Monthly cost

[New2Blues]

What is the average monthly cost for BTS? Or what do you usually end up spending each month on your skink?

[Linnea]

winter? 0 euro, my skink is brumating xD so just cost for lights.

normally? with 2-3 feedings a week for an adult skink its around 4 euro a month. if i buy exotic fruit as treats its a little more, but i usually eat what veggies and fruits my skink doesnt eat myself (with regards to the fruit, i dont give him too much or hed explode lol) so im not sure how to count that.

i replace light every 3 months since they break so i pay ten euro each for them, that is 3.3 euro monthly. the exo terra uvb bulb costs me 20 euro each year, thats 1.6 euro a month.

monthly total: 9.1 euro

emergency vet money of 900 euro is prepared, and people in sweden always have insurances without exception.

starting up costs are very varying, mine was on the expensive side at around 300 euro

[Spindown]

um, with 5 skinks, its about $10 for food, but i change my eco earth once a month, so...less than $20 per month. My cat is about 2x that a month

This includes food (base is collard greens, squash, and pedigree dog food) plus treats (chicken/egg/banana/berries/etc), plus roach colony (fed on Crested Gecko Diet) and whatever superworms i choose to buy as snacks, plus substrate, plus lightbulbs.
Does not include: fixtures that may break, or lighting, since i dont know how to calculate that.

[NennaMeerkat]

A month? I get organic pesticide free veggies at a local farmers market at least twice a month (I also have a bearded dragon who inhales veggies) and that bill per time is around 15 bucks. Since I just started with my Bluey I bought three tall cans of canned dog food at about 3 dollars a can, but I don't know how long those cans will last me.

I would guess maybe at most 25 dollars? But I choose to get higher end veggies and usually a large variety of different things. If you just bought the bare needed veggies and just made sure to scrub and wash them before feeding you could probably easily spend less.

[Katrina]

It is hard to estimate because I have 8 and we eat a lot of the same veggies / greens / meats as the blueys. A can of dog food usually is about $2-$3 and feeds all 8 plus some. I definitely save some money having more of them, efficiency of scale and all / less wasted food. I feed once a week usually, so maybe $5-$10 / week in food for them, less in the winter, and probably about $30 / month added to the power bill. I also buy a lot of variety and generally organic, but we eat that as well and we eat the majority of it. I've spent a ton on decorations and stuff for their enclosures, but they would probably be just as content with cardboard boxes and broken tiles. Light bulbs are a few dollars and last quite a while.

The main cost for me is the enclosures (one time cost) and any vet bills. Vet bills can generally be avoided by buying from a breeder and not through kijiji, craigslist, pet stores etc., but it is good to be prepared for that just in case. I would estimate that I generally spend less than $15 / month / skink although if you add in enclosure costs, decorations, vet bills etc I've spent thousands of dollars on them.

[New2Blues]

Yeah I just wanted to see what I have myself in for. =) Doesn't sound so bad, monthly. Start up cost is going to be the most expensive, unless he gets sick or something =/. I am going to get my skink from a breeder. I was going to get one from my pet store but then I rethought it.