Should we get pet insurance for guinea pigs?

[looseleaf]

We have 2 very special rehomed guinea pigs who are roughly 3 (we've had them about 8 months).

Last week one didnt seem well and was wheezing so we rushed to the vet who was considering an X-ray but couldn't do it for 2 days as had a conference. GP improved greatly and seems herself but we would have been looking at a nearly £300 bill for one GP?!

Does anyone have a recommendation for pet insurance as presumably this would be sensible if anything came up again?
Thanks so much and main thing is so relieved she's ok (especially as secretly she's my favourite one as very outgoing and cuddly!)

[nocake]

Can you get insurance for guinea pigs? I work for one of the largest pet insurers and we only cover cats and dogs.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I did find a company that covered guineas (it took alot of searching) and IIRC my two boys would have been £24 a month as one year olds.
I didn't take out insurance for them.

You'd be best to put some Rainy Day money away really, 99% of GPs never see a vet in their whole lifetime. You don't have injections or neutering to worry about (unless you have a boar/sow non breeding pair).

£300 is a phenomenal amount of money .
Trouble is , most vets don't see a lot of guineas in practice.

Does your practice have a vet with a special interest in guinea-pigs? Might be worth doing a few Google searches?

[noyouhavehadawee]

mine are six, both have been once each at the cost of 12.50 each time, wow at £300 , we don't have insurance.

[Earnshaw]

Going straight to an x-ray for wheezing seems dramatic, rather than trying antibiotics. What did they think was wrong? My old sow, who lived to 7, used to wheeze on and off during, would you believe, the hay fever season. The vet gave her antibs, but eventually we worked out that it went away on its own and didn't seem to trouble her (ie she didn't stop eating!). A friend swears by a whiff of Olbas Oil in such cases, but our pig used to be able to hold her breath for a startlingly long time faced with an Olbasy tissue.

[tabulahrasa]

You can't insure pets against something that's already on their medical records anyway - so you'd be paying money in case something else happening as of the same thing happened again they'd not pay out.

[FernieB]

£300 seems a lot for an x-ray. My Smoothpig had an x-ray a couple of months ago and it cost £40.

I don't have insurance for my pigs or rabbit. We've been to the vets a few times for health checks before staying in boarding and because Smoothpig keeps having accidents . Our vet has never charged a huge amount and all our follow up visits have been free. Maybe I just have a lovely vet (guineapiglet knows who they are)!

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

GP1 last year got a clear fluid (ok snot ) from one nostril when he'd been eating grass (either grazing or cut grass).
Breathing was fine. We asked at his Rodentologist check up. She said hayfever type symptoms.They lasted maybe a couple of hours then fine.
How unfair is that a little grass eating boy having hayfever.

Strangley, this year, nothing.

[looseleaf]

Thank you all so much. I am relieved this sounds surprisingly expensive! And also glad to know about hay fever as it does sound that might have been a possibility.

The quote was actually for both X-ray and tooth examination (under anaesthetic ), sorry not clearer but still seemed a lot.

[guineapiglet]

I agree, finding a good, guinea savvy, caring, non rip you off vet is utterly priceless, and it annoys me how much prices vary for exact treatments between vets, no standard charges......

Fernie the dear Vet nurse you mention once performed MOUTH TO MOUTH resucitation on one of my dying guineas, the one who had a heart attack and literally died of fright, we were all sobbing hard whilst she did it, talk about going beyond the call of duty. Despite all her efforts, including heart message, poor little lass died... but she really tried her best. She also has the BEST dog in the world!! (I'm his Aunt).

Makes Casualty look tame doesn't it.

[guineapiglet]

massage, obviously :)

[FernieB]

Wow! Mouth to mouth on a pig! That really is going beyond the call of duty. I will not ask her to do that on my boys - their breath smells ripe at the best of times

[guineapiglet]

She would die of embarassment if she knew I had recounted this story, I was sworn to secrecy!!! Yes, guinea breath, is at best, not something you would want to be too close up to, at worse, especially after cabbage or cauliflower, clothes peg on nose job. But they always seem dead happy with the way they smell :)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Bless her- she probably acted on impulse and didn't stop to think that GPs eat their own poo just that there was a little animal emergency right in front of her eyes.

And Hand on Heart- if there was ever a situation where one of your Super Furry Animals was drowning (like when they try to jump out of the bath and risk falling back in) we would ALL of us attempt to resuscitate them cabbage breath or not

[FernieB]

Knowing how gooey I am over my boys, I definitely would, but would be rinsing my mouth out for days after!