If you get in love after watching some YouTube video about Chinchilla, and you are thinking about buying one, there isn’t a better question that you can do before buying a chinchilla.
Asking how much does a chinchilla cost gives you a sense of responsibility because always more and more people don’t care about the cost that surrounds pets. They proceed directly buying it, with a disaster final results of abandonment.
To avoid this sad situation, you should be prepared about the cost that you, as the chinchilla owner, must afford to maintain the Chinchilla healthy and happy.
How much does a chinchilla cost? The average cost for a chinchilla is between $150-$350 anyway; you can find a lower price if the Chinchilla already has some age of life, with a discount of $50 more minor than the initial price, this beautiful pet will be yours.
Table of Contents
Types of chinchilla costs
As you saw during the first part of the article, we estimate the cost for purchasing a chinchilla; anyway, there are many other considerations because some characteristics of it can make the cost of chinchilla change.
Cost for purchasing a chinchilla on a pet stores
As the first idea of the location where to buy a chinchilla, you thought about pet stores. In that case, you have to know that most pet stores will ask you a price of $150-$250 for all types of chinchilla present there.
As they don’t make any distinction about age or color.
This, from one side, can seem like an advantage, because if you are lucky, you could buy a more expensive chinchilla with less money.
But also consider that most pet stores don’t get the proper attention and care on the pets present, simply because they have to manage many of them.
With the consequence of buying a chinchilla with a small health problem, the acquisition cannot be visible.
Cost buying a chinchilla on a breeders
This is the best option if you decide to have a chinchilla as a pet.
With breeders, the cost for buying Chinchilla will be average the same as the one purchased at the pet store.
In the same situation, you can find a chinchilla at less price of the pet store than the grey chinchilla, where it is not a surprise found them at the cost of $100 or less.
The best thing that you can do is search on the web for all the breed that are near you, and then, if they are not so distant, make a jump and see what they have to offer you.
Cost for buy a chinchilla on a rescue
As for other pets, the Chinchilla require a lot of care, and for that reason, many Chinchilla lost their owners each year.
This is a sad thing to do, and each one of us should be aware of the cost that a pet, in this case, a chinchilla, has before buying one.
If you go into a rescue pet with a high probability, you will find a chinchilla, and the cost, in that case, is not so high.
You can expect an average cost of $80, and in some case, if you are lucky, you can receive the cage too, because was the one purchased by the previous owner.
Different color different cost for Chinchilla
Probably you are not aware, but the Chinchilla comes in different colors, the most common one is the grey color, that we cost you an average of $100-$250.
Other colors present on that fantastic rodent species are the color violet and sapphire, and due to the rarity, you can expect an increment of the price until reaching more than $300.
Anyway as you probably saw, the initial cost for purchasing a chinchilla is not so expensive, but wait before be so happy, because there are many things that you have to know about the cost related to owing a chinchilla, and this is what we are going to see in the next part of the article.
Cage cost for Chinchilla
As for every small pet, the initial cost you have to do after purchasing a chinchilla is the cage.
The perfect cage size for a chinchilla is around 30x24x48 because you have to guarantee the space necessary for its movements.
On average, you can find a cage of this dimension with a cost of $250, while if you don’t go for a cheaper option, you can consider a small one and cost you $200.
Cost for set up the cage for a chinchilla
As per humans, you cannot think to buy a house and keep it empty, right? It would be best if you had the suitable instruments and setup to make the environments friendlier.
Same for the Chinchilla, once you bought the cage, your next step should be to insert the suitable material to give your Chinchilla an excellent and enjoyable place to live.
Wooden ledges for chinchilla cost
One of the most common things that are visible inside the chinchilla cages is the wooden ledges. The purpose of using wooden shelves inside the cage is to give a place where your Chinchilla can rest or make some exercise jumping from a ledge to another.
There isn’t anything more perfect than this, because the maximum cost for wooden ledges will be $15
Food dish for chinchilla cost
Another essential piece of the cage for your Chinchilla is the bowl. The best suggestion that we can give to you is not to use plastic to preserve your small pets’ health.
This operation will not cost you so much. You can found food dishes for Chinchilla at $5 -10.
Water glass bottle for chinchilla cost
Another cost that you have to do for your Chinchilla is glass bottle water, hydration for the small pets is essential, so make sure that you buy a glass bottle and keep it always full, the cost for a glass water bottle is around $10 $20 depending on the model that you chose
Dust bath house cost for Chinchilla
For some people, having a small pet inside the house at the beginning can be scary, mainly for people who like to have the house always in order and clean.
A chinchilla can indeed make your house dirtier or make some mess around.
But no problem because people worldwide have already thought of the perfect solution to limit the damage to your house.
You can buy a dust bath to give your Chinchilla the suitable space to simulate its behaviors.
A dust bath for your Chinchilla will cost you around $15, but this can be considered one of the essential components for your Chinchilla’s health, so it is strongly recommended to buy one.
Chew toys cost for Chinchilla
Also, if you are not a pet owner, you notice that the pet owner usually entertains their pets with chew toys.
The same discussion for the Chinchilla, this typology of pets is brilliant, and to give always motivation to discover new things and keep them active, the best advice is to buy some of these chew toys.
The cost is not exaggerated, and after some time, you need to buy some other because, with time, the conditions will worsen.
The cost for chew toys for Chinchilla is around $5-$15.
Recreation toys cost for Chinchilla
As discussed before, the Chinchilla needs toys to keep them smart and active, for that reason after sometimes you should evaluate the possibility of expanding the cage of your Chinchilla, inserting other stuff inside.
Arrived at that time you can think that the cost of Chinchilla is becoming already high, but you should consider that these tools are usually bought once times only.
The most used toys for Chinchilla are:
- Wooden tunnels cost
- Bridges cost for cage
Wooden tunnels cost for a chinchilla cage
The wooden tunnel has a cost of $15; considering the benefit that a simple piece of wood can do for your Chinchilla, it is recommended to insert it inside the cage.
Care supplies cost for Chinchilla
What we saw until now was the environmental cost, that it can be expanded to more products presents on the market.
But now it is time to see all the care supplies cost for Chinchilla.
Cost for chinchilla food
We cannot start a cost of care supplies without naming the food.
Arrived at that part of the article, you asked how much money I should spend on chinchilla food.
Well, the Chinchilla is in love with the pellet, and a simple 5 pound bag of food for Chinchilla can be acquired from vendors at the cost of $10.
The recommended portion for a single chinchilla is 2- tbsp per day, making like so on average a 5 pounds of pellets will cost you 10$ every two months.
Vet cost for Chinchilla
The vet cost is an important consideration to do before buying a pet as per every pet owner.
Unless your Chinchilla gets sick, you have to do only routine visits to the veterinarian, and these visits can cost you around $30 up to $70; this cost depends on the type of visit you are going to do.
The most expensive cost related to the health care of your Chinchilla will come hoping never, but in case you need to make some surgery.
Surgery cost Chinchilla
Hoping that this situation never appears; in any case, the cost for the surgery is variable, and it goes from a minimum of $200, and it can go up to $600 if it is a sensitive surgery.
Insurance cost
You are not obliged to do it, but you should do it and live quietly together with your Chinchilla if you feel more comfortable.
Considering that the insurance cost for Chinchilla, on average, costs $10 $20 per month, it is not an expensive operation to do.
Yearly cost chinchilla
Now it is time to summarize all the cost saw until now, and make a more clear and efficient table, where you could consult and then after purchasing a chinchilla, see if your estimation cost was correct or not.
| Accessories | $50 |
| Bedding | $50 |
| Food | $60 |
| Vet cost | $100- $600 |
The average yearly cost that you will spend to maintain your Chinchilla is between $260 to $300.
This estimation cost was done considering a healthy year without an extraordinary problem.
Conclusion
The Chinchillas are amusing and cute pets, they are smart, and they can become your perfects pets. Anyway, like other small pets, they need care and maintenance. For that reason, before buying one, it is always better to look at the future cost that you need to afford before buying a chinchilla.
