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  • 01-25-2018, 02:39 PM
    Valrie87
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    Let's see.. Not including the cost of the little banana man and shipping for him...

    Tank: $60
    Lights: $35
    Thermometer: $35
    Thermostats: $65
    UTH: $24
    Substrate: $30
    Hides: $35
    Plants: $10
    Water Dish: $6
    Food and Tongs: $40 (small quantities)
    Tank Stand: $35
    Misc (Foil tapes, outlet extension): $15

    Total: $390

    And I am a bargain shopper so, I looked for the best product in the mid to low end price.

    Cashew was $200 total with shipping. So $500 isn't too bad!

    I'm interested to see how much the lighting will effect my electricity bill. :)
  • 01-25-2018, 05:12 PM
    WastelandExotics
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Regius_049 View Post
    Though, if you had a cheaper rack setup for hatchlings running on a single thermostat and divided the cost among say, a dozen snakes, you could probably manage it.

    Exactly my point. Seems like the cost of housing goes drastically down the more animals you acquire to split the cost of your chosen setup. Especially if you're a DIYer, the cost goes down even more.

    And to explore that a little more, if I was a bettin' lady, I would definitely bet that the big breeders out there with 1000+ animals spend far less than $25 per animal for housing, especially with turn over and reuse of housing for new animals. Say, for instance, you're breeding and have a clutch of babes, sell all of them and then have another batch next season. Would you divide the cost twice because two animals occupied it once? I would imagine that's pretty important when determining actual cost of housing too.
  • 01-26-2018, 07:49 PM
    Regius_049
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by WastelandExotics View Post
    Would you divide the cost twice because two animals occupied it once? I would imagine that's pretty important when determining actual cost of housing too.

    Yes, I mean really, it just comes down to "snake density" per rack. You could indeed probably get it down pretty low. However, perhaps it is the way the questions is phrased. When I hear "how much does it cost to house a snake?" It sounds more like you are talking about an individual pet and thus the implication is a single, adult animal. The connotation kind of implies a single animal in a small collection, but maybe that is just the way I read it. If you wanted to know the dollar cost per hatchling within a rack, you might have gotten replies closer to what you were envisioning if it were worded say, "Within a rack setup, how much is the cost per animal for a breeding setup?"
  • 01-27-2018, 12:58 AM
    Pengil
    I actually made a little Excel sheet with the initial cost so I could see what I was getting myself into before hand. It's not on this computer, but I think it came to a bit under $200 for everything. I would say at least $250 is going to be at least what it ends up being by the time I have everything. However, I didn't have a soldering iron, so $8.00 of the whole bill went to that, I spent $20 on a melamine board for my mat and tub to rest on, and $80 on a Dremel with a routing attachment so I could route a channel in the melamine for my t-sat probe and just tape my mat over it. The Dremel and the soldering iron were not in my original budget because I didn't know I'd end up having to actually purchase both. :rolleyes:
  • 11-12-2018, 12:35 AM
    distaff
    My costs are all over the place, as some vivs are just the basics, and some are much more of a display. For the single BP I own, he was free, and I had no time what-so-ever to prepare (he showed up at my front gate with no warning), so everything was hacked together. 5 gal glass tank that I'd had for years and bought at a garage sale for $2. Used scrap hardware cloth for a top - approx. $1 worth of material, I already had a water dish ($1 yard sale glass ash tray) and cut some yogart tubs for home-made hides. Ordered a heat pad ($25 shipped) that day, and a Herpstat $110 (?) shipped. I already had thermometers and a lazer temp gun. Also, I had a perfectly sized litter of baby rats, and some suitable frozen mice left over in the freezer, so no cost there.

    That is about as bare bones as you can get for an animal housed in a stand alone enclosure.

    He is growing like a weed, and is active at night, so I'll be getting him a 10 gallon soon. Add approx $14 for that, and maybe $15 for a Zilla top and clips.
  • 11-12-2018, 12:49 AM
    distaff
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    I don't worry much about the initial costs - we keep a strict budget, so if I can't afford it, I just don't get the animal. Once the money is spent on equipment, it's over with. I can always raise rats, and while my own supply isn't consistent, we have a neighbor who usually has spares.

    What does stress me out are future electric bills. I very roughly figure $1 per month per animal ($2/3 if I'm running an RHP in addition to the UTH), but today's prices could be much higher in a few years. I have six snakes now, and there are several more species I would like to own examples of. That adds up, eventually.

    As far as people being surprised about the amounts some of us spend on equipment when one could just get a rack, and then have the extra cash to buy high-end animals...well, we are not all in this hobby for the same reasons. I doubt I'll ever breed. I don't care about expensive genetics. If something needs a home, and I can handle it, I'll take it in. If something listed on-line appeals to me, I'll try to scrape up the cash to afford it. The last snake that I regret missing out on was a Glossy snake listed for $39. THAT wasn't the problem, but then there is shipping, there is the herpstat, and the heat pad, and the cost of another tank....
  • 11-12-2018, 10:42 AM
    Dianne
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    For me, I like seeing my snakes, so everyone is currently in either Monster or Reptile Basics cages (black plastic with plexi doors). So cage, heat, and thermostat per animal runs $250-$300...give or take. These are pets, so I’m splurging. In the past, I’ve either set up in glass tanks or built cages for less than $100 per snake, but I really like the look and ease of cleaning that a plastic cage provides.
  • 11-12-2018, 01:47 PM
    Zincubus
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dianne View Post
    For me, I like seeing my snakes, so everyone is currently in either Monster or Reptile Basics cages (black plastic with plexi doors). So cage, heat, and thermostat per animal runs $250-$300...give or take. These are pets, so I’m splurging. In the past, I’ve either set up in glass tanks or built cages for less than $100 per snake, but I really like the look and ease of cleaning that a plastic cage provides.

    Excellent !!

    I can't imagine having snakes but not being able to see them absolutely perfectly..


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
  • 11-12-2018, 05:50 PM
    Helonwheelz383
    I got my Normal and a 40 gallon tank for 50 bucks. Then I got to spend another $200+ getting all the needed equipment to take care of her properly. All she had was hides and an empty water dish when I picked her up. No thermostat, thermometer, heat, hydrometer or anything. Needless to say, I got the herper crash course :D
  • 11-16-2018, 05:33 PM
    Bogertophis
    Re: How much does it cost you to house a snake?
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Zincubus View Post
    Excellent !!

    I can't imagine having snakes but not being able to see them absolutely perfectly...

    I totally agree, and this is for several reasons...not simply aesthetics but also for their safety. If something goes wrong, I want to know about it, so easily seeing
    into a cage is important to me. When you have to go out of your way to look in, you just won't do it as much.

    I also prefer that my snakes get a natural photoperiod from room light, plus I believe that my snakes are far more trusting when handled because they are used to my
    presence. A snake that cannot see out until suddenly you swoop into their tub to handle them has to be a little more traumatized, though the effects depend on what
    species you're keeping...some just have naturally better vision.
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