In this article: Average Vet X-ray Cost | Cost Factors | Why Your Pet May Need X-rays | The Bottom Line | FAQs | Methodology
Your pet may need X-rays at some point during its life. Though your primary concern might be your furry friend’s well-being, you might also want to know about the cost.
Vet X-rays cost an average of $103 to $383* but can fluctuate based on various factors. In this guide, the Home Media reviews team breaks down these factors and recommends pet insurance companies to help you save money.
*All price ranges calculated as averages from numerous 2021 reports, including Canine Journal, PetKeen and Pawlicy Advisor.
Average Vet X-ray Cost
Vet X-rays cost $103 to $383. Dog X-rays cost $126 to $300, while cat X-rays cost $100 in order to $267. * These are just base points, though. The particular cost of your pet’s X-ray may vary depending on the injury’s severity, location and the type associated with vet office you visit.
Factors Affecting Vet X-ray Price
Below are a few of the particular most common factors affecting X-ray costs.
Injury
The location and intensity of your pet’s injury have two of the most significant impacts on price. The price depends on how easy it is for the vet to reach the body parts being X-rayed. For example , your pet’s paw or leg is more accessible in order to X-ray than its head or tail. Dental X-rays cost less, ranging between $50 and $90.
Veterinarian Office
The type of vet office a person visit plus its area also influences X-ray cost. For example, an emergency clinic or animal hospital will charge more than your routine vet workplace. On the particular other hand, you may find local animal organizations that offer low-cost dog and kitty X-rays .
Sedation
Some pets may be in extreme pain or incredibly nervous, so they won’t sit still long enough for the veterinarian to conduct the Xray. If this occurs, your vet might recommend sedation or even anesthesia. Your pet may also need its muscles relaxed for a clear image of the skull or teeth, in which case your veterinarian may also recommend anesthesia. Sedation or even anesthesia expenses an additional $50 to $220.
Why Your own Pet May require an X-ray
The reasons your pet might need an X-ray vary. X-ray machines and radiographs are standard tools for diagnostic imaging for common health problems, such as bladder stones. Here are some associated with the majority of common reasons cats and dogs need X-rays.
Broken Bones
The most normal reason cats and dogs need X-rays is broken bones. Vets often see broken bones in the animal’s legs. An X-ray is the best procedure to confirm the fracture’s place and severity.
Tumors
X-rays can help vets spot certain types of tumors. It will be a low-cost procedure to determine whether your pet has cancer, though not all tumors appear on an X-ray scan.
Dental Problems
X-rays are standard with regard to pet dental care. Both dogs and cats usually require sedation for a dental Xray. Even if your dog has no dental problems, many vets still recommend annual X-rays.
Intestinal Blockage
If your dog or cat swallows a nondigestible object, it can become a severe health problem. A stomach X-ray gives your vet a visual image of this object in your pet’s intestinal tract. Intestinal blockage can be life-threatening, so if you believe your pet ate a foreign object, we suggest contacting your veterinarian immediately.
Lung or even Heart Problems
In case your dog develops strange breathing habits or problems, you may want to get a chest X-ray. It will help your vet identify conditions such as bronchitis, pneumonia or fungal infection.
The particular Bottom Collection: Does Your Pet Need a Vet X-ray?
X-rays aren’t just a good emergency procedure; they’re standard diagnostic tools for your pet’s health care. Your dog or cat will need dental X-rays during program vet visits, and you never know when a broken bone, hip dysplasia or severe intestinal issues can occur.
We recommend considering a pet insurance policy to cover the costs of X-rays and any associated procedures that may follow, such as blood work or treatment regarding orthopedic problems. Learn about our top recommended pet insurance coverage providers below.
Lemonade Dog Insurance: Most Affordable Plans
Lemonade is an excellent option for pet parents looking in order to cut costs. The company provides some of the many affordable family pet insurance plans, including X-ray coverage. Lemonade furthermore offers a good user-friendly smartphone app to manage your claims and keep track of your own policy coverage and billing. The particular company covers X-rays as part of its diagnostic coverage in its standard accident-and-illness plan, which includes blood tests, urinalysis, MRIs, labwork, CT scans plus ultrasounds.
To learn more: Lemonade Family pet Insurance review
Spot Pet Insurance: Most Customizable
All of us recommend Spot Pet Insurance for those interested in personalized coverage. The company’s policies are more customizable than numerous competitors, with yearly limit options ranging from $2, 500 to unlimited. Spot’s policies also cover a few items that many other pet insurance providers don’t, like exam fees and microchipping.
To learn more: Spot Furry friend Insurance evaluation
Trupanion Pet Insurance coverage: Most Flexible Deductible
Trupanion is a nationwide pet insurance policy provider that offers unlimited annual coverage caps, customizable deductibles and direct payments. Though pet insurance plan typically requires you in order to pay your entire veterinarian bill and get reimbursed later, Trupanion’s $0 deductible option allows you to pay only your percentage of the particular bill at checkout. Trupanion provides one comprehensive dog insurance plan along with accident-and-illness coverage—including X-rays—for dogs and pet cats up to 14 years old.
In order to learn a lot more: Trupanion Pet Insurance policy review
Frequently Asked Questions About Vet X-ray Costs
Methodology: Our System intended for Ranking the Best Pet Insurance Companies
Our own review associated with pet insurance companies is based on in-depth industry research that includes reading hundreds of customer evaluations, simulating the quote plus purchasing process, speaking to representatives on the phone to assess the customer service experience and surveying 1, 000 dog and kitty owners nationwide to determine the most important elements of pet insurance coverage.
We scored each provider on the 100-point scale based on all those elements. We then divided the particular points earned for each provider’s final score on a 5-point scale.
Here are more details about each factor and how they’re weighted:
- Monthly pricing (25 points): How much each company charges to get its family pet insurance plans is an important part of a customer’s decision. The ideal pet insurance coverage companies combine comprehensive protection and plan options with affordable rates.
- Plans (15 points): The top pet insurance policy companies offer accident plus illness plans, accident-only programs and wellness or preventive care add-ons to give customers the option to choose a plan that’s best for their pet.
- Covered treatments (15 points): With this particular factor, all of us scored companies based on the treatments and methods they cover. Companies along with a breadth of included treatments and unique coverages received more points compared to providers with more standard or even general policies.
- Customization choices (10 points): Customizing your policy is the valuable way to ensure you only pay for what your dog needs. Providers with more annual-limit, deductible plus reimbursement-rate options earned the highest scores.
- Customer care (10 points): We all scored businesses on their own website accessibility and overall usability, customer service availability, mobile apps (if any), money-back guarantees and veterinarian telehealth choices, awarding factors to the particular insurers along with more client experience offerings.
- Industry reputation (10 points): To determine each company’s industry status, we reviewed up-to-date ratings and accreditation information from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and obtained companies on their years of experience inside the business and their particular state accessibility.
- Waiting periods (10 points): Companies with shorter accident, illness and orthopedic waiting intervals between the sign-up and insurance coverage start date scored higher than companies with longer waiting periods.
- Eligible age (5 points): Some companies do not offer guidelines for pets that are usually over a certain age. We deducted points from providers that have age group limits pertaining to covered animals.
All of us use our own rating system to compare and contrast every company against key aspects to help us determine the best pet insurance businesses in the industry. Additionally, we preserve our research up to date plus revisit the reviews upon a regular basis.
