# blood in urnine



## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

hey... i'm new on the forum... just wanted to ask about this... she's been to 2 vets and the first said they had to get her fixed... so i said fine and they have me a price of 500.... next day i get a call sayin they can't do it cuz she is too moody about being touched so they gave me a # of another vet and they gave me a price of 1100... i just wanna know if these prices sound right since its such a big difference...


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

I don't know anything about the price spaying a girl, seeing as I only have males, but her being "too moody" doesn't make sense. Of course she's going to be moody-- she's BLEEDING! It's probably good the original vet decided not to do it, considering they clearly don't know all that much about hedgehogs!

Where do you live? Here are a couple lists of vets across the country (and Canada):

http://www.hedgehogcentral.com/vets.shtml

www.hedgehogwelfare.org (there's a link on the left hand side for "Veterinarian list" and use the pull down menus).


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

I haven't had to pay for a spay yet, but with lump removals I expect to pay about $350-500 (possibly more). Plus additional charges for a full pathology to determine what we were dealing with and if they got it all.

The 1100 seems a little high to me, but what does it all include? I paid $1000 for a surgery, but it included a tricky surgery, full pathology, ultrasound, all medications & 2 follow up visits...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

$1100 seems high to me. That sounds more like an emergency price. Where do you live? Perhaps someone in your area can give you a better idea.


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

believe it not... the first vet owns a hedgehog... so i was alittle shocked when he said he couldn't do it... but also he said his likes being handled... mine has never ever liked be handled... 

i'm from toronto... around yorkdale for any1 thats from that area...

and the $1100 is for the initial visit, surgery(the spay), hysterectomy, anesthetics, histopathology(sending the uterus out to be checked for cancer) and all the over night care she'll need...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

That explains it. Try checking vets in Pickering or on the outskirts, you might find they are cheaper. 
I'm in Kingston and usually the spays here have been $300 - $400. Last pathology I had sent out was $120. You should be able to bring her home that day if the surgery is done in the morning. Check with the vet and make sure there is even someone there over night. Some vets there is nobody there and in that case the animal is better off at home. My girls have all come home the same day. 

Handling has absolutely nothing to do with spaying so that makes no sense. The hedgehog is gassed so it doesn't matter what the temperament is.


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

Nancy said:


> Handling has absolutely nothing to do with spaying so that makes no sense. The hedgehog is gassed so it doesn't matter what the temperament is.


My thoughts exactly.


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

well thats what i thought too but i figured there the experts... i've never had a pet that ever needed a vet b4... so i just went with it... i'm just getting frustrated cuz i've been to 2 vets now... spent over $200 and nothings been done... i just want her healthy again... and at a fair price... i just don't know if something else has been wrong since she's always been so moody... she's never liked to be touched or anything... no matter what... only once she's let ppl handle her... i'll call around and see tho...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Some of the vet clinics in Toronto charge ridiculous prices and seem to want to do so much testing before giving a diagnoses. 

For bleeding, they need to gas her and insert a fine needle into her bladder and pull off some urine to be tested. They can test it in their office. They check for blood and bacteria. If there is neither then the blood is from the uterus and she needs to be spayed. If there is blood and bacteria then they could send the sample off to be tested or they can treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic and hope it will cover the type of bacteria in the urine. If there is blood with no bacteria, then possibly she has something like a kidney stone, or urinary crystals. 

Does she bleed every time she pees? What type of bedding is she on? Does it appear the blood is mixed with the urine or does she have spots where there is no urine only blood?

Some hedgehogs are just shyer than others and has nothing to do with health.


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

its kinda hard to say cuz she's litter trained... so its usually a red spot in there i see... but she has once peed on the floor in my hallway and there was A LOT of blood that one time... other times i see a little where she sleeps or sits... and its there for a few days.... then not for a few days... then come back and and go away... like right now looking in her litter there is bearly anything... and not one vet has said anything about a pee sample... they both have just said it sounds like this lets do this surgery... the first one wanted blood first... then do the surgery... then if he thinks something else was wrong x-ray her.... the second said he just wants to do the surgery and not waist time with blood checking... send her uterus out to get checked for cancer...

and her bedding is shredded news paper... thats what i was told to use from the pet shop i bought her from... i was told that wood chips would stick to her wet nose so use news paper... and there is litter in her cage too and she walks in there ever now and then...


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It is just about impossible to tell if blood is urinary or uterine because when the hedgehog squeezes it's muscles to urinate or poop, any uterine blood can also be squeezed out. If she pees and blood from the uterus comes out at the same time, it mixes with the urine and you have no clue. If she only poops and blood comes out then chances are high that it is uterine. 

Usually a urinary track infection there will be blood all the time until the infection is gone but my Kei had sporadic bleeding, clear urine samples so we spayed her. She continued to bleed sporadically and it was a low grade UTI that didn't even show up on urine tests. Also, if they have kidney or bladder stones they can bleed while they are passing it but not again for a while.


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

well i'll call a vet out in oshowa or whitby or pickering... and see what they say... hopefully they'll be more fair then the vets i went to... thanx for all ure help... i'll post up once everything is taken care of...


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

I'm not surprised by the outrageous quote you received for a spay job or the severe lack of knowledge in hedgehogs demonstrated by your first veterinarian.

Unfortunately, based on my own experience and what I've read online in the past 3 years, the vet bills for hedgehogs in the City of Toronto are MUCH higher than other cities and there doesn't seem to be any good veterinary care for hedgehogs available at a reasonable or affordable cost - I've read a number of cases where hedgie owners were forced to dish out hundreds and thousands of dollars for relatively minor ailments even before their hedgehogs were properly diagnosed. Their base charge appears to be more expensive than other cities, but extra fees for every lab test and other diagnostic procedures such as X-rays seem outrageously expensive here. I'm not sure if the vets are gouging or if the lab fees in this city are much higher than other cities and the vets are just passing the costs to their patients. :?:

Have you tried the Ontario Veterinary College's Teaching Hospital at the University of Guelph? They operate a Small Animal Clinic on campus and I've heard good things about them and their fees seem a lot more reasonable than any exotic vet who is supposed to be a hedgie expert in the City of Toronto. You may want to give them a call and see if they will do a spay. Good luck!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

The pathology lab work in Ontario goes to Guelph so the fees I would pay for lab work, should be the same as what the vets in Toronto would pay for the same lab work to be sent. Prices may have gone up since I last had a tumour pathology done but it was $119 about a year and a half ago. 

If you want to save some money, don't get the tumour path done. When it boils right down to it, finding out if it is cancer or not doesn't make a whole lot of difference because there is no treatment other than removal anyways. Normally with tumours we give them IP6 which boosts the immune system. You can do that regardless. 

I wasn't going to get Emma's uterus sent out because we assumed it was a tumour. My vet sent it away anyways because she wanted to know and it came back as endometriosis and not a tumour.


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

well i'm gonna give a call to a few places further out... and see what they say...and i just e-mailed the clinic in Guelph and asked if they could help.... thanx for the information


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

i called around... all the places out in the shwa, whitby, pickering, ajax and that area all told me to call the place that quoted me 1100... and some1 told me about a place in missisauga... and they don't seem to cheap... they told me 80 for a visit and another 80 to see whats wrong with her and is IF they can even do her sergery... this is alot harder then i thought...


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

80 for visits is pretty standard if not fairly cheap. I pay $100 for xrays, too, so another 80 to figure out what's wrong with her doesn't seem that bad either..


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

no its not... it would have been ok if it was the first vet i went to... its just that this will be my fourth.. so i'll be up to around 400$ now since the first vet screwed me up... and still nothings been done.... and i don't know how much its gonna cost to spay her ether... so i'm hoping its not 1100 again...


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

Found a vet out in oakville that would do the surgery, dropped her off this morning and just got a call back, the tumor was never on her uterus, it was on her spleen and there almost sure spread to her kidneys, doctor said its not worth trying to fix cuz she wouldn't live too long after, so they said best thing to do is put her to sleep, so I guess, that's what I'll be doing, thanks for all your help


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## Zalea (Sep 12, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm sorry that your pet store experience didn't work out as well as you could've hoped.  I know it's not much of a condolence, but at least she won't have to go through all the pain of battling cancer and can go peacefully. You gave her a good life in her short time with you. 
*hugs* <3


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## sebian (Aug 29, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear that


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## sic_infested (Jan 8, 2009)

thanx.... she actually had 2 tumors... a hard and a soft one they told me.... they brought to her to me and she died a few minutes after in a towel they brought to me in...


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

I am really, really sorry she didn't make it.


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