SoCal Vets Off Their Rockers

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SunnyCait

SunnyCait

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Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
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Location
Pasadena, California, USA
I don't know if I'm just tainted because I lived in a place where the highest price I'd ever heard for a neuter was 80 dollars, but this is just insane. I've been calling around all day in search of a vet in my new area (Pasadena,CA) to neuter Holly. Now when she was really a "she" I was totally expecting to pay in the hundreds to have her altered. Now that we know she is actually a HE, I was kind of relieved as far as altering costs go... Well apparently I was wrong! I've called 10 places and all quoted me 300+.

For a neuter. That is just insane, I am sorry. Rabbits may be more sensitive to anesthesia etc etc etc but no way is that procedure actuallyworth 300+ dollars.

It's no wonder LA county has population issues; if it cost that much to spay/neuter your bunny (and I was toldby several of them cats ran about the same price!!) no wonder more people don't do it! Geez louise.

At that rate it's *literally* cheaper for me to fly home, get him done there, and fly back!

My next step is to contact bunny rescues and see where they get theirs done. I've contacted two in the area and never heard back from either (lovely) so hopefully I'll have better luck with that... Gah it's just really discouraging. I know if it comes down to it I'll have to pay the freakishly outlandish price these people seem to think is normal, but I just hate to do that when I know how ridiculous that is. I don't know, I'm just frustrated I suppose. :/
 
When I got Becky done it was $350, but that was a spay. My new vet quoted $175 for Gary's neuter, so I hope that price holds true.

Prices can be so frustrating! I hope you find a good solution.
 
Our Humane Society offers a low cost program for cats and dogs, not rabbits... And apparently the LA SPCA offers a clinic but they're not open until Wednesday apparently so I can't get any information until then. Ho hum.
 
Lilli was a rescue from Arizona and it cost $55 there for a female. I used to go out to Discovery Bay in Ca as it was a 20 minute drive and it was $120 versus $300 in Tracy. Keep on plugging--have you tried contacting Rabbit Rescue Organizations?
 
I've contacted two and never heard back, I emailed two more so we'll see...

I did find a clinic within walking distance who quoted me at 150, but because the vet wasn't in, they weren't sure if that included the pre-op blood panel or the pain meds for home, and he won't be in until a week from today. I'll call him then and see, and if that includes everything I think I'm going to just go with that place and be thankful I don't have to drive for forever, I suppose!

And if I can't find something decent by Christmas then guess who is making the trip back home with me. :p
 
If she's a young bun she'd should be fine without bloodwork although of course that's up to you. Did you try the SPCA? http://www.pasadenahumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=services_snip
I volunteered extensively with LA Animal services but I'm not as familiar with low-cost resources for people who aren't residents of the city of LA. I also worked at Studio City Animal Hospital which has excellent vets, but is by no means cheap.
 
Here give this a try: http://neuterspay.org/ I used that to find vouchers and such within my area to find a low cost neuter. Some will depend on your income.

But maaaan 300 sounds way too much. Too bad you don't live nearer to me. My SPCA does rabbit neuters for $35
 
Yes, the SPCA said they do cats and dogs but NOT rabbits. Odd because their rabbits they adopt out are altered. *shrugs*

I'm going to try the LA SPCA and see what gives with that one, has to wait til Wednesday though.

The first vets I checked with were three that were listed on the House Rabbit Society's page for rabbit savvy vets for Pasadena. Savvy yes, within what I'm comfortable paying, no way.

I'll check that out MagPie! You know I just mapquested how far Sacramento was LMAO. :p
 
That's weird they don't do rabbits especially since they alter the ones the adopt. The one near me always has 5 or 6 rabbits on hand. Which when I went to pick up Harvey after his neuter, I was tempted to bring one home XD. They all made him look tiny tho.


Hahaha yeah not too close, considering how big California is. Good luck tho.
 
I paid almos $400 for General Bismakr's neuter. I did realize it was overpriced, but honestly after calling the few vets withing 2 1/2 hours that would see rabbits the vet I choose was the only one who answered all my questions and was very nice about.

He attended conferences on rabbit helath, owned them himself, was not shy about the number of rabbits her worked on every week, was open about mortality rates and had over a decade of experience with rabbits. The office was amazing and opened early to get us in (it was almost three hours away and they suggested we do a day in the city and pick up our guy at the end of the day so we wouldn't need to drive back the next day).

I don't regret having paid what I paid because the vet put my mind at ease and they were very kind and thoughtful. They even sent The General a birthday card.

I think if more vets took seminars and had the training for doing rabbits, it would be cheaper. But sadly there are surprisingly few who do (at least in area), and so many who still use open surgery methods.

You really would think the SPCA would offer it for rabbits. Might be worth our community writing a few letters requesting it.
 
I paid $263 for Yofi's neuter (four years ago today, actually!). While the price was steep, it was worth every dollar spent. I don't know what it's like in other areas, but around here I had a great deal of difficulty locating and keeping an actual *rabbit vet*.

Two of the closest clinics to me said that they were very experienced with rabbits; one told me over the phone - when I called to say I had a very sick young bunny - that their vet saw rabbits all the time. But when I took him in the receptionist squealed upon seeing my bunny, saying me that they never had clients bring in rabbits. Then when the vet saw my rabbit - who was suffering from dehydration and severe diarrhea - all he did was take his temperature (which was on the low side), said that a culture wasn't needed when I requested it, proclaimed 'oh look, he's getting better!' when he saw a half-formed faecal ball in the diarrhea, and then said to feed him yogurt drops and he'd be fine. The little guy died the next evening. RIP Lucky. :(

I also lost a rabbit during a routine neuter to a vet who had once been my regular vet to go to...he too told me that he 'saw rabbits all the time'...but when he called to tell me that my rabbit had died on the operating table he said that he didn't know what had happened...he'd performed the same surgery all the time on cats and dogs, using the same anesthetic, etc., and had no clue why he lost him. (His receptionist had also told me to fast my rabbit the night before the surgery, and when I pointed it out to the vet when I dropped off my rabbit he said, 'Yes, that's right'...but when I said that you don't fast rabbits, he thought about it and said, 'Oh, yes, that makes sense'. I really should have taken my bunny and run away from there as fast as I could, but didn't, thinking he'd be okay...RIP Scooby. :(

And some clinics here won't even accept rabbits as clients any more - too high risk, they say. So to find a vet who is skilled and knowledgeable and trustworthy, I'd pay a mint. Guess it's all relative to the options available in your area.
 
I'm sorry about you rabbit Bassetluv! I got the impression from a ton of vets that "saw them all the time" that they didn't. I asked alot of questions as to methods, vet's background, last time they went to a seminar for rabbits or exotic pets...

I hope you found a good one now!
 
Is it really necessary to intubate them and to start lines on them though? These are things I hadn't heard of when neutering... I don't know if its because the vets I always used were farm vets or what, but to me that seems OTT. And maybe I'm wrong on that. A couple of them said the price included an overnight stay (yet no one was at the clinic at night, so if something went wrong how would they even know; I want Holly back with me the day of so I can actually WATCH her) and when I said I would want her back the same day they weren't going to take the overnight stay off the total price. What is with that... I'm not going to pay for something that A) I'm not using and B) is useless even if I did opt for it, considering no one is there. That makes me wary.



For medical care where I need a truly rabbit savvy vet I would NOT hesitate to pay whatever amount they were asking. Same with emergency care. It's one thing if I have a bunny with something WRONG, some sort of serious affliction. But for something as simple as a neuter(and I know people like to say its not routine, but it is) I'm not going to be okay being roped into paying that much. Holly isn't even a crypto. I just can't justify it. I truly do think it's because of the part of the country we live in that the price is so high.

The one clinic I talked to seemed really knowledgable (still twice what I'd feel comfortable paying, but hey, obviously this is normal around here) and I think I'm going to go with them when it comes down to it. She talked a lot about anesthesia and seemed to understand where I was coming from on a lot of the issues, and she made me feel really comfortable about the entire ordeal and explained a lot of things to me. She said that their techs are really amazing and that in the three years she'd been working there they hadn't lost more than three rabbits during altering (neuters and spays both.) It included a pre-op check up and all the good stuff I had no idea was that necessary, but I'm going with it. I was happy with the conversation I had with her.

I did make both boys "well bunny" check ups with one of the vets listed on the HRS page here in Pasadena, so that we have a "regular" vet. The vet I'm going to end up going to for the neuter is a bit too far away for me to be comfortable using them as a regular vet, in case we have an emergency.

Thank goodness the dog is all done up and set for another year! :p
 
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