How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Chinchilla
Chinchillas are indeed adorable pets. With cute face, whiskers and nose, it really is almost irresistible not to adore one. If you want a chinchilla for a pet, check out first how much buying one will cost you.
Typical Cost Of A Chinchilla
The usual cost of a chinchilla is $50 to $200 each.
Factors That Affect The Price Of A Chinchilla
Variety. Chinchillas come in different color varieties and the rarer the color is, the higher their price usually goes. The cheapest is a standard gray chinchilla that can start from $50 only. Afro-violet chinchillas, on the other hand are in the more expensive side with prices ranging from $125 to $160. The same is true for white chinchillas. Other colors to choose from are black velvets and charcoal.
Sex. Male chinchillas are usually cheaper as compared to female ones mainly because of breeding purposes.
Store. Where you buy your pet determines the cost of a chinchilla. Getting it from a breeder or a pet store will cost you more money as compared to getting one from a local rescue group.
Additional Costs
A cage will be an added expense when buying a chinchilla. A minimum quality cage can start from $50 while a complete cage kit can go as high as $150. This kind of cage usually has bottle holder, dust bath tub, water bottle, and pellet feeder.
Cage accessories will also be extra here. Your pet may need small wooden hut as a hiding place during the day, exercise wheel, litter pans, and the like.
Foods will also be an added expense when buying a chinchilla. Usually, you have to budget around $10 a month for food including pellets and wood chews.
Chinchillas need a dust bath twice every week. Dust baths can cost around $5 per month.
Vet expenses along the way will be an added cost when you buy a chinchilla.
Tips Before You Buy A Chinchilla
Know whether or not you are ready to get a chinchilla as a pet. Learn about the characteristics of this pet and see if it is okay with you to keep them. Chinchillas are nocturnal, problem eaters, destructive, and usually expensive to keep given their 10 to 20 years lifespan.
Consider adopting a chinchilla instead of buying one.
Understand that chinchillas regularly breed. If you don't want to take in any responsibility of a lot of baby chins, you'll have to keep an eye on not letting a female and male live together.
Pick a healthy and tame chinchilla to take home. Dull fur and watery eyes are signs of illness in a chinchilla so you do not want to get one with symptoms like these. Also, make sure that the chinchilla is tamed so you won't have trouble bringing it home and taking care of it. You would want to hold the chinchilla before buying it to see whether or not it responds greatly to you.