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MrSteely
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
 Posted - 26/09/2011 : 19:55:12
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Hi, just got my first snake. A female royal, 18 weeks old and just had her first feed at her new home. Dead easy with no problems :)
I'm looking at getting her some insurance and hoped that some of you more knowledgable guys might be able to help me out with good brokers/companies etc.
Thanks in advance |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 20:18:02
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I don't have any insurance for my reptiles, they are good sturdy beasts and rather than pay dead money to an insurance company I put the £20 it would cost me a month in payments and stick it in a savings account. It is a bit of a risk that nothing will go wrong until there is a nice amount saved up but weighing up the risk against the benefits I think this is a better way round as once I have a nice bit of cash sitting I can stop paying instead of paying more and more that I'll never see again to some insurance company.
When I was weighing this up myself a member of these forums said he had been keeping snakes for years and years and the most he ever spent on vet bills was £8 ( I think it was £8 though it may have been £6). |
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MrSteely
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 20:32:03
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| Ah! Cheers lotabob In that case I'll skip the insurance and stick a few quid in a piggy bank. :) I was worried about getting vets bills for 100s if something went wrong. She wasn't expensive to buy but I want to look after her properly and not skimp on anything. |
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sandi
Sub Adult
787 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 20:37:51
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Well its not like she can break a leg is it?!!!
I agree, its good to be secure in the knowledge that if something went wrong you can pay the costs. Like bob says, they are hardy little beasts so the best thing you can do is find a good vet that knows their reptiles and hope you never need to go to him! |
0.1.0 Royal Python - Florence
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor - Boris
1.1.0 Alaunts - Willow & Brochan |
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 20:42:24
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I once heard a receptionist in a vet's say that, that if you saved the money the insurance company asked you for, barring disasters, you'd be better off. Yes, I agree, savings account.
Plus having got ripped off in the great floods 4 years ago, I do not trust insurance companies ...grrr! |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 20:46:54
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Another point is there are a lot of minor ailments that are best treated at home and thats something insurance doesn't cover.
So mites, minor RI's, stuck shed, eyecaps etc are most likely what you'd spend your money on and all are treated at home. With the proper environment then other more serious problems can mostly be avoided. There is always the slight chance of more serious conditions but they are rare.
quote:
Originally posted by sandi
Well its not like she can break a leg is it?!!!
SO FUNNY!  |
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Edited by - Lotabob on 26/09/2011 20:47:57 |
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Kelfezond
The bearded one
United Kingdom
4803 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:04:32
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| lol if we have to put £20 away a month for each snake we own we'll all be taking second jobs soon enough ^^ Good thing they are strong little things the way we all get addicted :P |
\v/ Click me for Kelfezond Reptiles Facebook Page! \v/
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:13:24
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| Lol, I just put £20 aside a month, each is a bit much if they all get sick at the same time I'll just pick my favourite lol. |
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mystra
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
590 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:17:37
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i'm the same, just make sure to put aside some money each month for emergencies - the insurance companies can bog off!
They always find a way to weasel out of a claim! |
0.0.1 Carolina Corn Snake- Sanchez
0.0.1 Anery Corn Snake- Betty
1.0.0 Normal Royal Python - Chancho
SE London - Canada Water |
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boomslang
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
2025 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:43:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Lotabob
I don't have any insurance for my reptiles, they are good sturdy beasts and rather than pay dead money to an insurance company I put the £20 it would cost me a month in payments and stick it in a savings account. It is a bit of a risk that nothing will go wrong until there is a nice amount saved up but weighing up the risk against the benefits I think this is a better way round as once I have a nice bit of cash sitting I can stop paying instead of paying more and more that I'll never see again to some insurance company.
When I was weighing this up myself a member of these forums said he had been keeping snakes for years and years and the most he ever spent on vet bills was £8 ( I think it was £8 though it may have been £6).
I had pet insurance for my dogs,was worthless crap like Lotabob stated,lots of stuff where you couldn't claim for this and that.had to fill out 20 forms to claim back £30.get the vet to sign it and fill out his part,And yes he charges for that.
so,the insurance costs were more then a hundred vet visits.last time i took a reptile to a vet,it came to about £15.
I guess its a good idea,if you want to insure,for lost/stolen very expensive animals. |
1.0.0 pinstripe Royal Python
1.0.0 Bumblebee Royal Python
1.0.0 Normal corn
1.0.0 Extreme red Hognose
0.1.0 Extreme red tiger Hognose
1.1.0 yemen chameleons
1.0.0 Piebald yemen
1.0.0 Tamatave panther
1.0.0 Quadricornis
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boomslang
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
2025 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:47:20
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quote:
Originally posted by BurnedAtTheStake
I once heard a receptionist in a vet's say that, that if you saved the money the insurance company asked you for, barring disasters, you'd be better off. Yes, I agree, savings account.
Plus having got ripped off in the great floods 4 years ago, I do not trust insurance companies ...grrr!
bats,Only disaster ive had pet wise,is a dog that fell from a wall,and did something to his back.the op was like 3k which the insurance company wouldn't have paid anyway.
Point is its load with small print.I was with tesco pet insurance.each year the price went up and up per month.give you an idea,I was paying more insurance for two dogs,then my car. |
1.0.0 pinstripe Royal Python
1.0.0 Bumblebee Royal Python
1.0.0 Normal corn
1.0.0 Extreme red Hognose
0.1.0 Extreme red tiger Hognose
1.1.0 yemen chameleons
1.0.0 Piebald yemen
1.0.0 Tamatave panther
1.0.0 Quadricornis
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Edited by - boomslang on 26/09/2011 21:50:23 |
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MrSteely
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 21:55:58
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Thanks for all the replies. Being new to snakes I think I may be being a little over cautious. I'm confident that the vivs set up properly as I did loads of research first. Saying that though I've seen a lot of contradicting advice. From feeding live vs frozen shop bought vs breeding your own and killing them yourself. Temps and humidity as well as how often they need to be fed. Its good to have somewhere to ask newbie questions and get decent answers. :)
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n/a
deleted
7384 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 22:06:30
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quote:
Originally posted by boomslang
quote:
Originally posted by BurnedAtTheStake
I once heard a receptionist in a vet's say that, that if you saved the money the insurance company asked you for, barring disasters, you'd be better off. Yes, I agree, savings account.
Plus having got ripped off in the great floods 4 years ago, I do not trust insurance companies ...grrr!
bats,Only disaster ive had pet wise,is a dog that fell from a wall,and did something to his back.the op was like 3k which the insurance company wouldn't have paid anyway.
Point is its load with small print.I was with tesco pet insurance.each year the price went up and up per month.give you an idea,I was paying more insurance for two dogs,then my car.
 typical!
Welcome to the forum by the way, MrSteely, and congrats on your new royal. Yeah, I've found this to be a really good forum myself, loads of info and help. |
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MrSteely
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 22:59:32
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Thanks :)
We also have 3 cats 1 is 14 and the other 2 are pushing 19! The insurance company wanted 550 a year for each of the older cats! Bearing in mind that 1 has never needed a vet and the other has only been twice for an eye infection So I'm happy not to use insurance if possible. I always imagined reptiles to be hideously expensive to treat but it seems the opposite is true. I'm liking my little royal even more now (if that's possible) :) |
Edited by - MrSteely on 26/09/2011 23:00:53 |
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boomslang
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
2025 Posts |
Posted - 26/09/2011 : 23:20:17
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quote:
Originally posted by MrSteely
Thanks :)
We also have 3 cats 1 is 14 and the other 2 are pushing 19! The insurance company wanted 550 a year for each of the older cats! Bearing in mind that 1 has never needed a vet and the other has only been twice for an eye infection So I'm happy not to use insurance if possible. I always imagined reptiles to be hideously expensive to treat but it seems the opposite is true. I'm liking my little royal even more now (if that's possible) :)
yeah cuz cats are let out,higher risk etc etc.same as if you have x type of dog.
Soon they will ask qiestions like,do you have a fence around your yard,like the one from jurassic park. |
1.0.0 pinstripe Royal Python
1.0.0 Bumblebee Royal Python
1.0.0 Normal corn
1.0.0 Extreme red Hognose
0.1.0 Extreme red tiger Hognose
1.1.0 yemen chameleons
1.0.0 Piebald yemen
1.0.0 Tamatave panther
1.0.0 Quadricornis
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chrisc
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
3326 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 10:22:31
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| have recently been to the vets with my rat snake that cost £106 for the consultation(£46) and course of meds. i wont bother with insurance but will put money away each month as people have said above |
1.0.0 burmese python,giblet. 1.0.0 BCI, william. 0.1.0 blue tongue skink, 0.1.0 green iguana, jasmin, 1.0.0 cape house snake, 0.1.0 checkered garter snake
my youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/pegrocks
incubate 2 campaign
https://www.facebook.com/incubate2 |
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mystra
Sub Adult
United Kingdom
590 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 10:28:14
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quote:
Originally posted by boomslang
quote:
Originally posted by MrSteely
Thanks :)
We also have 3 cats 1 is 14 and the other 2 are pushing 19! The insurance company wanted 550 a year for each of the older cats! Bearing in mind that 1 has never needed a vet and the other has only been twice for an eye infection So I'm happy not to use insurance if possible. I always imagined reptiles to be hideously expensive to treat but it seems the opposite is true. I'm liking my little royal even more now (if that's possible) :)
yeah cuz cats are let out,higher risk etc etc.same as if you have x type of dog.
Soon they will ask qiestions like,do you have a fence around your yard,like the one from jurassic park.
haha, sounds like the pet insurance people are learning a few lessons from the car insurance people - lets just hope they never make insurance a legal requirement in the same way
Our experience with pet insurance has been dreadful too
I've grown up with having kept Newfoundland dogs pretty much since the age of 4 - they are my mums pride and joy - she doesn't breed or show but she just always has had them, they've been like hairy brothers (and one sister!). After 2 years since our last Newf passed away, she finally got a new pup this summer.
First off - the call centre sales reps for all different companies kept acting like they knew a bean about these dogs - making up 'common' health problems to warrant enormous prices. She eventually settled on a company and started paying as you do - it wasn't cheap about £45 a month i think (my car insurance is £50 a month!!)
The worst came when just a month ago he was diagnosed with a rare immune and skeletal condition - a complete freak incident (the breeder is well known and reputable, has bred them for years and never had this happen and has paid to test all the litter mates - they are all fit and healthy). He had to be put to sleep, as the bigger he got the worse it would have got, meaning he'd be living caged (he'd been the most active we'd ever had - they normally sleep the day though as pups and adults!) and wouldn't live past 1 year old, living in pain and having constant ops if he'd even got that far.
The insurance company have basically paid £30 towards the vet bills, because they put a massive excess on, and wont pay out a penny on his death - as horrible as it sounds to mention money, he did cost mum over a grand (although the breeder has offered us a pup in her next litter, which mum will be taking her up in the new year). And to top it off they are making it as hard as possible for her to cancel it. How can she be expected to pay for insurance on a dead dog is beyond dreadful, especially as she is so upset.
These insurers don't seem to understand that our pets aren't a commodity like a car... they've been so horribly unsympathetic :( |
0.0.1 Carolina Corn Snake- Sanchez
0.0.1 Anery Corn Snake- Betty
1.0.0 Normal Royal Python - Chancho
SE London - Canada Water |
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Tawfik47
Fully Grown Royal
Czech Republic
1584 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 11:01:28
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| I think this site is better than million insurance company, it helped me alot with keeping my royal.(thanks for the good ppl here ) |
1.0.0 Common Boa - Revo CB13
I had a royal python (Blitz) for two years for those who are wondering what I'm doing here with my boa :D |
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Sam84
Hatchling
United Kingdom
81 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 12:45:58
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Hi MrSteely
I looked into Insurance too and found that it would cost ~ £20/mth to cover my Royal Cora and then I rang our local exotic vet who charges £21 for check up.
Not to make you worried I'm new to this too - I've been told and I don't know how true this is; that because snakes are predators that they don't show signs of sickness/weakness until it's probably too late - so that in wild other animals wouldn't know they were easy target. I used to keep rats (funny cos now i keep them in freezer ) but they were the same - fine then too late.
Think pet insurance is a scam in general like many others have found looking at the posts
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0.1.0 Royal Python - Cora
1.0.0 Carpet Python - Koshi |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 13:10:00
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| I actually just switched to a new pet insurance provider, gave all the best cover etc, good price then in the small print I found that there is a 15% excess on all dogs over 7 years old. So I shall wait until i get my meerkat and move on lol. |
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MrSteely
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
10 Posts |
Posted - 27/09/2011 : 19:07:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Sam84
Hi MrSteely
because snakes are predators that they don't show signs of sickness/weakness until it's probably too late - so that in wild other animals wouldn't know they were easy target.
Yeah that makes sense, a little worrying but I'm happy to bug the vet over the smallest thing ;) I don't like insurance companies at all, they always try to get out of paying claims by using small print. It's always about the money.
I just want to make sure my royal is looked after and healthy. It looks as though the vets bills arn't going to run into the hundreds so the insurance companies won't be getting any cash from me!
A friend had a terrier that developed a Tumor but the vet didnt find it for 6 months and the treatments while he was trying to work out what was wrong ran to over a grand! And in the end he had to be put down as the Tumor had gone too far. Her insurance paid up thankfully. As there was no way she could afford those sort of bills.
Those sorts of story's was the reason I was considering getting my royal insured. |
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Insurance
