Looking for a reasonable spay cost

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maidance

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I live in weschester New York and have a bunny that was sort of given to me this summer without any prior warning. I have been learning a lot about bunnies on this forum and have come to the conclusion that I must spay my bunny because I really want to bond her. The problem is my local vet doesn't support spaying unless you really have to because it's a "risky" procedure and says they'll do it for $400. I thought this was ridiculous until I went to the local vet listings and found out that although they do seem to know more about rabbits and got great reviews spaying costs over $600!!! I'm not poor but I don't have enough money to spend $600 especially since I bought her a $400 indoor hutch this winter. Does anyone know anywhere in New York that does it for cheaper??? It would be very appreciated thank you
 
I'm no help because we live in MA but I hear ya on the "sticker shock" of bunny fixing, and bunnies in general. I though my vet was nuts for charging over $400 for a spay and $380 plus for a neuter. I called the very well known vet clinic in our town and they were about $100.00 cheaper and knew their stuff better IMO. I have been gathering all the supplies needed for our baby and so far the bill is up near $600 (and we don't even have the bun yet!). Luckily I have been saving for over a year!
 
$600 is absurd! Granted, the cost of living is much cheaper down in Texas, but I paid significantly less than that for TWO spays.

The best way to find an affordable option is to start calling rabbit rescues/animal shelters (that take rabbits, of course) in your area and asking if they can recommend a reasonably-priced vet for a rabbit spay. Shelters spay/neuter all their animals prior to adoption, so if they take in a fair number of bunnies, the vet they go through will obviously be experienced with bunns. While you obviously won't be able to get a spay done as cheaply as the shelter itself will, whatever vet they go through is fairly likely to have more reasonable normal rates. A shelter or rescue may even be able to tell you about a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area that takes rabbits.

If you're planning to adopt an already fixed rabbit from a shelter or rescue to bond her with, you could even talk to a shelter and explain that you'd like to adopt a companion for your current rabbit from them but need to find a reasonably-priced, rabbit-savvy vet to spay her first (I would mention that you've been given a price quote of over $600 so they know it's unreasonable prices (rather than financial hardship) prompting you to search for a cheaper option - that way they won't make the incorrect assumption that you may not be able to afford taking on a second bunny and will be most likely to want to help you get in a position to adopt one of theirs). It's a bit of a long shot, I suspect, but you might even be able to schmooze a shelter into finding a way to get your rabbit spayed *very* cheaply (as in maybe $100ish range) if you were also willing to put down the adoption fee for a second bunny at the same time or something like that - they want good forever homes for the animals in their care, so being able to pose your question in a way that makes it in the shelter's best interests to help you get an affordable spay could make a big difference! It's worth a shot, at least. [You may want to try to track down the direct # for an employee who oversees the adoption aspect of the shelter, as the people who field most "default" incoming calls will be volunteers who aren't in a position to strike a deal with you - you'll probably have better luck speaking with one of the few true/full-time employees who oversee things. The actual employees usually have a title such as "_________ coordinator".]
 
$600 is absurd! Granted, the cost of living is much cheaper down in Texas, but I paid significantly less than that for TWO spays.

The best way to find an affordable option is to start calling rabbit rescues/animal shelters (that take rabbits, of course) in your area and asking if they can recommend a reasonably-priced vet for a rabbit spay. Shelters spay/neuter all their animals prior to adoption, so if they take in a fair number of bunnies, the vet they go through will obviously be experienced with bunns. While you obviously won't be able to get a spay done as cheaply as the shelter itself will, whatever vet they go through is fairly likely to have more reasonable normal rates. A shelter or rescue may even be able to tell you about a low cost spay/neuter clinic in your area that takes rabbits.

If you're planning to adopt an already fixed rabbit from a shelter or rescue to bond her with, you could even talk to a shelter and explain that you'd like to adopt a companion for your current rabbit from them but need to find a reasonably-priced, rabbit-savvy vet to spay her first (I would mention that you've been given a price quote of over $600 so they know it's unreasonable prices (rather than financial hardship) prompting you to search for a cheaper option - that way they won't make the incorrect assumption that you may not be able to afford taking on a second bunny and will be most likely to want to help you get in a position to adopt one of theirs). It's a bit of a long shot, I suspect, but you might even be able to schmooze a shelter into finding a way to get your rabbit spayed *very* cheaply (as in maybe $100ish range) if you were also willing to put down the adoption fee for a second bunny at the same time or something like that - they want good forever homes for the animals in their care, so being able to pose your question in a way that makes it in the shelter's best interests to help you get an affordable spay could make a big difference! It's worth a shot, at least. [You may want to try to track down the direct # for an employee who oversees the adoption aspect of the shelter, as the people who field most "default" incoming calls will be volunteers who aren't in a position to strike a deal with you - you'll probably have better luck speaking with one of the few true/full-time employees who oversee things. The actual employees usually have a title such as "_________ coordinator".]


Haha this is great news. I have already sent my email before responding to you because I didn't want to forget. I couldn't find a number for the rescue I was planning to adopt from and it's not there hours anyway, so I just sent then a sort of desperate sounding email mentioning my desire to bond my bunny and my adoration of there buns. I hope I can at least get a spay in the $200 range so I can get some nicer things for two bunnies instead of the extra x-pen I have now. I will update when I get a response! Thanks for the time you put into your answer!
 
I paid $465 or so for two spays at a very rabbit-savvy exotics vet, so I would think the $200ish range is a reasonable price to hope for if you put in the time to chat up shelters/rescues for a referral :).
 
My exotic pet vet charges $200 for neuters, and $220 for spays. I hope you can find a more reasonable price at a shelter or similar. :)
 

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