Monthly Costs for One Chinchilla
We've decided to create this page for anyone who's curious about what it costs to home a regular chinchilla (one with no medical issues) and what it costs to home an ill chinchilla (specifically one with epilepsy, seeing as we currently have three).
Cost if you do not have a fleece liner:
Free-fed, high quality pellets: $1/pound x 2 pounds=$2
Free-fed, high quality alfalfa: $0.50/pound x 2 pounds=$1
Free-fed, high quality timothy: $0.50/pound x 2 pounds=$1
Blue Cloud dust: $1.25/pound x 1 pound=$1.25
Toys: $10
Shavings no fleece liner: $4
Rosehips: $0.65/ounce x 2 oz=$1.30
Total: $20.55 (not counting shipping)
Cost if you do have a fleece liner:
Free-fed, high quality pellets: $1/pound x 2 pounds=$2
Free-fed, high quality alfalfa: $0.50/pound x 2 pounds=$1
Free-fed, high quality timothy: $0.50/pound x 2 pounds=$1
Blue Cloud dust: $1.25/pound x 1 pound=$1.25
Toys: $10
Shavings for litter boxes (using a fleece liner): $1
Rosehips: $0.65/ounce x 2 ox=$1.30
Total: $17.55 (not counting shipping)
Cost if you do not use a fleece liner, and your chin needs medication:
$20.55 + $12 (at most) = $32.55
Cost if you do use a fleece liner, and your chin needs medication:
$17.55 + $12 = $29.55
The costs to a rescue, which gets bulk discounts, is significantly lower. It's anywhere from half to one-third the cost of a pet chin.
That said, we do spend a minimum of $200 a month on basic chinchilla supplies for everyone in the rescue and sanctuary. Anything extra, like a $4 basket of toys (wholesale pricing) gets added to the total.
This is why any donation amount is a tremendous help. A donation of $16 will buy 50 pounds of Manna Pro Sho, enough to feed the chins for a month. A donation of $8 will buy 50 pounds of hay, which will last one month. $5 will buy a big bag of compressed shavings, which will last 2 weeks. A donation of $20 will buy 20 6" long pinecones, it will buy 5 yards of fleece, or it will buy 3 hay boxes (counting shipping).
Special Costs:
If we have to bring someone to the vet, the starting cost is $20 per chin per visit.
Medicine like phenobarbital or trimeth sulfa is $12 a bottle per month. Baytril does cost more.
Calcium powder with rosehips and alfalfa is about $20/pound.
Calcium Gluconate, for chins with severe calcium deficiency (white or clear/grey teeth), is $14.
Beaphar Xtra Vital Care+ for Chinchillas, for chins who have malo, is $22 with shipping/month.
Tooth filing (in the event there is a delay in food delivery from the UK) is a minimum of $75/chin at 5 or 6 chins.
We are currently saving up to buy each cage here a ChinSpin. The price recently went up, and now they are $70 with shipping. If we buy one wheel a month and then buy nothing but the basics, it will still put our monthly cost at $270.
Our annual costs