# How Much have you spent in vet bills?



## rednkhuntertd (Jul 26, 2007)

Hello,
I was wondering how much anyone has spent in a vet bill for just one frog. I have recently had my frog taken to the vet and have paid $190.00 so far. My treatments are not over, so I will have to pay more for shots. I am not complaining on the cost, but rather wanted to know if I am being overcharged?

Any information is appreciated. 

Thanks, Sarah


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## JJuchems (Feb 16, 2004)

I can not say to much because the Vet I use is a friend of my family from church and when I was a bio major I spent a lot of time in his office job shadowing. 

The last trip cost $60 including drugs. For a group of import geckos.


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## hopalong (Sep 19, 2005)

A reptile/amphibian exam at the clinic that I work at is $40. Deworming meds wouldn't cost more than $8.50, a fecal wet mount, gram stain, and fecal float are all $12 each. I don't know what meds your frog is on, if they had to be specially ordered or something I could see the price jumping expedientially. 

Obviously amphibians and reptiles are a very specialized study so finding a competent vet who is honest about their experience and knowledge can be difficult. Even if you find out that your vet is charging you unfairly, there isn't much you can do about it unless there is another exotics vet nearby that you can switch your business to. It seems like a rock/hard spot situation. I can recommend contacting Dr. Frye and maybe email/fax/mail a copy of the record to see if he agrees. It would be cool if I had his contact info right here, but I don't.

Good luck!


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

I once took a white's treefrog to the vet to get put down because it busted one of its legs. Cost me more than the damn frog was worth! Now if I need to cull a frog I rely on the old heavy-brick-squished-frog method. I will not keep animals that are wild caught because I believe this only contributes to the problem of stupid people stealing from mother nature, therefore I do not have to worry about treating for parasites. I also believe that stupid people who take animals from the wild to place them inside a glass cage need to have a heavy brick dropped on their head, especially with the amount of captive bred animals being produced for this purpose.


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## Rich Frye (Nov 25, 2007)

Jer said:


> I once took a white's treefrog to the vet to get put down because it busted one of its legs. Cost me more than the damn frog was worth! Now if I need to cull a frog I rely on the old heavy-brick-squished-frog method.


I suggest a quick search on the topic of culling and euthanizing. There is lots of good information here on the proper methods.



Jer said:


> I will not keep animals that are wild caught because I believe this only contributes to the problem of stupid people stealing from mother nature,


Some WCs do contribute to problems, some do not. If you keep any frogs , they once came from WCs. Again though, a quick search and this topic has been covered by experts on the topic, both in the field and other-wise. I doubt that one's intelligence is the major factor for someone "stealing from mother nature". I doubt they are all "stupid". Don't know if a search will help solve that one . That may be one of the few topics not found by doing a quick search. :lol: :wink: :lol: 



Jer said:


> therefore I do not have to worry about treating for parasites.


]


I hope you do not belive that CBs don't get and have parasites? I'm going to skip the quick search mantra on this one and just tell you right now that there are more parasites in CB Darts per animal than WCs Darts, by a long shot. [/quote]



Jer said:


> I also believe that stupid people who take animals from the wild to place them inside a glass cage need to have a heavy brick dropped on their head, especially with the amount of captive bred animals being produced for this purpose.


[/quote]

At this point I have to ask the mods to check into this member. I really think we may have a troll on our hands just trying to stir stuff up for no other reason than simple amusement.


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## Dangerously (Dec 19, 2007)

Jer said:


> Now if I need to cull a frog I rely on the old heavy-brick-squished-frog method.


The freezer.. the freezer. For reptiles and amphibians it's much more humane.


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

Rich Frye said:


> If you keep any frogs , they once came from WCs.


I don't think I need to say "duh". Obviously! With the amount of people breeding frogs for the pet industry these days, there is no need to keep depriving our natural populations.



Rich Frye said:


> but that one's intelligence is the major factor for someone "stealing from mother nature". I doubt they are all "stupid". Don't know if a search will help solve that one . That may be one of the few topics not found by doing a quick search. :lol: :wink: :lol:.


Ok perhaps "stupid" was the wrong word. "Greedy" fits into place much better.



Rich Frye said:


> I hope you do not belive that CBs don't get and have parasites? I'm going to skip the quick search mantra on this one and just tell you right now that there are more parasites in CB Darts per animal than WCs Darts, by a long shot.


That doesn't even make any sense.



Jer said:


> I also believe that stupid people who take animals from the wild to place them inside a glass cage need to have a heavy brick dropped on their head, especially with the amount of captive bred animals being produced for this purpose.


[/quote]


Rich Frye said:


> At this point I have to ask the mods to check into this member. I really think we may have a troll on our hands just trying to stir stuff up for no other reason than simple amusement.


Believing what I had stated does not make me a troll, and whether you like it or not, I am not the only member on these forums that does not believe in taking wild animals to make them live in captivity. Perhaps you are the troll.

On top of that, I think you would be surprised as to how many members have messaged me telling me that they believe in cross morphs and keeping mixed terrariums, they are just too afraid to make this public because they know that if they speak up against what the general consensus is on these forums, that they will get their heads chewed off. This is wrong. People shouldn't be afraid.


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

Dangerously said:


> Jer said:
> 
> 
> > Now if I need to cull a frog I rely on the old heavy-brick-squished-frog method.
> ...


No way! I tried the freezer once on a lizard that had some sort of cancerous growth on its mouth and could no longer eat. CRUEL! Never use the freezer.


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

Jer said:


> Dangerously said:
> 
> 
> > Jer said:
> ...


Please read: Euthanasia for Amphibians By Edward Kowalski


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

rednkhuntertd said:


> Hello,
> I was wondering how much anyone has spent in a vet bill for just one frog.


I recently moved the viv that my White's tree frogs were in (to make room for the Christmas tree), and the new location proved not to keep a steady temp. Shortly thereafter, one of my females died. I took her in for a simple necropsy (no lab tests, just physical/micro exam). That visit, plus a second to bring in the remaining three, and get an antibiotic and two dewormers, and refills on the meds, cost less than $200.

When she found out how many species I had, she offered free parasite treatment in the future in exchange for fecals that she could use in her vet tech class at the local college.
Jim


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## Dangerously (Dec 19, 2007)

jehitch said:


> Please read: Euthanasia for Amphibians By Edward Kowalski


I learned something today. Thank you.


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

Never heard of Orajel before. Sounds promising?


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## frog_newbie (Sep 5, 2007)

Since the tread has gone this way, I heard that putting the frogs in boiling water is a humane way to kill them. I was surprised at this and wonder if it is true.


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

Jer said:


> Never heard of Orajel before. Sounds promising?


Works great. I had to put down a green tree frog that had injured its back leg, and I missed it because the viv is so heavily planted that a frog that doesn't want to be seen, won't be seen. When I finally saw it, the leg was necrotic, and the frog was beginning to bloat. 

We used a stopwatch to time it. I put a drop about 1.5 cm on his belly; within a five seconds he was immobilized, and at 2:17 stopped breathing. He seemed to feel no discomfort.
Jim


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## Rich Frye (Nov 25, 2007)

frog_newbie said:


> Since the tread has gone this way, I heard that putting the frogs in boiling water is a humane way to kill them. I was surprised at this and wonder if it is true.


The severe scalding and what would not be an instant death would make me say no. 
That and it not being on Ed's list cited a few posts back.



Going back to the original topic.
Sarah, being over-charged may be a very relative thing. One person's 'more than an animal was worth' is another man's 'I'll spend what it takes to make and keep my animal healthy'. What are frogs worth? Monetarily , exactly what one will pay. Emotionally, sometimes much, much , more than that. Nobody here could tell you that you were being overcharged by the limited info from your post. What is wrong with your frog? What exactly has been done and is being done for further treatment? How long are the office calls? What meds are being used? Ect. ect,. There are usually formulas for time and material for just about any business (veterinarians need to pay the rent also) and a simple bill should be detailed enough for most to know what is being done and how much it costs. When in doubt, first ask the person billing you, then maybe get another 'opinion' from another vet. Finding a vet you trust is a very important thing for anyone keeping animals.

Rich


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

Seeing as how certain people (no names mentioned) enjoy reading my posts way out of context and then take it upon themselves to send me hate mail, or call me a troll, I am going to state that this is a genuine sincere question. Do people actually get emotionally attached to frogs? I mean a dog ok, a cat sure, a hamster (if you are a little kid) fine. But do grown ups actually get emotionally attached to frogs? Just because I don't get emotionally attached to frogs, I am not going to follow the unfortunate norm of this forum and immediately hate just because you see things differently than I do. I am simply only curious, nothing more. Thanks.


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

> Do people actually get emotionally attached to frogs? I mean a dog ok, a cat sure, a hamster (if you are a little kid) fine.


I think you become emotionally attached to any animal that you work with/keep. Although my emotional attachment is more connected with my husbandry successes than anything else.


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## Rich Frye (Nov 25, 2007)

Jer said:


> Seeing as how certain people (no names mentioned) enjoy reading my posts way out of context and then take it upon themselves to send me hate mail, or call me a troll, I am going to state that this is a genuine sincere question. Do people actually get emotionally attached to frogs? I mean a dog ok, a cat sure, a hamster (if you are a little kid) fine. But do grown ups actually get emotionally attached to frogs? Just because I don't get emotionally attached to frogs, I am not going to follow the unfortunate norm of this forum and immediately hate just because you see things differently than I do. I am simply only curious, nothing more. Thanks.


The quick/simple answer is yes. People do actually get emotionally attached. Be it 'love' or just an ethical reaction to their frogs and their well being. This explains the fact many froggers will spend "more than the damn frog was worth" in vet bills. And spend huge amounts of emotional effort to ensure health of not only their frogs but other's as well. I doubt that this forum would be around if there was not an emotional attachment.

Rich


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## Jer (Feb 9, 2008)

Ok word.


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## MRI_GUY (Jul 31, 2006)

While not specific to PDF's or even Amphibians it bears mentioning. Veterinary medicine had advanced quite a bit in the last few years. Technology that was once reserved for humans is now readily available for animals. Radiation Therapy, CAT Scans, MRI, and PET Scans are becoming much more common. There are currently 31 MRI scanners in the US that are exclusively for veterinary use. The bill for that exam alone is $600 to $2500 depending on facility and body part(s). I recall reading an news blurb where the AVMA quoted what was spent on Vet care in the US on an annual basis. Sadly, I cannot recall the number but I remember thinking is was akin to the GDP of many small countries.


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