anyone have pet insurance for their bird(s)? mika is costing a fortune. *lol*

[maya_exquisite]

Mika has his own checking/savings account for his vet bills but I've been contemplating insurance because his yearly visits are SO expensive. A routine check-up/gram stain usually turns into two or three vet visits with more gram stains and/or cultures and meds because he'll usually have SOMETHING showing in his stain.

We just went last month to get his check-up and gram stain because it was time for another round of lupron shots anyway. This time around, the TWO different antibiotics (here we go again with a bunch of antibiotics - long story for those who don't know) didn't kill the gram neg bacteria so, after two more gram stains, we did a culture. It came back with staph and pasteurella and so, now that we know exactly what it is, he's on cephalexin.

I can kind of understand the staph, as I've read stress can be a cause and he always gets stressed out with his violent heaving/hormonal overload, but both my vet and I have no clue how Mika got pasteurella - but my vet said, as with humans, things just happen.

So you figure, just for this set of vet visits:
04/09/11 Exam + Gram stain + Leupron + Cipro = $133
04/23/11 Gram stain + Leupron + Cipro = $93
05/05/11 Gram stain + Culture + Leupron + Sulfatrim = $241
05/09/11 Cephalexin = $17
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total $484 (so far)

I'm sure I'll have to go back in another two weeks after the med to get another gram stain to check if the rods are gone.

Of course, this is nothing compared to 2009 where I spent $2000 for three different vets to try and figure out what was wrong with him and give him antibiotic after antibiotic for an entire year - and in the end, my bf did his own research with the help of this board to figure out what was wrong with him. I always joke that I met my bf $2000 too late. :rotfl

Though money isn't an issue, if I don't have to pay as much as I'm paying it'd be nice. The more money I can keep in his bank account, the more money he'll have for if I somehow pass before him. My vet suggested ASPCA or VPI insurance. Unfortunately, ASPCA doesn't cover birds. There are a few lesser-known carriers that insure birds, but the benefits either suck and/or you have to use their "pool" of vets.

That leaves me with VPI. I called them up and they seem to be the best carrier out there for birds but, like with some human insurances, there seems to be a lot of red tape, exclusions, stipulations, and caps. I would imagine since Mika started getting lupron shots last year for his hormonal overload issue, this would be a "pre-existing condition" and the shots wouldn't be covered.

I've printed the info they have online, but I definitely have a lot more questions because they have $ caps on everything. I need to find out if it'd TRULY be worth it for me to get the insurance because of all these exclusions, stipulations, and caps.

Anyone have insurance for their bird(s)? If yes, who is your carrier and what can you tell me about it?

[linda040899]

Maya,
I don't have any experience with pet insurance but I've got a question for you. Instead of letting your vet do just a Gram Stain on the first visit, why not cut to the chase and just do the Culture & Sensitivity, too? I had one avian vet who insisted on C&S so you know what you are dealing with and you aren't possibly using the wrong antibiotic. I realize that vet care where you are is much more expensive because lab work is sent out to a State side lab so I would look at getting to any problem as quickly as possible!

With pet insurance, you need to look at the monthly premiums vs. what you would be paying without it. The premiums could actually be more than what you would pay by yourself.

[shadnamber]

Hi Maya,

I have not done this myself, but I believe you can get your pets prescriptions filled at a pharmacy. If this is true, you should be able to "shop around" for a better price than what your vet charges.
I don't know if this is a myth or not but if this idea works out it would at least be able to offset the cost of your vets a little and save some money. I hope this helps.
Obviously you would still want your vet to do any injections, but maybe this could help with the cost of antibiotics? Hope this helps.:)

[Z28Taxman]

Hi Maya,

I have not done this myself, but I believe you can get your pets prescriptions filled at a pharmacy. If this is true, you should be able to "shop around" for a better price than what your vet charges.
I don't know if this is a myth or not but if this idea works out it would at least be able to offset the cost of your vets a little and save some money. I hope this helps.
Obviously you would still want your vet to do any injections, but maybe this could help with the cost of antibiotics? Hope this helps.:)

When Ditto was sick, I got his Nystatin at a regular pharmacy. Should have seen the confused look on the pharmacist's face when he saw the amount and dosage. He'd never filled a perscription for a 50gram parrot before! :rotfl

[maya_exquisite]

The meds are the cheapest of the expenses so that's not really a concern for me...

I guess I've always done a gram stain rather than a C&S because it's just what the vets have chosen to do first. Guess it's the vet trying to save the clients money? The gram stain is $40 while a C&S is $145. Another reason I'm guessing is the vet has probably had luck with broad-spectrum antibiotics in general?

Starting next year, if there is something showing in his gram stain I'll be getting a C&S as well to cut down on the amount of different meds he has to be on.

The premium with VPI is $9/month or $84/year and reimburses you up to 90% of costs, up to $2000/incident, and up to $7000/year. This only covers injury and illness - no "routine" things. With these reimbursements, there are caps for different things. For example, maximum allowed is $280 for cardiovascular, $200 for chemical/physical disorders, $200 for infections diseases, etc. And within those categories, there are different dollar amounts for different things! So it's not TRULY $2000/incident reimbursement.

Then you can ADD ON to the above plan for routine things. That is $17.25.month or $183/year, which reimburses you up to $181 a year. This covers the check-ups, gram stains, etc.

So even paying $183 + $84 a year, it COULD be beneficial for me - depending on if Mika has to get multiple gram stains/C&S's. If the reimbursement for routine is UP TO $181, C&S alone is $145.

I need to call the rep and find out more info for sure!!

[cp.lovebird]

Thanks for the info maya - I was wondering about pet insurance for birds too. I wasn't able to find any that covered birds so I'll check out VPI. Good luck with getting some of mika's expenses covered - I hope it works out well for you. :)

[maya_exquisite]

Thanks! I didn't have any time to call them today but will try tomorrow.

This is definitely one of the biggest reasons why we've limited ourselves to three birds total (one slot left open for if Mika ever takes a liking to a foster lovebird). I seriously don't know how people who have a bunch of birds do it. It's funny because I know a lot of people online that tout taking their birds to the vet every year, but then when speaking privately I find out they don't do that because it's too expensive for them. It's like they say they do it so that they don't get flamed by other people or something.

[linda040899]

The advantage to doing a C&S immediately is that you know what you are treating each time and you can see recurrences. Miracle had recurring bouts with e-coli and that's water born in my particular area. My water company openly admits that they have had problems with e-coli counts in drinking water. Once I figured out the source and used bottled water for Miracle, the infections stopped. Gram Stains and broad spectrum antibiotics are fine as long as illness is occasional. However, something every year really needs to be identified so you can try to figure out where the infection is coming from or at least try to.

[maya_exquisite]

His infections are different every time. One time was an overabundance of yeast, I forget what the others were (but were gram neg bacterias), and this time is staph and pasteurella. There's never a "reoccurance" of anything.

[Z28Taxman]

The meds are the cheapest of the expenses so that's not really a concern for me...

I guess I've always done a gram stain rather than a C&S because it's just what the vets have chosen to do first. Guess it's the vet trying to save the clients money? The gram stain is $40 while a C&S is $145. Another reason I'm guessing is the vet has probably had luck with broad-spectrum antibiotics in general?

Starting next year, if there is something showing in his gram stain I'll be getting a C&S as well to cut down on the amount of different meds he has to be on.

The premium with VPI is $9/month or $84/year and reimburses you up to 90% of costs, up to $2000/incident, and up to $7000/year. This only covers injury and illness - no "routine" things. With these reimbursements, there are caps for different things. For example, maximum allowed is $280 for cardiovascular, $200 for chemical/physical disorders, $200 for infections diseases, etc. And within those categories, there are different dollar amounts for different things! So it's not TRULY $2000/incident reimbursement.

Then you can ADD ON to the above plan for routine things. That is $17.25.month or $183/year, which reimburses you up to $181 a year. This covers the check-ups, gram stains, etc.

So even paying $183 + $84 a year, it COULD be beneficial for me - depending on if Mika has to get multiple gram stains/C&S's. If the reimbursement for routine is UP TO $181, C&S alone is $145.

I need to call the rep and find out more info for sure!!



$40 for a gram stain? :omg: Dittos vet only charges $15. A checkup for him costs me around $60. Heck even the sunday emergency visit I took him for when he had the yeast overgrowth was only $140.

[maya_exquisite]

You're lucky!! If those prices shock you, this will blow your mind - my vet is the cheapest one out of the two established Avian Specialist clinics and other "up-and-coming" Avian Specialists!! When I used to see the other Avian Specialist, his gram stains were around $60-65 and everything else was just as expensive (which is probably why $2000 racked up so quickly in one year). Once that vet took all that money, yet couldn't fix Mika, I decided to switch to the other specialist - who actually has the longest and most experience with birds on the island and was mentor to my previous vet.

When you look at their locations, you kind of see one of the reasons why my previous vet charged more - clinic looks modern and new, has a coffee/cappuccino machine, fridge for soda/bottled water for clients. My new vet's office is a little run-down looking (needs paint job, etc) and offers no beverages. For me, I'd rather forgo a $1.00 bottled water and pay a LOT less in my bill. The only reason I didn't go with the second vet in the first place was because I heard nothing but bad things about his bedside manner and that he was downright mean to his staff and clients. But enough was enough with the other vet and I figured how mean could a vet be if I have my tall, built bf with me?? :rotfl

Come to find out, the guy was GREAT and was really nice to me!! He commented on how cute Mika is, talked story with us a bit, etc. It made me wonder why all I ever heard was negative about his bedside manner... I'm wondering if it's a correlation between the care given to their pets?? The staff there seemed quite surprised and pleased at the care I give Mika (heck, my previous vet said I take better care of our birds than any of their other clients, which is kind of sad in a way). Maybe the vet is nice to those who treat their pets well?? I don't know.

Unfortunately we have no Avian CERTIFIED vets, but my current vet is as close as you're going to get. He's a member of that Avian vet association - I forgot what it's called, but he's got a plaque on the wall.

[maya_exquisite]

So yeah, this is one of the reasons why I stress being ABLE to provide AVIAN vet care to prospective adopters for our fosters. People don't realize how expensive it is - and how much more expensive it CAN get if there's one tiny little thing wrong like overgrowth of yeast.

[linda040899]

$40 for a gram stain? :omg: Dittos vet only charges $15. A checkup for him costs me around $60. Heck even the sunday emergency visit I took him for when he had the yeast overgrowth was only $140.
Testing in Hawaii is very expensive, as samples are sent out to labs that are State side. I remember finding this out from someone who was having problems with Polyomavirus but the testing/necropsy costs where way, way up there!!

[maya_exquisite]

I'm sure there are some tests that get sent to the mainland, but gram stains and C&S are done here. Gram stains are done and checked right at the vets office, but the C&S gets sent to another vet or lab (on island) because my current vet doesn't have the equipment for it.

Another thing to consider is that real estate here is just much more expensive than most other places in the US, so another reason for the higher charge is just the cost-of-living is much higher. I can't imagine what they pay monthly in their leases...