I know some people on the board have more then 2 or 3 reptile cages. I was wondering is it a big expense with electric? Thanks
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~*~.. Nikki ..~*~
Huntington (Long Island), New York
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Heating Expense. . . . Question?
dragonfliz79
Dec 05, 2005 09:51 AM
Replies (2)
willHayward
Dec 05, 2005 12:37 PM
Undoutibly yes. Research more indepth before purchasing UV and reptile heat lamps etc etc.
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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS
PHLdyPayne
Dec 05, 2005 05:29 PM
I don't think it's really that much more on the electric bill. Right now I have three basking lights, three UVB lights, 5 heating pads in use regularly and haven't noticed a big increase in the power bill at all. Maybe $10 a month, if that.... I noticed a much bigger increase in the electricity bill during the summer months when I ran my AC. However, the bulbs I am suing are between 60-75W bulbs, and the UVB bulbs are all 18" long. The heating pads are set on a timer so they are only one for about 12 hours a day.
Think about your budget and how much extra y ou can spend on power. $10-$15 increases are not bad and if your budget will have a hard time covering that, not getting a pet may be y our solution. Feeding and caring for any pet will cost more than $10-$15 a month and this is for a single pet. A bearded dragon can easily eat that much per month in crickets, especially when less than 18 months. Then again, older dragons will need a variety of greens every day and that may put the grocery bill up that much per month but t his depends on the cost of produce in your area. A bundle of collard greens I have seen priced anywhere between $.95 to $2.
Buying a pet is a life long responsibility (the natural life of the pet of course). Though they dont' eat as much as a cat or dog, reptiles have their own special care needs. Bearded dragons have heating and lighting needs, and replacing UVB bulbs every 6-9 months plus electricity used by basking bulbs and uvb is one consumable expense. Food is the other. Other expenses are vet visits, treatments, calcium/vitamin powders, initial caging expenses etc.
Right now, with all my animals, I spend on food alone, roughly $50 a month. This is to feed 2 blue tongue skinks, 6 snakes and 9 geckos. The cost is less as I breed my own mice and rats to feed the snakes..so only included the cost to feed my rodents. If I had to buy my own rodents, the cost would double.
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PHLdyPayne
