Cost of Neuter

[brook]

I asked my vet about the charge for neutering sparty and they said around $250. Yikes!!  Is this normal.  She said they have to usual special anesthesia for rabbits thats why its so much more than cats and dogs.

[Sarita]

Yes, it can be. They use isofluorine for rabbits – I guess the cost is more for this. I would say too that if your vet has experience with rabbits it’s well worth the extra cost – sure you could probably find cheaper but do they have the same experience? Maybe, maybe not.

Where are you located?

[Beka27]

confidence in your vet is very important. you definitely want someone experienced to perform the surgery. that being said, it does not hurt to call aroound and get price quotes. depending on where you live (i’m gonna take a wild guess and say Toledo? lol) you might be able to travel a bit outside your area (30-60 minutes away) and get price quotes for half that amount.

[Beka27]

here is the Buckeye HRS site. http://www.ohare.org/vets.htm

you can also try contacting them directly if they have any new recs that are not on the list yet.

[hooty22]

I know that at our local Human Society the cost is way cheaper than anywhere else. You may want to call your local shelter for some quotes.

[brook]

Yes, I have full faith in our vet.  It’s the bird and exotic pet wellness center and they specialize in birds and rabbits, but also take other exotics like ferrets, turtles, reptiles, etc.  The head vet that I see Is Dr. Susan Orosz and she has won many awards both nationally and internationally for her aviary skills.  Even if somewhere else charged $50 less I would still probably go with them, I just wanted to make sure that this was an adequate price for a specialty vet.  The other vet in the office was a zoo vet for 23 years in san diego, so they are both very knowledgeable.

[brook]

Thank you Beka, they are actually on that list!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Generally what also drives up the cost is they have heated blankies under the bun during surgery and after to keep them warm and a vet or a vet tech with the rabbit one-on-one after the neuter until they’ve woken up and eaten. So…pretty expensive but so worth it!

Sounds like you picked a great vet!

[RachelF]

My vet charged 75$ plus a vet visit fee of $50..

I would call around, just make sure you talk to the vet and inspect her skills.

As the famous question I was told to ask when I was looking to spay/neuter my two.

“Should my bunny fast before surgery?”(not eat)

They should tell you a definite noooo.!

[dmh426]

I paid $275 for Sophie’s spay. this is typical pricing for a lagomorph spay/neuter where i live.

[KatnipCrzy]

If you call around for prices- make sure to ask what is included!  Because you often get what you pay for.  Bloodwork, IV catheter, IV fluids, pain meds,etc can all add to the price of the surgery- some places include it in the surgery price because it is mandatory and some other clinics either do not offer it for bunnies or each additional thing is another charge.

I never want anyone to discourage anyone from getting the rabbit fixed- but most low cost spay/neuter is geared toward spaying and neutering to control pet overpopulation.  That is there first and foremost goal- so they will do as many surgeries as cheaply and efficiently as possible to be able to offer low prices.  They most likely use cheaper injectable and gas anesthesia products to keep their cost down.

AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) clinics and other uncertified clinics often have some of the same anesthetics used in people- and they are NOT cheap.  But if you have an elderly or exotic pet, safer anesthesia protocols usually involve using the more expensive drugs.  For geriatric pets- in our vet clinic we use an IV induction that wears off quickly (Propofol) so that we are able to intubate them and get them on gas anesthesia right away.  Other meds actually can sedate the pet and and are not quickly flushed out of the system. 

I just adopted a bunny from the Humane Society- and he was neutered thru them before going to pet store to their adoption cages.  It cost me $30 to adopt him- already neutered.  Did they do pre-anes bloodwork, use the latest and most expensive anesthesia, etc- I am betting not.  But if they can neuter/spay x amount of rabbits this way- then it makes sense.  I said to my husband “I could not pay $30 to neuter my bunny as I would be too afraid of the risks involved, but I am OK with adopting a neutered rabbit for $30.”  Basically once I am attached to a pet- I could never knowingly take short cuts on anesthesia, no bloodwork, etc- but if the rabbit had it done before I adopted it or brought it home and it obviously fine- then great.  I usually measure my pet care decisions with what I think I can sleep with at night- if I purposefully did or did not do something vet or otherwise and it caused harm or injury to my pet- it really tears me apart inside.   I had 2 cats that eventually had to be euth due to cancer from a Rabies vaccine- and it tore me apart that I made the decision to vaccinate them, even though I thought I was doing what was best- it makes me cry even now to think that I had a tiny part in what eventually killed them. 

So please do your research carefully about speuter prices and what is included and their procedure.   $X for a spay or neuter buys SO MUCH MORE than what you can see.

Julie

[BookerTRabbit]

That is what we paid for Booker’s spay and we were quoted about the same for our new adopted bunny Benny’s neuter.

Some Humane Societies may offer a discounted spay/neuter but ours here does not. It is a very good investment in the long run, bunny is happier, you will be happier. Your bunn will have a longer, healthier life for everyone.

[dlscanne]

It cost me $160 to spay my female, and I think the same place did males for around $100-$120. I think that is about in the middle of price ranges. It seems like the price you were quoted is a little high, but I agree with other members if you are getting more high quality vet care for it then it’s worth it if you can afford it.  Maybe this includes post-op meds, an exam and a follow up exam.  However you should ask because the vet I had Franklin spayed at charged an additional $40 for an appointment because they had never seen her before.  Also, if like you said your vets are very very good then you are probably paying for their expertise.  I bet like everything else, some of it also depends on costs in your area…ex. food, rent, gas.  A lot of that stuff goes hand in hand.   Good luck!

[2lops]

Normally in our area it’s around $200 for just the spay. But they also have to do a checkup (around $50-$75). So you have to combine the prices for spay and checkup to get the real total. Leila’s going for her pre-spay checkup Tuesday, If it goes well and we’re able to get her spayed it’s $260. Yippee.

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