Small vent--why buy any animal if no money for a vet?

[sparkyk]

I completely agree, whatever the pet it deserves the same treatment you would give yourself, and whilst I feel for anyone facing vets bills, pets, like children need care, and rely on us for it.. and as the owner of two dwarf hamsters who have recently fallen out, and had a housing issue meaning two vets bills, a fish tank which has recently developed fin rot due to unfortinately buying an ill fish and introducing it to the tank (unknowingly obviously), and to top it off Max developed a lump which fortinately is nothing, but still, vet bill - I really do feel for people facing them, but these things happen and you need to be prepared...

One suggestion I have is keep a money box or bank account and be sure to put money in regularly to help buffer these things, this is something we do, we dont put much in, but when it came to a £60 vet fee for Max, we only had to find £20 as we had some already!

 

[paruso]

Well, one big difference between pets and humans is that if you go to the emergency room, they have to treat you even if you can't pay. The vet doesn't have to, which can make getting attention for a sick animal challenging if one is low on funds. One can sometimes seek out a vet that will work with you on a payment plan, but especially in smaller communities that have a lower number of vets (esp. reptile vets) there's no guarantee there. I don't think in this economy it is very uncommon for someone to have gotten a pet when they were financially stable, only to have since fallen on hard times. Of course the responsible thing to do then is to rehome the animal, but that has challenges, too. I'm not excusing people from the responsibility to care for their pets, just saying that sometimes situations are not so simple, so in the absence of bad intent or all-out neglect I try not to be too judgmental.

 

[SamusTheDragon]

Well, one big difference between pets and humans is that if you go to the emergency room, they have to treat you even if you can't pay. The vet doesn't have to, which can make getting attention for a sick animal challenging if one is low on funds. One can sometimes seek out a vet that will work with you on a payment plan, but especially in smaller communities that have a lower number of vets (esp. reptile vets) there's no guarantee there. I don't think in this economy it is very uncommon for someone to have gotten a pet when they were financially stable, only to have since fallen on hard times. Of course the responsible thing to do then is to rehome the animal, but that has challenges, too. I'm not excusing people from the responsibility to care for their pets, just saying that sometimes situations are not so simple, so in the absence of bad intent or all-out neglect I try not to be too judgmental.

I agree with this too. Although, I believe that if an animal is sick, it's a responsibility to take it to the vet, but like Paruso said, I try not to be too judgemental, because you never really know what someone is dealing with.

 

[Atrax]

I don't know, but for me it's never hard to spend money for my beardie. I see it as I'm spending it for myself, in one way I am, since beardie gives to me more than I give to him. I couldn't live with myself if I'd just sit there and watch her suffer or starve or freeze. But that's just me.

 

[Caramell]

Hi all, haven't posted since last year.

This thread is making me rethink things. I have many pets(dog, cat, two red eared sliders, many tarantulas, a beardie, ball python, and a gerbil), but my parents are what you can call 'cruel' to a point. My mother is an impulse buyer(the two turtles and the ball python), but then if they get sick, always says "Its cheaper to buy another one." My dad couldn't care less. I take care of the tarantulas(they don't need a vet since theyre inverts), beardie and ball python myself, the gerbil is my brothers(he does a good job with feeding and playing with it, I just made a split cage to get it a companion to socialize with), and the dog and cat are mostly my parents' responsibility.

I don't have a very strong relationship with my family and really don't socialize often, so I find pets as a way to get away from it all and feel like someone does depend on me. I've had my dragon for a little over a year now, and I consider him in good health. I gathered his care info from this site, but have been lurking here for the past couple of days in order to make the bond with him stronger. I will straight up admit that I didn't give him the most attention for the last few months, but I'm determined to make this change, I'm moving him to my room soon and am redoing his cage so he has more fun in it(I'm working on a platform...).

My parents have never let me go to the vet for one of my reptiles, its like the dog and cat really matter more than anything else. This thread is making me realize that I should probably downsize my "collection" and give more attention to the animals I actually can give proper care for. I'm going to ask my parents if I can get a new home for our ball python. I think it should be the first to get a better home because I find it difficult to manage its feeding(even if it is once a week) and humidity/temps by myself, I get no help from anyone. My mother bought this snake, thought she knew everything about it from the petsmart caresheet, and then after I gave her a mini lecture of how actually difficult they are to take care of, she immediately lost interest in it and dumped its care on me. Ugh...

Sorry for the rant, I haven't been in a good mood today, and my parents always make me angry about my pet situation. They just buybuybuy and never think beforehand....then complain about the bills.

 

[trinity040400]

Lets see after all my bills I have $150, My new beardie (rescued) didnt have any lights or food she needed. After getting her all set up I only had $30 left for food and stuff for myself for 2 weeks! :shock: Sometimes we need to learn to tighted our belts to take care of our critters.

Man am I hungry!

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

Sometimes we need to learn to tighted our belts to take care of our critters.

Man am I hungry!

The I'm hungry part is so funny! In a good way. If I did not have my 3 human children I would gladly live off 3-4 choice dishes to give more to my Mojo. Unfortunately (kind of) I have the kids and by law must feed them correctly lol. They eat enough to put any beardie to shame :shock:

Yet I can handle vet bills. I searched for a vet that would allow me to put money on my account in case of emergencies.

 

[trinity040400]

Luckly I dont have any kids but I do have 4 cats, 1 dog, 1 beta, 1 cockatiel, 2 parakeets, and 1 bearded dragon. :shock: + I am tring to pay for collage while I am only getting 30hr a week at work!

Now that I think about it I am kinda tired too! :sleepy2:

 

[Octopoda]

I think a big part of this problem is that folks don't realize that bearded dragons can't live off the same sort of money that you would need for a dog or a cat. They are not low maintenance animals.

Oh man, I wish! My dragon has been super cheap compared to my dogs. I have a Boston Terror and a French Bulldog. Those dogs cost me $100 a month in just food. Then there are heart worm preventatives, flea and tick stuff, toys, chews, treats, vet visits (there have been many this year), the bulldog needs to have her anal glands expressed regularly because she's a freak of nature. Both of them were boarded this month because I went out of town (that cost $300) and they come home with a parasite called giardia, which was another $100 to diagnose and they are now being treated.

I've spent $1200 in vet bills this year on my pets. This is separate from supplies and food.

My dragon is sick now but he has not needed medical care or anything outside of his basic needs being met for almost 7 years. A $50 bulb every 6 months, worms, and salads are nothing. I grow his leafy greens on my deck when the weather is warm. Keeping him is a breeze. My dogs are super high maintenance.