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So, we had an eventful week.
I have often recieved very harsh reactions from people when I tell them how much I will be paying for my well bred poodle. With them often saying why would you do that when you can get one from the shelter for the fraction of the price?
However, for me the initial price of the dog was never a factor when choosing where to get my dog from. I feel that the starter cost of a pet always ends up paling by comparison to the expenses of keeping a pet anyway. Regardless of whether you initially paid a 100 euros or 2000 euros for the animal itself.
Well yesterday my wallet certainly agreed with me.
George the gerbil, my mischievious problem child that I got for free this spring took a big bite out of my budget.
On tuesday he wasn't interested in his sunflower seed, seemed to be having trouble chewing. So knowing that small prey animals like him really hide any kind of medical problems super well often until its too late we decided to get him to the vets ASAP.
Well, I don't trust regular vets with my tiny little gerbils. They often don't have the right expertise and equipment. I hadn't gotten them in for a checkup yet because I couldnt find a vet that I liked. I was super happy to find that an NAC (exotic) vet office had literally just opened this month in my city. We call and get an appointment the same day.
Well it turns out that my silly little crazy boy has completely broken his upper front teeth! like clean off, not even a stump! The good news is that I am fairly certain that the accident happened on friday evening. He really did not show any pain or change in behaviour until I tried to give him a treat 4 days later. They really hide it so well because in the wild if you show weakness you become a tempting snack for a predator.
So he had already lost 15 gr and is underweight but he is not lethargic he is otherwise in very good condition and no infection or other trauma, no broken bones. I know that because he got the whole shebang, he was put under and examined thoroughly and got Xrays. His brother Fred came also for moral support and a general checkup. He is indeed just a small gerbil, not underweight at all.
My little George now gets fed a special nutritious liquid that I make from a powder according to some precise instructions. I have to do this 3 times a day and then he also gets antibiotics 2 times a day. The roots of the teeth look good, the vet is optimistic that they will grow back in a month. So I will be handfeeding him 3 times a day until then.
and thats how a 'free gerbil' ended up costing me 170 euro 🙃😅
He will probably cost me more still, as he cant chew the lower teeth are likely to overgrow and we will have to bring him back for a teeth trim.
I have often recieved very harsh reactions from people when I tell them how much I will be paying for my well bred poodle. With them often saying why would you do that when you can get one from the shelter for the fraction of the price?
However, for me the initial price of the dog was never a factor when choosing where to get my dog from. I feel that the starter cost of a pet always ends up paling by comparison to the expenses of keeping a pet anyway. Regardless of whether you initially paid a 100 euros or 2000 euros for the animal itself.
Well yesterday my wallet certainly agreed with me.
George the gerbil, my mischievious problem child that I got for free this spring took a big bite out of my budget.
On tuesday he wasn't interested in his sunflower seed, seemed to be having trouble chewing. So knowing that small prey animals like him really hide any kind of medical problems super well often until its too late we decided to get him to the vets ASAP.
Well, I don't trust regular vets with my tiny little gerbils. They often don't have the right expertise and equipment. I hadn't gotten them in for a checkup yet because I couldnt find a vet that I liked. I was super happy to find that an NAC (exotic) vet office had literally just opened this month in my city. We call and get an appointment the same day.
Well it turns out that my silly little crazy boy has completely broken his upper front teeth! like clean off, not even a stump! The good news is that I am fairly certain that the accident happened on friday evening. He really did not show any pain or change in behaviour until I tried to give him a treat 4 days later. They really hide it so well because in the wild if you show weakness you become a tempting snack for a predator.
So he had already lost 15 gr and is underweight but he is not lethargic he is otherwise in very good condition and no infection or other trauma, no broken bones. I know that because he got the whole shebang, he was put under and examined thoroughly and got Xrays. His brother Fred came also for moral support and a general checkup. He is indeed just a small gerbil, not underweight at all.
My little George now gets fed a special nutritious liquid that I make from a powder according to some precise instructions. I have to do this 3 times a day and then he also gets antibiotics 2 times a day. The roots of the teeth look good, the vet is optimistic that they will grow back in a month. So I will be handfeeding him 3 times a day until then.
and thats how a 'free gerbil' ended up costing me 170 euro 🙃😅
He will probably cost me more still, as he cant chew the lower teeth are likely to overgrow and we will have to bring him back for a teeth trim.