Reptile Pet Insurance options? What’s the best?

[McBoredFace]

Does anyone possibly know of a good affordable insurance plan for reptiles? I need something asap as I can’t afford anymore vet fees at the moment and I’m still waiting to hear from a radiologist from my northern BTS’s vet. He’s already on medication so I’m hoping he doesn’t need anymore care.
My mother also wants to get her small dog insured so if there’s a plan that gets cheaper for having 2 animals that would be great to know too.
My vet told me about care credit which I don’t qualify for, and then nationwide which seems the best but also the most expensive. So if anyone knows a better more affordable option that I can possibly get right away, that would be amazing! Thank you so much!
I also posted another question before. I’m having trouble with a thick grainy medication breaking and clogging up the syringes. I desperately need help with that one too cause I have to give my baby this medication 2x a day and I’m struggling. So if you can also help with that question please do. Thank you so much. You guys are truly the best! This forum has made having a reptile so much easier and less stressful knowing I can always talk to experienced keepers anytime. Thank you

[Janella]

One of the best pet insurance companies out there is Trupanion. I am not sure if they do reptiles though.

[splashy07]

Not one hundred percent positive but I do not think anyone insures reptiles. If I were an insurance company I wouldn't either unless proven to be provided by a long term reputable breeder in this country. Imports are most likely to get sick. The insurance companies would go broke or the rates would be so high no one would bother anyway.

[McBoredFace]

I know reptiles can definitely be insured. Like I said earlier the vet gave me two options but they’re a little out of my range price. I didn’t know they could be insured either. When the vet tech asked me if I looked into insurance I even told her I didn’t know reptiles could be insured. But maybe like you said, because it’s kind of rare and reptiles do get sick more often than cats or dogs maybe I won’t be able to find an affordable option. I’ll keep looking though.

I’ll look into the trupanion one. Thank you for that. I have two pamphlets from my doctors. The nationwide, and pets best. But yeah if you guys didn’t know either and maybe think it’s a good idea to get your reptiles insured in case of emergency health issues maybe you can look into it too. The only thing most insurance companies don’t cover are pre existing conditions. So I’m hoping I can get my boy insured before they find out what’s wrong with him so it can be covered in the future.

But if I do find any good ones I’ll definitely post them here in case anyone else is curious or wants to get their reptiles insurance. Thank you so much for responding to my question too. I love this forum and the community so much. I swear you guys are all the best. So kind and knowledgeable. It DEFINITELY helps sooth my constant anxieties

[splashy07]

Best option is to buy captive bred, proper diet ant temps and research their needs and make sure they are met. Surely there will be a time that necessitates a vet visit but I am telling the truth here in 50 years of keeping I have visited the vet twice. Once with eggbound lizard that was sold to me as a male (!) and the second time from a slight RI developed from delays in overseas shipping. Animals that get sick frequently probably did not have good beginnings, therefore it is best to buy quality and pay a bit more to a breeder rather than buying your vet a new Escalade. Like my mom always used to say, I'd rather have one dress from Macy's than 10 from K-mart. Thankfully the best exotic vet in the country practices 15 minutes from me if needed.

[McBoredFace]

Yeah I’m pretty sure he’s captive bred. I was told he was. I saw the pictures of his litter as babies and the parents and I picked him out myself. The breeder was extremely knowledgeable and so helpful during the process. I really don’t understand what I did wrong. My vet asked me about my set up and everything and she said everything was fine. They don’t know what caused him to get sick. He’s almost 4. So for the first years of his life he was happy and fine. Maybe I just got unlucky :/

But yeah the vet called me back this morning and said he possibly has gout and arthritis. So to keep up with the medication he’s on and then a follow up blood test a month from now. So I really wanna get insurance cause I can’t keep paying 300-600$ In case they need to do more testing in the future. The blood work is like 250 and then the checkup exam fee is 120 I believe. And after that month I’ll probably have to keep bringing him in to make sure he’s doing well. I’d just feel better knowing he’s got health insurance.

[splashy07]

To be honest I have never heard of that diagnosis in a BTS. All the best, good luck to you. And yes, if you have a northern it's definitely cbb as Australian lizards have not been exported in decades.

[McBoredFace]

Hey thank you for responding. I made an update in my original post about his health. I feel so awful, I believe what happened is definitely my fault. I’ll find out more when I get a chance to talk to my vet.
But I looked up how reptiles even get gout and I’ve been researching but it kept saying too much protein in their diet. And it wasn’t clicking. Then I found an article that said giving too many Dubia roaches could give them gout cause of the protein!

I just started giving him Dubia roaches maybe a couple months ago. He loves them so much and he’s so picky so I was happy he liked them and without even thinking I’m assuming I gave him too much. Which is why he had too much uric acid and got the gout. I haven’t given him roaches in 2 weeks but I’m still seeing him poop out pieces of roaches. I’m bringing it up to my vet tomorrow when I call them. So I think that’s what happened :/

[McBoredFace]

I basically explained it all in the post above but I wrote out a lot of detailed stuff in this post if anyone is interested in this experience

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