On average, how much does it cost to get a rat?

Question

Including cage, bedding, enough food for a while, and other needed items.
Just for starting out though, /not/ how much I would spend over its entire life.

Also, if you could figure in the cost of two rats, that would be lovely.
Oh, and what are your suggestions for the cage size for two rats?

Answer 1

cage-20+
food bowl-3
water bottle-7
bedding-10
food-7
rat-10
=57+
plus you will want toys such as a wheel,ball to walk around the house in, rope to climb on.....
Two rats is the definite way to go..... if you decide to do this add another 10 for the rat plus make sure you get a larger cage...... a nice one that can comfortably house 2 adult rats runs around 50 but can range anywhere from 30-200 depending on how fancy you want to go.
If you talk to the pet store they usually offer deals when you buy the animal plus the complete set up.... I saved 30 this way.
Also please make sure that you do not buy pine or cedar bedding... this causes respiratory problems in rats and often contains mites.

Answer 2

Ok..

Well in UK money, I just spent £43 on a big ferret cage (30 x 18 x 30 inches), it came with 3 levels, 2 food/water bowls, ramps for shelves, and I also bought a ferret tunnel, chew rope and mineral treats for that money. Because my rat is an (almost) adult male, the inch bar spacing isn't an issue. For small does and young rats, probably about 3/4" (2cm) max, I've read on a lot of ratty websites.

One cage you could try to get is a "Ferplast Jenny Rat Cage", which is suitable for does and youngsters, as it has smaller bar spacing. Here's a link to it on a UK site - http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/rodents/cages/rat_cage/13281 - so you can take a peek. There's similar ones though.

In reality most big enough cages seem to be around the £80 mark, or in US, only $60 - $100, which isn't fair, but never mind. I'd say minimum for 2 females is probably 24 W x 18 D x 24 H inches, bit bigger for 2 males. If you see a cage you like, use this ( http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml ) as a guide to size. Remember male rats do need more room, and if you have only 1 shelf, it won't be the same as 3 shelves. It's only really a guide.

Overall I'd say probably £100 - £120, or maybe $80 - $130 based on brand new, 2nd hand cages are an option.

Good luck, hope this helps.

Answer 3

The most expensive part tends to be the cage.(For a good one for two you are looking at around $100 or more.. If you can find a ferrett cage with small enough holes (remember, rats can collapse their skeletons down quite a bit, so the hole size is important) that may work.. but you definately WANT stairs.. and more than one level.. rats are climbers. . so here's an idea
http://bayimages.net/images/5k/bay004891.jpg

You find an old dresser, buy some chicken wire (or other mesh type material that will withstand rat's teeth and won't leave a hole big enough for a rat to get out) Doing it this way you are guranteed to have enough room for the rats, they have plenty of space to run, plenty of things climb.. etc..

The rats are generally not too much.. at the pet store between $8 and $10.. but you can also go on the yahoo pet rat group.. (don't recall the exact name off hand) and they will often have messages when they have litters.. and you may be able to ask about anyone having a litter coming up in your area..

http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html
This is a site that gives a recipe for homemade rat food.. (mine loved it!).. It cost about $15 to make, BUT the food lasted about 6 months in a closed container..

Bedding depends.. the pine stuff which I used to buy is fairly inexpensive and went on sale every few weeks in the huge bags.. ( I had a rat, guinea pig, hamster, and rabbit at the same time, so needed the huge bags).. the average price for those was $10. however, many rodents have problems with the pine bedding.. the other kinds are a bit more expensive.. but not too bad..I'd say probably $8.00 for the smaller bags of the really good stuff.. (I want to say it was Aspen or something)

Wooden chew toys are essential, but fairly inexpensive.. You'll want a "house" in it, but if you go through and make the "dresser" cage you can probably just take a few little pieces of wood and build it into the cage itself.. just cut out a few holes for access and sand the edges down..

Other toys you can add on as time goes on..

Answer 4

My rat has a super shall I say pimped out cage. I bought my rat, Mortisha Addams for about 2.50. She has a 4 story $100 ferret cage. A fifteen dollar wheel, it is more expensive because it is pretty quiet. She has two food bowls that came with the cage, and a 5 dollar bottle. Food is pretty cheap and I find it best to not buy alot all at once. Don't forget some snacks, but don't feed your rat through the bars of the cage...My first mistake. v.V Still trying to break her of her biting habit.

Answer 5

$3.99-10 per rat, try finding a store or a breeder who will let you handle them before buying because you don't want a timid rat, watch for mites and bites, don't be afraid to turn down a whole cage full because of one sickly looking rat, better safe than sorry even if you have to wait for the next shipment to come in

$5-$80+ cage, will you get a used cage, a brand new one? I have a large parrot cage I got used for $10. Just make sure the bars are .5 inches apart or less

$5-kiln dried pine bedding in a really really big bag meant for horse stalls, make sure it smells the least like pine because some batches don't get dried as good as they should

$2lb- lab blocks, but you will also want to feed leftovers from your own meals with good judgement as to what rats can have (mmm pasta and chicken), don't go for the Reggie rat bagged mix, it has peanuts (bad) and also has food coloring that makes you rat's poo green

$2-5- water bottle

$1- food dish, unless you like something fancy, the rat won't care either way

Toys can be homemade or bought, no wheels, rats aren't stupid enough to like wheels

Prepare for two rats, they are social creatures and don't do as well alone.

Answer 6

Expect to spend about $120.00 for a basic set up, and up to $200.00 for something more fancy.

The rat is about $5-$10
Cage is $60-$100
Water bottle is $5-$10
Food dish is $2-$6
Bedding is $6-$10
Food is $6-$10
There are many household items you can use for toys, hidding places, and chew sticks to help cut costs, such as old socks and shoe boxes.
The best food is plain pellets or "lab blocks" with fresh fruit, veggies, and meats.
Bedding should be aspen, carefresh, hemp, aspen pellets, or newspaper pellets. Never house your rat on pine or cedar.
Remember rats need large, multi-level cages. They cannot live in hamster cages.

Answer 7

a cage would be about £22 (a good sized cage) and the rat would be £5.

so 1 rat and the cage would be £27
and 2 rats and cage would be £32.

-from a Friend ^^

Answer 8

it depends, the rat could cost from 2 $ to 10 at a pet store, from a breeder even more. ten or more for the adoption fee. the breeder(bella luna) I know of in utah charge 20$ for the addoption fee. depending on what cage you get and where you get it 10-300$
food( again it depends on waht and where you get it) would be about 40$ anually for dry seed mixes and lab blocks... you do the math for initial cost. about 60$ annually for fresh veggies, fruit and other non bagged pet foods.
bedding 10-18 bucks(depends on how much, where and what you get) shredded news paper is a good thing to ADD to litter to save money and make your bag last longer.

Answer 9

Rat: $5-10

Cage: $20-35

Food: $7

Aspen Bedding (Only good stuff): $3-12

Water Bottle: $3

Bowl: $4

Answer 10

ok, well for my rat, i got two of them from a breeder. 10 total. cage, bedding, food, and (bottled water) wound up costing me about 100. depending on where u get them, there will be veterinary costs coming very soon. i now only have one rat because of it. so just be careful.