My dog vet doesn't charge an office fee, but my ferret vet does--$20 each
visit, no matter what the visit is for.  Sometimes it gets pricey.  I keep
begging my dog vet to at least consider giving the ferrets their
vaccinations, but they're not comfortable with that.  Vacs are $32 total for
rabies and distemper boosters, heartworm test is $15 and preventative
treatment is $22.
 
My ferret vet is good, but expensive.
 
Buffy: The preventative flea treatment was probably expensive.  Depending on
past flea problems, you might not need it.  I haven't had any flea probs in
WI, but they were EVERYWHERE in VA!  Here . . . I put a collar on the dog
in the spring and keep shampoos and sprays in the house rather than pay for
the expensive preventative stuff.  I've seen 1 flea in 3 years, and I think
that was a fluke.  One thing you can do if finances are tight is try to get
a credit card for emergency only.  My credit is almost clear (yea!) and my
next card will go straight into the vet folder so that if I NEED the vet and
the treatment is expensive, I have a way to handle it.
 
Mort came from MF with a temp distemper and was supposed to get booster
every few weeks . . . but it's winter and the ferrets don't get out much so
I'll vaccinate him again at 6 mos, instead of getting the "kit" series.  In
the meantime, he doesn't go to Pet Food Warehouse, he won't go to the MN
ferret show in May . . . and he isn't exposed to animals outside the
household.
 
Any opinions on skipping the rabies vac for ferrets?  In WI, if a ferret
bites and animal control is notified, the ferret is uthanized and tested for
rabies, regardless of shot history.  So is there any point to getting the
rabies shot at all?  If they don't actually escape the house, what are the
chances they could contract rabies?  (On the other hand, it is possible for
them to escape, I suppose, no matter how careful we are.)
 
I keep the dog up to date because she gets to go out to a friend's house in
the country and run around in the woods, and she gets to go to the cabin,
too.  And she's exposed to animals that aren't current on their vacs.
 
And what about the stool checks and stuff?  I've avoided this with the dog
because it's pricey, and she's always been healthy . . . so again, I don't
see the point.  When she had her first seizure, we were at the vet closest
to us w/in 5 minutes, so please don't think I don't take care of them.  I
just need to hold down unnecessary expense.  So far she's only had 3 short
seizures in a year, so vet doesn't think she needs meds for them.  If she
did, she'd have them.
 
My .02
 
--Sherri
[Posted in FML issue 1841]