Any Rabbit advice ?

Nadeshka

*onlyme* wrote: »

That seems an awful lot of money... is that bill broken down at all?

How much does it cost you to have his teeth clipped monthly and is he OK with having that done as such.

It's £20 each time they're clipped. I don't have the bill to hand as it was sent to my parents but I'll check. My sister had been taking him as I'm at Uni, so I'm not sure how he is usually, but obviously it's not nice - they use a diamond saw to avoid fracturing the teeth and so it takes two of the veterinary staff to do. He didn't seem overly distressed when I've taken him. Also as the teeth are so bent they're still quite long after clipping, and with each clipping there's risk of fracture or infection.:(


Edit: My dad emailed me the breakdown:
£80 for Anaesthetic
£250 for the incisor removal
£65 for X rays
£30 for anti inflammatory & antibiotics

It even says underneath it doesn't include any post op care and attention. Given his age I would have thought there will definitely be a requirement for that, so it could definitely get higher.

Nadeshka

dollydoodah wrote: »

I had my bunny done with the same thing last year and it was about £200. He was 6 then and was fine afterwards and we never really noticed any real problems with his eating.

Can I ask what area of the country you are in? I'm now wondering if the "London effect" is behind this. I was honestly expecting a price like yours, £1xx to £2xx for this, no more than £300 and certainly not nearly half a grand!

dollydoodah

Nadeshka wrote: »

Can I ask what area of the country you are in? I'm now wondering if the "London effect" is behind this. I was honestly expecting a price like yours, £1xx to £2xx for this, no more than £300 and certainly not nearly half a grand!

I am in Lancashire. Bunny was operated on in the morning and came home in the evening with antibiotics as well for that price. Your price seems really steep.

simontheiceman

Nadeshka wrote: »

A little bit of backstory:
The estimate was posted to us and arrived the other day at £450! I can't remember what the last operation cost, and so I'm just wondering if this is reasonable or we should shop around with vets (have only ever been to our local)?:

To quote myself: "Stone me!". I did this op on a rabbit on Monday and the bill was £140. I am in Northwest of UK and I am not considered as cheap. I cant see how they get to that kind of figure - obscene . I don't know where you are but I would shop around.

simontheiceman

Stuff it: Its almost worth the petrol and hotel bill to go elsewhere in the country.

Nadeshka

Ok thanks for that I am reassured that I'm not just being stingy or paranoid! If necessary I will of course pay that price but if I can get equal care for a fraction of the price then it's a no-brainer. There are at least 3 more vets within walking distance of my house, and a dozen more in easy, location (so one benefit of London).
Can I just call them up /fire off an email and describe the case to get an estimate sent to us? Tbh the estimate for our rabbit was done without consultation ( a different vet to the one who clipped his teeth did it.)
His teeth were clipped a week ago so I have some time before it becomes desperate.
The thing is we've only ever been to this one vet so they have all the records for him, can we just request a copy of these and would we even need these to go to a new vet?
Thanks for the help everyone.

Waterfalls

it does seem really steep! maybe check with them again incase it was a error

Nadeshka

Well I fired off an email to the three nearest vets late last night and already one has come back to me saying yes they do perform that operation, and at an estimated cost of £125!
I'll see what the others come back with and perhaps ring the original vet to confirm their estimate but they did break it down - charging £260 ALONE for "Rabbit - Incisor Removal"
This is certainly a reminder to me to shop around for everything! When you've got a sick animal you just race to the nearest, open place no matter the cost and have been with them for all our pets for 12 years, and never thought to look elsewhere.

dollydoodah

dollydoodah wrote: »

I had my bunny done with the same thing last year and it was about £200. He was 6 then and was fine afterwards and we never really noticed any real problems with his eating.

Quoting myself here but I actually found the bill today - it was £156.76, so even cheaper than I remembered.

supermumno1

Your vet shouldn't be clipping the teeth in the first place - they should be being burred with a high speed dental type drill or there is significant risk of them fracturing and causing problems. I would find another local vet and discuss the situation and costs etc with them, and make sure if they are left in situ they are at least managed correctly.