the Cost of Routine Pet Care

I have four pet rats, each of which in turn contracted pneumonia. I needed to have each of them admitted, diagnosed, and treated, and medicine supplied. In the end, four rats were treated for pneumonia and other incidental but serious problems. The total price includes medication, diagnosis, in-hospital treatment, and other services.

The first rat to become ill was only a few weeks old, and he was nearly incapable of breathing by the time the vet saw him; he had to be put on oxygen before he was strong enough to be examined. We were given an oral antibiotic - the vet injected him with the first dose - and told to administer it both to him and to his cage-mate, who was similar in age and became ill on schedule the next day. We have two older boys, both about two years old, from a line which is prone to cancer, and when one of them got this round of pneumonia we took him to the vet as well. During the examination, the vet went to take his temperature rectally, and dislodged a cancerous tumour which had to be eased out of his anus. We expected him not to recover, but we gave him the same aerobic antibiotic the other boys had received as well as an anaerobic one and a mild sedative that the vet believes has anti-cancer properties. He and his brother cage-mate have both recovered from pneumonia and are still lively two months later. I was impressed with the vet's coolness when she dislodged a tumour; it's not every day that happens, I'm sure, and she responded with surprise but no alarm, assessing and explaining the situation while expertly removing the dislodged growth. .

I was very pleased with the service about $300 purchased; the vet was extremely polite and attentive, and was willing to explain the treatment administered and our responsibilities in great depth. The vet was willing to medicate the sick boys' cage-mates without a separate examination, and to re-prescribe medication for a second round with the older boys, both without additional charge except for the medication itself, which was a great savings to us. I believe that this was partly because my wife and I demonstrated that we were knowledgeable and attentive, and could identify the symptoms clearly; the vet and I also were involved in other business negotiations at the time unrelated to the care of my rats. To get a fair price like this, I think it's important for service users to be willing to ask for the service they need, rather than capitulating to additional examinations that may not in fact be necessary, as we could have done here; if we had, it could easily have doubled our final expenditure!