How much do chins cost yearly?

[1_animal_@_a_time]

So ive been wanting a chin for a long time now.
I know what they need and what they cant and can have.
I know the good food and dust to get for them.
But i would like an estimate on how much a single chin would cost you yearly with supplies and stuff.
And i would also like an estimate on how much it would cost with two chins yearly?

Also how much money should you have saved up just in case your chin has to be taken to the vet for a emergency or something?

PS. I know it all varies but i would just like a rough estimate

 

[Show-MeChins]

i think it really just depends on how much you WANT to spend... i would think that will the basic care ...for feed and bedding and what not... it would be less then $50 to feed one animal ..IMO.
i think vets are 150 when you walk through the door with an exotic.
It really just depends on how much you WANT to spend.
i mean a 50 pound bag of feed is 15, then a bale of hay is 3-5 bucks, bedding is 5 ish dollars for a bag.

thats more then enough for one animal for a year... probably more bedding then that...maybe??? i clean 75 cages with 2-3 bags of bedding

 

[starleomach]

In a good year a vet costs nothing because you don't need to go. Last year I spent 800$ at the vet. Bear in mind only 3 girls needed to go for anything This year I am already up to close to the same with only 2 chinchillas needing to go

I should add that only have of my costs were spent on breeding related issues. I would say try to keep 1000 ready to go. It is hard. Last year I dipped into my wedding fund.

 

[PaperMoon]

The last 4 months, I decided to renew everything my two chins had......A new FN (on sale), fleece liners, chews, toys, food, dust, treats, hammocks, hidey houses, tubes, more treats, more chews, more hidey houses....and a handy vacuum to suck up the poo = a little under $500

But that was only because I decided to splurge and give them a home makeover.

I've only had my chins for a little more than a year, I get everything in bulk and it adds up to about *maybe* a little under $100...+ electricity bill for a/c

I have $300 saved up in cash sitting at home and about another $500 on my card that I don't use. Every once in a while, I add some money to that pile. So far, I haven't had to use it yet...hopefully I won't have to any time soon either *crosses fingers*

 

[Tillygizmo]

I would say 30$ a month for food, hay, dust if you do it in monthly amounts....although bulk is much cheaper sometimes with 1 or 2 chins you cant keep things for that long : / ....I would say $500 per chin for vet stuff should be a safe bet...I say that because it is about what it cost me to get tillys vitals, teeth, and bloodwork checked when she wasnt feeling well and that would be commonly what you need.

Also, I have VPI pet insurance (the only one that will insure exotics) and they paid HALF OF MY 500$ bill!! it is 11$ a month per chin and if you only have 1 or 2 it is SOOOO worth it

 

[3CsMommy]

I'd say $30 to $50/mo is a good estimate for the maintenance stuff. A good set up will probably be $300 or so. And Taller Half has an "emergencies only" credit card with a wicked high limit set aside for veterinary problems or when the car konks out, but I try to plan for at least triple the purchase price of the animal for emergency situations. So $125 adoption fee for a dog = $375 for an E-Vet visit.

 

[Chinnies]

It's not so much the month-to-month purchases that really count. I could spend $50 on them one month, then $250 on them the next (recent FN+bass pans). Instead, it's the possible vet visits that could pop up out of no where and land you with a $1,000+ bill.

I know you're making $120/mo right now, but I'm sure, with you growing up and wanting to do things with friends, movies, dances, cars, etc- $120 won't take care of you and your chinbaby. I know I wouldn't be able to put aside every penny I earned when if I would have all those events going on in my life.

 

[Essentia]

For just the essentials I don't see where one chin comes to anywhere near $30-$50 a month, not unless you are adding in saving for a vet visit in there. Even buying online food and having to pay shipping, buying a smaller bag of bedding in the pet store and buying the $10 bags of Oxbow at Petsmart doesn't equal nearly $30.

Food for 11 lbs with shipping= $16.95/6 (because that will last you at least 6 months with one chin)= $2.83

Bag of bedding with enough to last the entire month= $6.00 (at the most)

Bag of Oxbow Timothy Hay at Petsmart= $10.00/2 (since a bag that size will probably last 1 chin about 2 months)= $5.00

If you want to add in some rosehips and cheerios or mini wheats I would say (based on my prices) you would spend no more than $2.00 a month on treats.

So, in total I am coming up with: $14.83

If you were to choose to give your chins extra toys/wheel/fleece items and such that would be an added expense, but is not essential. The initial cost of purchasing a chinchilla and setup is much greater ($300 minimum adding in the cost of the chinchilla as well) than anything you would be paying monthly.

As for vet care, I would put away at least $500 in an "In Case" fund. The last time I brought a chin to the vet I spent $42 on the office visit and $13.00 for the cost of the medicine. Not all vets rob you blind. Don't bank on a vet bill being that reasonable though. You never know if a chin could need surgery (which is where the high cost usually comes in) and possible x-rays (usually around $75-$150 depending on your location and number of x-rays). Call around to the exotic vets in your area and ask about prices. You may also find a listing here for a good exotic vet in your area.

 

[Bethany]

I'd say the initial set up is the most costly around $500 (including chin and a wheel). If you use fleece liners then you don't have to purchase bedding unless you want a litterbox. Taking Crysta's figure -bedding is $106 a year.

If you learn to do it yourself then you only pay the cost of supplies. Wood is worth $10 a pound to not have to scrub it, but you can diy.

 

[CerLynn]

It really depends what products you use/have available, as well. If you can't buy in bulk, it's going to be more expensive. For us, we do end up spending around $60-70 a month for our two boys... the PANR is pretty much negligible ($15 for a 50# bag that lasts the entire 6 months it's good for), $10 for Oxbow timothy, and at least $50 in bedding. It's the bedding that kills us... we have a 2-story FN for each, so we go through about 3/4 a bag of Carefresh a week... it certainly isn't necessary, but we made the decision to stick with it.

As far as vet bills... if you're lucky, you won't have to spend anything, but you will definitely need to be prepared. For our vet, the emergency visit alone is $180, plus anything that they actually need to do like xrays, etc. In a 3-month span we spent nearly $3000 in vet bills - major surgery for a broken leg and all the followup care, as well as a couple other minor visits. Luckily it's not usually such a major thing, but it's always good to be prepared for the worst.

 

[Kalandra]

I've seen one person mention electricity for AC. I'm curious, how many of you feel that the chins do raise your electricity bill and any idea by what percentage over your usage pre-chins? Seems to me that this would be something to consider when talking about costs of a chinchilla.

I know with hedgehogs my electricity bill during the winter months to provide additional heat is a significant amount. I'm assuming chinchilla people have a similar issue during the summer months, especially those living in warmer climates.

 

[Essentia]

Luckily for me a chinchilla was the perfect pet. I've always liked it cool in the house, so 72-74 was already what I usually kept the house at. I did add an additional window unit in the bedroom where the chins are though (due to there being a massive heater in there known as our my husband's gaming computer). That added an additional $30ish to the electric bill each month. That being said, I raised the AC temp in the main rooms (until I started taking in rescues) which made up the difference in price. My electric bill is unusually high though, as is everyone elses in Jacksonville. Mine never falls below $200 a month and I live in a 2 bedroom house.

 

[CerLynn]

I've seen one person mention electricity for AC. I'm curious, how many of you feel that the chins do raise your electricity bill and any idea by what percentage over your usage pre-chins? Seems to me that this would be something to consider when talking about costs of a chinchilla.

I know with hedgehogs my electricity bill during the winter months to provide additional heat is a significant amount. I'm assuming chinchilla people have a similar issue during the summer months, especially those living in warmer climates.

Ah yes, forgot to mention that. This is our first summer with chins, and it obviously hasn't reached peak temperatures yet, but I'm guessing it will add at least $100 a month for us.

 

[lauralynne]

Keeping the temperature below 72 in my house runs an extra $75/mo (in 80 degree weather). It will be higher in the coming months as it will be 90's to 100 in July & August. I have a large house though, it's a quad level built in 1975 (almost 3000 sq. ft.)
It would be less if I moved them to the basement, but that room is hardly used and they would be lonely!

 

[Rickman]

For those of you with central air, you can reduce your bills if you don't want the whole house as cool!! And keep your chin room 60 - 70!!
Open the ductwork all the way open in the chin room, and restrict the ductwork in the room the thermostat is in - restrict the other rooms a small amount so most of the cool air goes to the chins, and turn the thermostat up, accordingly! Worked for me!
Just remember to reverse it when you turn the heat on, and change the furnace filters monthly!!

 

[Show-MeChins]

wow... it raises your electic bill that much???... i run my house (35 yr old trailer..kept at 72), my garage (chin room and dog grooming shop 65 degrees), AND my boarding Kennel kept at 72 all on the same bill and my bill is like $150 in the summer, and about 280 in the winter

IMO ... it does not seem like you are quoting a price for one animal... more like what i spend on my 160 animals
i spend $60 on feed... 40 on bedding, $8 MAYBE on hay, hay cubes, and hay pellets, and maybe $15 extra on heating and cooling my garage..which is all my bill went up after i built it... thats $123 a month for 160 animals

 

[CerLynn]

As I mentioned, I think one of the biggest factors is whether you can/want to buy in bulk, as well as the number of chins you have. If you only have a small setup with a chin or two, it isn't always reasonable to buy an entire bale of hay or 50# bag of feed. For us though, since we choose to use Carefresh, that's the vast majority of our monthly costs - it could easily be much much cheaper if you use shavings or liners.

As far as electric, we are in an old apartment building that does not keep temperature well, even with the new central air... for comparison, just to keep the apartment up to 65, the winter bills were often 350+

So I suppose we're not an "average" example, but I figured I'd at least mention what it can get up to in certain circumstances.

 

[andymilo]

I have only one baby girl...So I try to not buy things in bulk that can expire....The initial set-up has been the most costly....*(these are all in Canadian dollars)*

FN ($270)
Bass Pans (66)
Cage Accessories (Wood houses, tunnel, long shelves, jumping shelves, leaping ledges, fleece liners, tubes, hammocks) ($250)

But monthly expenses are relatively cheap....these last me for almost 3 months

Oxbow Pellets ($10)
Orchard Grass and Timothy Hay ($10)
Bedding ($10) (this I try to buy in bulk)
Blue Cloud 5LB ($6) (I also try to buy in bulk)

Then there are of course the treats/toys that you can purchase...the best is to buy from people on this forum since the make amazing stuff and you can get great prices...you won't find this stuff at the petstore...also it's best if you buy things in bulk (i.e. dust and bedding) since they are much cheaper....

You can look at the various websites of the forum members to get a good price on toys/treats/hay/pellets/dust etc....also to get an idea of cost. Also remember that a chinny doesn't necessarily need every toy or every treat or every accessory available...it's up to you and how much you are willing/can spend...as long as they have a nice big cage with some jumping/hiding variety, clean water, good quality pellets/hay and enough things to chew to keep their teeth down you should be fine, apple sticks and lava bites are great for that.

Toys I have bought (hanging wood toys, loofah slices, lava bites, apple sticks, peach sticks, willow balls) ($100) (I bought these in March and I am still using most of them)

Hope that helps I'm a new chin owner myself so I tried to show you every cost I have made to help you see some sort of breakdown.

 

[lessthansign3]

I think that, spoiling her with toys and chew things aside, my chinchilla is one of my least expensive critters. I do have her on Carefresh, mostly because it is cleaner and I know that fleece liners would never stay put with her, so that's probably the most expensive thing right there. The price on that stuff has really jumped! I think it's like $15 or so for the big bag, and I go through about one a month between the chin and two hamsters.

Electricity is another factor. In my old apartment, where we were on the top floor, we were spending an extra $80 on air conditioning. This is in a STUDIO apartment, mind you. We would have had it running just as much without the chin, since neither the boyfriend nor myself can tolerate very warm temperatures, but it is still something to keep in mind.

And as for vet costs, I haven't had to take my chin to the vet in the two years I've had her (thankfully!) but I took a guinea pig in last March and my vet charges the same rate for all rodent-type critters (which I think is around $70 for the visit plus extra for treatments). He and his cagemate got in a fight and his lip got split open. To have him stitched up, which required anesthesia, and medicated to prevent infection, cost around $250. So, just be sure you're able to pay vet bills if necessary. If they are just pet chins (not breeders), having an extra $500 available is always a good thing.

The expensive thing is always the initial cost. Cages, toys, and even the chin itself can cost a lot! I have a wonderful metal ferret cage I found on sale at Petco that set me back $150. Sure, it's big enough for three or four chins and I only have one, but what can I say? My Zumi is a spoiled little princess Once you're got your chin all settled in, though, it's not bad at all! A small bag of Mazuri ($7-$8) lasts me over two months and when I bought the small bags of hay (now, with four guinea pigs and two rabbits, we buy the 50 lb box from Oxbow) that would last me a month, and I think those run about $5 now. Oh, and I can't forget the cost of the organic raisins from the co-op, haha A small bag, around $4, lasts like... well, probably six months, since she only gets one a day (and no more than that, no matter how much she begs!)

So, compared to our four male guinea pigs, who go through a $15 bag of food and around 10 lbs of hay every month, not to mention the $15 or so we would spend on greens every month, AND the cost of washing their fleece and towels every five days ($1.25 to wash, $1.25 to dry, and now that the cage is bigger it takes two loads)... Chins are VERY cheap

 

[Spoof]

The chins in their own 11 x 10 room have been running me $25 - $30 per month in utilities. That's a 15,000btu a/c, florescent lights on a timer, a 2' x 2' HEPA filter and ceiling fan.

I've just recently attached a fence charger to the shop for my horse, curious to see how much that's going to add on.

They would have made a difference in my house, I'd have had to put in a window unit. My house a/c comes on at 8AM or so and doesn't turn off until after midnight these days. It's barely keeping the house below 80. I really need a bigger one.

Just paying for feed, bedding, dust and hay I'd wager it comes down to about $30/mo for 16-20 chins. I have trees I prune for chew toys and get almost everything in bulk. As far as pets go they're one of the cheapest.

Even the worst chinnie vet bill pales in comparison to my horse's, and he's never had anything serious.