To adopt a chinchilla is to become responsible for an animal for many years, sometimes for twenty years. This rodent is one of those that live the longest. Keeping it, therefore, entails financial sacrifices.
How much does it actually cost? What monthly budget should you plan? Where should you buy it? Are there places that are rated higher than others? We will answers all these questions. Keep reading.
Your future chinchilla is not necessarily more greedy than another. However, it is necessary to plan a certain budget to offer him the best possible living conditions. Because of its longevity, and sometimes its rarity, it has become an exceptional animal that suits many people.
Still, to get one, you sometimes have to be patient. Especially if you want one that retains all the charm of a chinchilla.
Purchase Cost
The price of a chinchilla varies significantly. It is possible to find it for around thirty euros. Beware, because you will probably have in front of you rodents with diseases, old or simply crossed.
Typically, a chinchilla sells for around $100-200. Some specimens, such as angora chinchillas, are sold for around 300 €. This is the ceiling price for this species which already represents a nice little sum in its infancy.
Everything will depend on its mutations, its origin, and its morphology. The place of purchase will be equally decisive. A professional, certified breeder will never try to rip you off. He will sell his chinchilla to you for a price he deems fair. On the other hand, pet stores tend to sell for more, in comparison to the quality of the animal.
The Accessories
Cages can be purchased or built at home. The budget will be quite high since you have to buy wooden planks, screws, brackets, mesh, plexiglass, in short, a whole bunch of materials which, put end to end, will increase the bill to more than 200 €.
To this, you will have to add all the essential accessories for the proper development of your rodent. You should therefore not forget the bottle, with an average cost of 5€, but also 2 bowls: one for the granules and another for the vegetables. Thus, the price of the bowl varies from simple to double (on average 6-10 euros) depending on its material.
Hay, added to pellets and greens, will make you spend an average of €25 per month, without the slightest excess and without counting the treats to be limited for the health of your animal.
Also, think about toys and the rest area. Thus, a small house will increase the bill to around twenty euros (unless you decide to create it). You can install a hammock (15 €), a small cushion, and tunnels so that he can entertain himself.
Your chinchilla will also thrive on hemp, flax, or cellulose litter. They are more expensive than wood chips, but also much healthier. Thus, you will save money without even knowing it, because your chinchilla will have fewer pathologies, generating less veterinary costs.
Medical Expenses
Over 20 years, medical bills are definitely one of your chinchilla’s biggest expenses. Afterward, everything will depend on how often you fall ill and the severity of the pathologies.
Usually, make sure to visit a veterinarian about once a year. The cost of a classic consultation is around 30€. In its first year of life, you can also have your animal castrated or sterilized (80-150 €).
Drug treatments quickly cost a few tens of euros for the classic consultation. Some surgeries are much more difficult for your chinchilla, but also for your bank account.
The Place Of Purchase
Health-related expenses could be drastically reduced depending on where you get your chinchilla. Indeed, some are more likely to sell you a rodent in poor health or unknowingly suffering from genetic diseases.
- At a Professional Breeder
A professional breeder is the main guarantor of the good behavior of the species. He does not play at reproducing members of the same family. There is no risk, a priori, of consanguinity .
The breeder is a chinchilla enthusiast and a strong advocate. It is therefore not he who would risk destroying the race. You can go there with your eyes closed, even if we always advise you to check the environment in which your baby chinchilla evolves (or the future chinchilla still in the belly of its mother), as well as its relationship to humans.
Do not hesitate to ask him all the questions you have in mind.
- A Particular
Do not buy online without having set foot in the private individual in question! It’s the best way to adopt a chinchilla in poor health or to be the victim of a scam.
Thus, you should always be wary, even if there is no reason, normally, that an individual passionate about chinchillas should come to trick you. You can never be too careful!
Again, ask all the necessary questions relating to the chinchilla you want (genealogy, health, etc.).
- In Pet Stores
This place is not very popular with animals. The latter, including chinchillas, are often poorly cared for there. They are piled up in cages that are often too small, without making any distinction between males and females.
It is not uncommon to have consanguineous litters or babies with genetic defects and hereditary diseases. This is a place to avoid as much as possible.
- In Shelter
Your chinchilla may have been abandoned by its previous owners, who could no longer take care of it for any number of reasons. Perhaps he was taken in after being abused…
In any case, the volunteers do a remarkable job of putting these injured animals back on their feet, physically and morally. Rodents who regain a taste for life and who are only waiting for one thing: to find a loving family. Here is the opportunity to make a nice gesture.
In summary
The chinchilla is a rodent that generates a certain cost. Already with the purchase, where it will be necessary to count more than a hundred euros, but also each month, where there too, a small hundred euros is necessary.
The figure can quickly climb depending on medical concerns. The chances of a more robust health of your future protege are much better by going through a professional breeder, to the detriment of pet shops that are not very scrupulous about monitoring their animals…