# Vet Questions!



## Yona (Mar 25, 2009)

Hi, 

I do not have a hedgehog but my goal is to learn as much as I can about them and what their needs are and all of those details. I saw that somebody had posted a topic and people were telling him (or her) that there is a lot more going on than just the hedgehog cost (I know, but then comes the question...) Somebody commented that a single visit to a vet could cost $2,000! With that information, I wanted to ask how many times a year, or month, or in a lifetime, will we need to bring the hedgehog I might be getting (it isn't quite able to be in the picture yet, but my "Almost mom" says it might be possible later in life.) There is a while before I am ready for a hedgehog. If it is able to be in the picture within the next year, then maybe I would also have enough money for one with the expenses. *The known expenses xD 

So to sum it all up, the actual question is how much do a normal visit really cost, and how often are they?

Thank you for reading!
-Alexa


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

The cost of a wellness exam or check up depends on the vet. My vet charges about $45, and that seems to be a common price. You will need to take a hedgehog to the vet for a check up once a year. They may need to go more often, though, if they get sick or if you suspect they have a tumor or something else wrong.

The person who spent about $2000 with vet fees had a rather sick hedgehog. The money was spent on tests to try and find out what was wrong with him, and medicine. It turns out that the hedgie has a tumor, which the owner is trying to raise money in order to pay for it's removal. 
So yes, a vet visit could potentially be very expensive, but just one visit would be $2000 alone. It would be the overall costs of several visits, tests, and medicine. Surgeries are often expensive. The hedgehog with the tumor, the owner said the surgery will cost between $300-500.


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## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

A generally healthy hedgie shouldn't cost much more than a hundred a year, if you are only including well-pet visits with no testing or anything. Once you get into other testings, scrapings, bloodwork, sedating, xrays, etc. it gets much more expensive.

The times when vet bills get around $2000 is when (for example) you have a life and death situation, and need to do emergency operations, along with followup treatment. Usually it is not *all* at once. But there is always the possibility, better to be prepared.


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## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

A biannual wellness check-up is recommended for hedgehogs as six months is a very long time, as a serious health issue could pop up during that period. However, this depends heavily on the hedgie. If your hedgie gets overly stressed by a vet visit or car ride, you may want to reduce the number of vet visits and do a daily check-up, keeping health records of your hedgie (e.g. food & water intake, bowel movement, weight, wheeling distance, room temperature, etc.), as long as your hedgie isn't experiencing any health issues.

The cost of a wellness check-up varies greatly depending on your geographical location and to whom you take your little one to. In the area we're in, CDN$80 to $90 for a wellness check-up is not uncommon. This is when nothing is wrong with your hedgie and no lab test is involved. Adding the cost of lab tests and any treatments for sickness or injuries quickly adds up, and it's not uncommon to pay hundreds of dollars if something is wrong. But our area seems more pricey when it comes to exotic pets. Your area might be more reasonable in terms of vet bills.

It's important to find a good hedgie-savvy vet in your area who does not gouge you every time your hedgehog needs veterinary attention. I phoned more than two dozen vets in town in my search, and most of them said they "will see hedgehogs", yet they had virtually no experience treating hedgehogs! :roll: Even those who billed themselves as "hedgehogs experts" just because they're exotics vets didn't have the expertise I had expected either.

So my suggestion is to talk to other hedgehog owners in your area. If you can find a rescuer such as an official Hedgehog Welfare Society rescue contact in your area, they may be your best source of the information.

We checked to see if there were any vets in our neighbourhood who could see hedgehogs before we got our hedgehog but neglected to talk to other hedgehog owners through discussion boards such as this to find out if the vets were any good at treating hedgehogs and if their fees were reasonable - we wish we had, as we ended up searching for a hedgie-savvy vet for almost 3 years before finding one.

I recommend everyone be actively involved in a search for a good vet for your hedgie in your area who won't bankrupt you, long *before* you consider getting a hedgehog. Good luck!


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## Yona (Mar 25, 2009)

Thank you all so much! I am so grateful that this website is in existence. I will start to look around to see hedgie vets in our area (and in our potential area of living!) so we won't go through mad **** finding one whilst in need of a check up :lol: It's a good thing that the vet bills are not _that_ expensive. If it was then I doubt my guardians would let me own one.

Thank you all again!


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