Vet bills from breeding

Something that isn't often talked about. Whether you plan to get into breeding full time, as a hobbyist or just pair snakes willy-nilly to make a quick buck, issues can and will arise. Hopefully you catch things before the animal perishes. That is when an experienced exotics veterinarian comes in.

Here is a sample of some bills I've had the past week in dealing with just one snake. That doesn't include the 8hrs of driving back and forth to the vets office.

One egg was stuck in her. She is recovering from surgery. Her health and safety is well worth the vet costs.

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Vet bills is part of the hobby and part of the risk of breeding. We try to keep our babies safe but they are well worth it.

This is why I breed strictly as a hobby and not as a business. A business would euth the critter and buy another one if the treatment cost exceeds the critter's replacement cost, because when you run a business it's all about the bottom line.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

This is why I breed strictly as a hobby and not as a business. A business would euth the critter and buy another one if the treatment cost exceeds the critter's replacement cost, because when you run a business it's all about the bottom line.

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Sad but true.

I had a large female that when she struck a live rat, the rat was able to get a good bite into her face and literally separated a small piece of her jawbone with two teeth attached. I didn't know it at the time but when her face started swelling dramatically from the infection, I took her to the vet and they ended up doing surgery. That was an $800 bill and about 3 hours of driving for a snake that I had purchased for $700. When you take on the responsibility of owning an animal, with that comes the obligation to do what you reasonably can to give the animal every chance. That said, you can't bankrupt the family budget. There is a line to consider, but the line should be far across the other side of the wallet pain threshold.

Great thread topic. And one that probably isn't discussed enough.

I think it's so important to have some sort of vet fund stashed away, regardless of breeding or not, for any and every animal brought home. Before I add an animal I add to the "vet fund" just in case. More animals = more in the vet fund. You just never know. There are plenty of ways I would love to spend that dough, but I'll go without before I touch the vet fund.

As I often say....the animals don't get a choice, we do.

Quick question on the bill....

What did "egg removal" consist of?? was that actual surgery where they had to cut her open?

Just interested as to what they had to do.

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Originally Posted by Gocntry

Quick question on the bill....

What did "egg removal" consist of?? was that actual surgery where they had to cut her open?

Just interested as to what they had to do.

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While she was under the vet attempted to scope her to see if the cervix could be massaged and remove the egg without surgery. She was to swollen from the two rounds of oxytocin and trying to push it out on her own. The vet opted for surgery. He made an incision on her side about 2" forward of her cloaca, then an incision in the oviduct to remove the egg. Her oviduct and side both got sutured up.

Will she be able to breed again? Or is just your pet now?

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Originally Posted by 303_enfield

Will she be able to breed again? Or is just your pet now?

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Not sure what the vet would say but I wouldn't chance any breeding again.