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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2012 14:49:24 GMT -5
About a month ago, I asked some of you to fill out a questionnaire for me about how much you spend each month on your ferrets. I've finally gotten around to putting the numbers together and making some graphs, so here we go! The average cost of owning a ferret: i.imgur.com/aAvDs.jpg(edit: just a reminder that all dollar numbers are in USD, here is a currency converter: www.xe.com/ucc/) |
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Post by Sherry on Nov 3, 2012 17:15:00 GMT -5
Okay, that came out as really REALLY tiny on the extreme left of the page. Can't read it.
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Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2012 17:39:49 GMT -5
If you go to the corner, your cursor will show a magnifying glass...just click it and it gets bigger (not bad for a computer illiterate...totally got it by accident ;D).
ciao
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Post by acodlin on Nov 3, 2012 18:21:49 GMT -5
Since we got our ferrets in 2010 we have spent over 20,000 in food, cages, bedding and vet bills. Now we have had up to 23.. last months vet bills alone were 3k  love my guys but they cost me a lot more than 260 a piece per year lol. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2012 18:53:55 GMT -5
I didn't include vet bills into the equation for that very reason. This was sort of a basic monthly cost thing. Vet bills are too random aside from regular checkups and shots.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2012 18:55:08 GMT -5
Okay, that came out as really REALLY tiny on the extreme left of the page. Can't read it. Imgur automatically resizes photos - You should be able to tap it (if you are on a phone) or click on it (if you are on the pc) and it will enlarge. It's a huge picture - 600px by 5000px so it should definitely be legible on all resolutions. |
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Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2012 19:51:10 GMT -5
Unfortunately, vetting is the biggest ferret cost anyone will ever have, the rest is rather incidental (just part of upkeep...it would probably not be any different from most dog and cat stats). My ferret costs regarding drugs and health are my biggest expense....those costs are the reason why a number of my rescues were surrendered. That is why Azrael was left to die at the vets...the cost of their medical care.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2012 20:04:59 GMT -5
Aye I considered doing a separate survey for vetting costs, but it's sort of a touchy subject (and understandably so). Some didn't want to think about it or didn't want to add up the numbers cause they were just too much, or attached to too many bad memories. |
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Post by Heather on Nov 3, 2012 20:23:40 GMT -5
Unfortunately....not thinking about it is rather like shoving it under the carpet. If you want your data to be relevent then that is a big part of ferret care. It's not a part we want to think about, believe me...it scares me every time I look at the vetting costs with these guys but it has to be considered. If your information is going to be used by someone considering purchasing a ferret on a cost out value, the most important and the largest expense has been left out.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2012 21:14:14 GMT -5
I know. You are absolutely right. I am going to start putting together a list of questions for a vetting cost survey. If you have any suggestions then please throw them my way.
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Post by Sherry on Nov 3, 2012 21:40:19 GMT -5
Even having a private cremation, which is what we've chosen to do, has become so very expensive now. We paid about $135-$140 + tax before. It's now gone up to $185 +  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 12:16:19 GMT -5
I second those that say these numbers don't come close to what I pay per ferret per month (somehow I missed your poll - sorry  ). I'm not saying this isn't necessarily accurate, but I don't think it is an appropriate number for the *average* ferret owner to gauge how much a ferret will cost (in these areas) as it seems quite a bit lower than I would imagine a *good* ferrent would spend. A new ferret owner that hasn't researched what it takes to care for a ferret would look at numbers like these and think "WOW how cheap is that!" especially if they have had other animals previously. I'm sorry, I really don't mean to rain on your parade with this poll, but I think numbers like this would give new ferrents a false sense of cost of care and when they discovered the real cost it might REALLY cost the ferret involved. Just so you can know why I say this - in the areas you polled, with 3 ferrets, I currently spend about $60 a month per ferret for food (I know this is a bit high but I am in raw switch mode with ferrets with food allergies), more like $5 a month per ferret for bedding, about $16 a month per ferret for litter, about $8 a month per ferret for toys, and for medications I haven't had to buy too many but when I do they are pricey and if I had a sick ferret that had to have meds every month I imagine this would get pricey (say several ferrets with adrenal and insulinoma who have to get lupron/deslorelin/pred). Currently, I spend about $89 a month per ferret - so about $1068 per year per ferret. I do tend to spoil my babies, but I don't think I'm too much different than most well-educated and well-involved ferrents. I'm not including breeders and the special ladies that take in MANY ferts to care for, but I feel for the *average* truly loving ferret owner my numbers aren't too far off. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 12:30:19 GMT -5
Side note - for those of you who are good ferrents and spend less than what I stated, please don't take offense in what I had said. If you are able to spend less due to better/cheaper products, toys, etc. then I applaud you and would LOVE to know your secret. I don't mean to say that you aren't a *loving* ferrent if you spend less than I do, I just wanted to express my concern over new uneducated potential ferrents having a false sense of cost of living for a ferret as I feel the numbers stated in this poll are misleading for store/farm ferrets and for areas that may not have great availability to good ferret products.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 18:58:37 GMT -5
I posted the poll across a number of different sites, not just this one. I got all kinds of people, with all different kinds of living situations, using all different kinds of foods and litters.
It's an average cost. There are just massive differences in what different people spend each month. There were 6 people on the poll who said they spend more than $200 per month in food, and another 6 who said they spend less than $10. I know of a shelter locally who buys kibbles in bulk, mixes them up, then sells 8lb bags of the mix for $10 each - an 8lb bag of kibble would last a single ferret a LONG time. Some people use newspapers instead of litter so they have $0 cost there, as opposed to your $16 per month. Not everyone feeds 100% raw, either - only 30% of the poll takers feed 100% raw diets so the rest wouldn't be going through the growing pains of switching like you are. Some people also make their own bedding and toys so the cost would be far lower there, as well.
Personally, I find that I'm spending about $30 per ferret/month, which is WAY lower than your estimate of $90 per ferret/month. I make my own bedding using old t-shirts that people give me for free, or that I get for super cheap at yard sales. I buy litter in bulk and on sale so there's savings for me as well. The majority of the cost for me is in food.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2012 19:04:52 GMT -5
Also.. I'm working on another poll to determine how much people spend (on average) on vetting for their ferrets. When I'm finished with that I'll put the two polls together and I'm sure the average will be much higher.
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