Vet money

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Our first chin was a total surprise b/c we found him outside, captured him and kept him.

Right now, honestly I don't have a special vet fund set up but we have a tonne of credit available in case of emergencies such as this and we have all this credit available b/c we try our hardest to pay cash for absolutely everything. Seems to work for us.
 
I don't have much money to put away but I also have the credit like some others here

greychins said:
...In fact, I moved just in time for my mom's chin to stop eating and warrant a visit to Dr. Lennox (who is terrific, btw, she called France on a consult for my mom's chin because she'd never seen the specific problem before). So now, where I live, Dr. Lennox is like 30 mins away... it's great.
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Where is he located? I'm currently looking for an experienced vet in Indy!:hmm:
 
I've been shadowing vets for the past few years (I'm a biology student and I am still seriously considering going on to vet school... still waiting to hear back on my application to Cornell!). So when I got Jack, I had a fantastic relationship with the local vets- they are not chin-specialists, but, are always willing to learn. I ended up bringing Jack in one day to be weighed (it was a slow day at the hospital). Everyone took turns palpitating, holding, and fawning over him. The "well" visit didn't cost me a penny, either.

I've had money in a savings account since I was 8yrs old- it currently has ~$4,000- I will only touch it in the case of (veterinary) emergencies
 
I do most of my vet care here at home. Someone gets beaten up, I fix it at home. Someone gets sick, I have antibotics to use. Breeding problem? I can turn the kits, etc myself. I can remove kits with moms contractions if need be. Kit dies inside mom? I know how to "deal" with that, without needing to take mom to the vet, and without her getting an infection(Use the ranchers old advice).

I do have a seperate account for the chinchillas. When I sell a kit, the money is deposited in that account. Feed, supplies, vet costs, and such all come out of that account. If need be, and I do need a vet I have a credit card which I rarely use that I can use.

I however, know when enough is enough, and when quality of life is not there. I won't spend thousands on one chinchilla, when chances are they won't make it--as I have many others left at home that I need to provide for, and worry about.
 
When we got our first chin Draco we had a vet set up before I brought him home, as well as information on a few others, including an emergency vet. I didn't have a fund set up for him at that time. When my numbers started growing, I set a couple hundred dollars aside. When we started rescuing I had a credit card w/ nearly $4k on it for vet uses only.

Now, since I am no longer rescuing, and I only have my 5 boys, and since I am now single I only have a few hundred that I reserve on a credit card.

As far as a limit on a single chin? It's hard to say until you get put in that spot and you know what your chins problems are, treatments, quality of life going forward, etc. Tux so far was my most expensive chin. We paid close to $600 for xrays, medication and follow up visits after he first came to the rescue.
 
We suggest to our clients that they keep a credit card with $900US available for vet use. After talking to our vet it was decided this amount would suffice for most emergencies. We have exceeded $1500 twice trying to save chins that we lost.
 
Smaller (less than $100) vet bills we can pay at the time, but for larger expenses we are blessed with a vet who will take payments. Dr. Hart rocks!
 
I researched vets in the area, and found one about fifteen minutes away that everyone said was fairly knowledgeable about chins. This was about a year ago. Last week, when the boys fell ill, I called the number and was told it had been disconnected! Freaking out, I called the breeder I got them from, and she gave me contact information for the wonderful Adobe Animal Hospital. I will definitely use them again if I ever have to, probably driving home from college (somewhere in the UC system) for any larger surgeries that may need to be done.

As for a fund, I do not have specific money set aside, but I feel I have enough money to cover any surprise expenses, and can get a loan from my parents if worse comes to worst. I hope it doesn't come to that, but anything is possible.
 
I made the mistake of buying on impulse, I now realize that was the stupides't mistake I could've made. =(
When my chin started seizuring I immediately called the closest vet, before realizing it was a Sunday and they were closed. I got online and called all the e-vets around me, but most were closed, because on top of it being Sunday, it was a holiday. I finally got a hold of one 4 hours away, but they had no idea what to do with a sick chin. They had 2 vets apparantly working that night, and the vet that knew about chins was on vaca. I had no choice but to wait until morning, but by then it was too late.
I still had another chin. at the time though, so I re-called all the vets and found out who knew their stuff when it comes to chins. I also managed to find a great e-vet who has experience.
 
Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love said:
I made the mistake of buying on impulse, I now realize that was the stupides't mistake I could've made. =(
When my chin started seizuring I immediately called the closest vet, before realizing it was a Sunday and they were closed. I got online and called all the e-vets around me, but most were closed, because on top of it being Sunday, it was a holiday. I finally got a hold of one 4 hours away, but they had no idea what to do with a sick chin. They had 2 vets apparantly working that night, and the vet that knew about chins was on vaca. I had no choice but to wait until morning, but by then it was too late.
I still had another chin. at the time though, so I re-called all the vets and found out who knew their stuff when it comes to chins. I also managed to find a great e-vet who has experience.
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awe, poor zazu.
 
I bought my first chinchilla on impulse, but I knew a lot about Chinchillas before hand. I am really particular about researching before you buy an animal..so I had decent information.
However, I thought my exotic vet would be chin savvy,and he wasn't. So I did some research and found a great vet, although he is far away.
For the life of me, I can't find an exotic vet off-hours usually..I had a rabbit seizure, my vet was out of town, and nobody within the ENTIRE state of AZ had an exotic vet. It made me so angry.

I have a fund of $500 emergencies (For myself and animals) and what not. I think it is very important. Its pretty low right now due to the fact all my animals had thier annual check up, and my rabbit had problems so he was in the vet 4 times.

I also keep emergency kits available for each of my animals in case they get sick also.

I once spent $250 on a dwarf hamster to get him better. I really have no limits as long as the animal has a good chance of making it.
 
ann1 said:
Just thought id find out how many people had a vet set up before buying their first chin? How many researched them before hand and who bought on impulse?

Also wanted to know who has money set aside for them and who thinks that its not important?

Last, how much money do you have put aside and how much are you willing to spend. Is there a maximum amount you would spend?
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Do I have a vet? I believe so. I haven't had to take my chin there, but they have specialists in all departments. Birds, reptiles etc. I trust this vet practice with my exotics, it's just a bit far (45 mins). So if I needed them, hopefully they'd have as much experiance with chins as they did when my chameleon had prolapse and my lovebird had a tumor.

Do I have money put away? No...I do however have credit cards that are always paid off incase of emergency. Worked when my cat had $700 vet bill for a tooth pulled/teeth cleaning..and the $900 to remove a cancer tumor from the dog...so ya, vet care costs are covered.
 
My bank is Bank of America and they have a "Keep the change" savings thing. Spend $1.78, and they put the other $.22 in your savings account. This works great because I always round up anyways and it's all put into my savings account without me thinking twice. I put originally $400 into the account in and within 4 months, I have an additional almost $80 in there now. :) It's like my own personal pet insurence, but no paperwork and no chance of getting denied a claim! I touch this account for emergencies ONLY, no exceptions.
 
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