Did Vet Rip Us Off?

[philthegecko]

Vet diagnosed leo today with mouth rot.

Exam - $48
Fecal exam - $26

(and this is where I get suspicious)

ciprofloxacin suspension per ml 10 mg/ - $46.50
exo terra multi vitamin - $18

total - $138.50

I looked up the exact multi vitamin and found it on amazon for $5. Nice little markup they're hitting us with. Anyone know if the other charges are legit? Thanks.

 

[proBie3]

Eh it's the vet, they gotta make there money somehow... I went in to get stitches at the doctor and it cost me nearly $500.......... About $200 of it was the cost of the little bit of gauze they wrapped around my hand and the 3 band aids they sent me home with for the next morning... Go figure.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Vet diagnosed leo today with mouth rot.

Exam - $48
Fecal exam - $26

(and this is where I get suspicious)

ciprofloxacin suspension per ml 10 mg/ - $46.50
exo terra multi vitamin - $18

total - $138.50

I looked up the exact multi vitamin and found it on amazon for $5. Nice little markup they're hitting us with. Anyone know if the other charges are legit? Thanks.

Did they hand you a container of vitamins and charge you $18?

Or did they hand you a bottle of vitamins, explain how they were supposed to be used and prescribe a specific regimen of application and care based on their specific educated analysis of the condition the animal was in and their knowledge of how to correct it?

Or did they administer vitamins, using their expertise and experience to provide a calculated and measured dose of exactly what the animal needs in the manner that it needed it?

Thirteen bucks seems pretty cheap, considering the fact that they went through six to eight years of higher education and then specifically sought out information pertaining to the treatment and care of exotic species in order to provide the care that you are incapable of providing.

"Legit" you say... you bring to them an animal suffering from mouth rot, a pretty easily preventable condition, that you weren't even aware was having these problems because you are not a veterinarian or an experienced herpetoculturalist and are utterly oblivious to the details of your pet's health and physiology and you ask this veterinarian to check the animal out, make it healthy, fix it so the problem goes away; something you have not the first clue about fixing on your own and then you have the sheer unmitigated audacity to suggest that the skillset, the knowledge, the education and all the dedication that the veterinarian has put into training to be ready to solve these problems is not worth your $18?!

Pig-ignorant know-nothing consumers like yourself are exactly the reason that so many people report difficulties finding a veterinarian that is qualified to care for reptiles. You're part of the reason our hobby (or profession) is under attack by AR groups and restrictive legislation. You're contributing to the negative stereotypes about reptiles as pets and reptile owners as negligent. You're eroding my ability to keep my animals in a safe and legal manner.

No. The vet did not "rip you off." Sometime in the last seven months that you have owned this animal, you subjected it to conditions that allowed it to develop an infection and then didn't even know that it had happened until you went to see a vet. They didn't rip you off at all, they worked to correct your mistakes, to save the life of the animal you have neglected. If you don't like paying them $18 bucks for a vitamin dose, feel free to spend six years getting your doctorate, all your free time reading the latest papers and attending seminars to stay up to date and filing for all the licensing required to actually practice. Let me know if it comes out to less than eighteen bucks, so I can see how much you saved by doing it yourself.

 

[philthegecko]

Your insanity is adorable. You'd make a wonderful veterinarian.

 

[katie_]

Vets dont rip people off.
You were charged a dispensing fee, which includes doctors instructions and time they spend discussing it with you.

 

[philthegecko]

Telling us to pick up a multi vitamin could have been another way to go. Perhaps giving us the choice. "You can buy a multi vitamin on your own or I can give you one for $18." Rather than just adding it to the bill.

 

[ImNotYogi]

With the price of shipping it probably wouldn't have been that much cheaper than $18.

 

[philthegecko]

Yeah, true. Was just curious. First time there so don't know the routine. Wasn't sure if $50 for tiny bit of anti-biotic was normal price either. Very well could be.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I asked my vet when I saw what I thought was an incredibly high price of a tube of ointment. She said the drug shortage in the US was hitting vets too and they were having a hard time finding some medications that used to be reasonable prices.

 

[philthegecko]

Interesting. Thanks, Lisa.

 

[katie_]

I think an examination of $48 is a ridiculous deal.
Exams here are $70+ and thats just for cats and dogs. I think exams on exotics should be MORE because they SUCK to examine. Biting, squirmy, delicate little creatures.

You ALWAYS have the right to ask the vet if you can get medications some place else for cheaper. Many can write you a script to pick it up at the pharmacy. Its up to you to ask.

 

[wsumike87]

That was a bit of a hostile reply.

Did they hand you a container of vitamins and charge you $18?

Or did they hand you a bottle of vitamins, explain how they were supposed to be used and prescribe a specific regimen of application and care based on their specific educated analysis of the condition the animal was in and their knowledge of how to correct it?

Or did they administer vitamins, using their expertise and experience to provide a calculated and measured dose of exactly what the animal needs in the manner that it needed it?

Thirteen bucks seems pretty cheap, considering the fact that they went through six to eight years of higher education and then specifically sought out information pertaining to the treatment and care of exotic species in order to provide the care that you are incapable of providing.

"Legit" you say... you bring to them an animal suffering from mouth rot, a pretty easily preventable condition, that you weren't even aware was having these problems because you are not a veterinarian or an experienced herpetoculturalist and are utterly oblivious to the details of your pet's health and physiology and you ask this veterinarian to check the animal out, make it healthy, fix it so the problem goes away; something you have not the first clue about fixing on your own and then you have the sheer unmitigated audacity to suggest that the skillset, the knowledge, the education and all the dedication that the veterinarian has put into training to be ready to solve these problems is not worth your $18?!

Pig-ignorant know-nothing consumers like yourself are exactly the reason that so many people report difficulties finding a veterinarian that is qualified to care for reptiles. You're part of the reason our hobby (or profession) is under attack by AR groups and restrictive legislation. You're contributing to the negative stereotypes about reptiles as pets and reptile owners as negligent. You're eroding my ability to keep my animals in a safe and legal manner.

No. The vet did not "rip you off." Sometime in the last seven months that you have owned this animal, you subjected it to conditions that allowed it to develop an infection and then didn't even know that it had happened until you went to see a vet. They didn't rip you off at all, they worked to correct your mistakes, to save the life of the animal you have neglected. If you don't like paying them $18 bucks for a vitamin dose, feel free to spend six years getting your doctorate, all your free time reading the latest papers and attending seminars to stay up to date and filing for all the licensing required to actually practice. Let me know if it comes out to less than eighteen bucks, so I can see how much you saved by doing it yourself.

 

[katie_]

I dont think it was hostile at all.
It was a perfect response to the ignorant thread.

 

[Dimidiata]

Stern. Stern is the optimal word here. Yes, exotics can SUCK to check over. Expecially since most vets have to do a little more self study into them then they do with typical domestic dog/cat/bird. Which are covered OVER AND OVER again in vet classes, while the study fro exotics like the various lizard and gecko species are typically blanketed with a few side facts. You're paying a very nice fee there for the whole dang thing, here i would expect to pay at LEAST $150 without any meds needed. As for antibiotics, always pricey as crap. But where else are you going to find someone with the drug and the know how to properly administer it to the animal? That is what vets do, they learn this crap to help your animal. Your typical vet isn't some upper class animal doctor rolling through life with money to hand out either, most are lower middle class like the rest of us. They don't make half of what a doctor makes so don't think they are in it for the cash only. Veterinarians, Vet techs and assistants, they do what they do because they want to help the animals not rob you . Things are pricey these days though. The office must keep stock on tons of medications and tools to be used regularly with the 100's of potential species they could see at any given time. Ask a Radiologist to administer the correct amount and type of pain killer to a person with a broken arm. Now ask a vet to do both with a dog. Guess who gets the job done?

On the flip side, i hope the mouth rot clears up. It can be nasty and irritating for the animal. It is normally caused by human error in care, id review everything to make sure that the care is on par. It can also be result from injury to the mouth becoming infected so check around for anything that could have done that as well.