a while due to Covid). The vet couldn't detect any limp and he didn't limp again. Cost me £80 to find out he was basically pissed off we'd gone away.

I do not support rodent farms

I do not support rodent farms but even if there were no rodent farms, hamsters/gerbils/guinea pigs would still be available for very low prices. Less so for hamsters who are solitary animals but there are always going to be idiots who put a male and female hamster together for 10 minutes and then they will have 12 babies. Or I have heard cases where perfectly responsible owners put them in two separate cages in the same room but they escaped and mated. My current rescue gerbils are babies from a group of 23 gerbils found abandoned in a flat; it got to that point cos the owner did not separate. It's easier to do because gerbils are social animals and people do mis-sex their gerbils. I got my gerbils for nothing, I donated £35 to the charity but that was my choice.

I can see why dogs and cats cost so much (though don't understand why they cost thousands), they are mostly neutered these days so few accidents and breeders want to make a profit.. It's not really practical to neuter hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils unless it's for a medical reason.

We always take rescue rabbits. I think when my current three die I will not get any more. Food is cheap, but vets bills are not.

Mine was running around happily one Christmas Eve when he skidded on the wood flooring and emerged from behind the sofa limping. We called the vets and because it was a Sunday had to go to the out of hours. The vet put him on the floor to see how he was walking and the little sod jumped back up on the table! It cost nearly £200 to find out he was fine!