How much did you pay for neutering?

Hi there! How much did you pay to neuter your male rat(s)? I have read a bunch of people saying that it costs around $40 to neuter rats, but every vet I have spoken to has given me a price of over $300 per rat. Where are these $40 neuters coming from? Has anyone actually paid that little?
Thanks

Usually I worry a little bit when I see the price that low ($40). There was a huge thing on here a couple of months/years (I wasn't here at the time) about an unlicensed lady who would do surgery on rats. I'm not saying anyone who paid $40 went to this lady, but just be cautious with low price ranges like that.
Sort of unrelated, but is related at the same time, when I had brought my leopard gecko to an emergency vet, I still paid at least $250. Albeit, it was an emergency vet visit. This fee covered a late-night vet visit, anesthesia, and meds used for her surgery. And this was even after the vets were incredibly kind and lowered the price of the anesthesia because my leopard gecko was "little and didn't use up that much."
Price ranges can also vary depending on where you live and whether or not a vet is experienced with rats. I have yet to neuter my rats, so I can't say how much I would pay per rat.

Thank you for your input! It may also be that people are just repeating what they read on the internet and spreading false info. Instead of saying, "I read that it only costs about $40," they are saying, "It only costs about $40," when they have no actual experience themselves.

I have another post now that hopefully you will also be good enough to give your experience on (if you have experience in that area) regarding male adolescent behavior. I'm getting worried about aggression and biting if I don't neuter. I specifically got males because I read that they are more mellow and docile than females (I have 2 kids that love to hold the rats). The internet is a blessing and a curse for information. There is so much out there and so much of it is contradictory. You try to do your best to research before getting a new pet, but then you find out things that you didn't know to look for. Ugh. I sure hope the boys won't need neutering. I can't afford $700 right now. Plus, I was thinking about getting a third. That won't be happening if neutering is a must.

Cost varies depending on where you live (cost of living, property tax etc varies) and the particular vet.

Here I pay $107 plus 15% tax, another vet in my city would likely charge close to $200 + 15% tax
If I drive 6 hours (12 hrs round trip plus the time at the vets) to a particular vet in a different province (NS) it costs $50 - I know because I have done this when I had a large number to have spayed and neutered, thus making such a long trip cost effective for me
In some other parts of Canada, the cost is much much higher then it is here.

The most important thing is to make sure you have a vet with the knowledge and experience to safely neuter rats

Wednesday said:

I specifically got males because I read that they are more mellow and docile than females (I have 2 kids that love to hold the rats). The internet is a blessing and a curse for information. There is so much out there and so much of it is contradictory. You try to do your best to research before getting a new pet, but then you find out things that you didn't know to look for. Ugh. I sure hope the boys won't need neutering. I can't afford $700 right now. Plus, I was thinking about getting a third. That won't be happening if neutering is a must.

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Boys do not have to be neutered unless there is a problem ……. girls, however need to be spayed for health reasons.
Rat owners must have a vet fund or a credit card because rats get ill and die fast …… now you know that you should have around $400 per rat available for vet bills at all times - in my experience tumour surgery etc tends to cost twice as much as a neuter.

Please see: https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/why-spay-or-neuter-rats.35402/
and check out the Reference Thread as it contains links to important information https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

I paid $99 per rat and our vet only does two neuters, maximum per day. I was prepared to pay $150-$300 per. I got my boys snipped because I knew that the smell of hormones, corn chips, and dirty socks mixed together would go away once their tchotchkes did. Also, they became much less waxy/oily and seem to be much happier in all. Also also, you can't get testicular cancer if you don't have testicles anymore.

Funny, I just posted same thing yesterday in a rat facebook group! I'm going through something fairly similar--got males because I was told they are sweet and cuddly, and of my two one is very sweet (but not so much cuddly) and the other is developing hormonal aggression. I love them all the same, but not what I was expecting.

On my post, I did get a bunch of people saying they had it done for as a little as $30-$100, and it seemed like they had legitimate vets. There were also people saying some vets charge $400+ where they live. From what I could tell from the responses, it really just seems to depend on where you live and who your vet is/what they decide to charge. So far, the only vet that has responded to me (that sees rats) said they charge $250. I am still waiting for other responses, so I will update if they are anything drastically different.

Two people also suggested looking for a local spay/neuter clinic or a humane society. Personally I feel like they wouldn't have much experience with rats, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Also last thing, like SQ said it seems neutering should only be done if there is a problem rather than preemptively. Hopefully both boys won't need it! Good luck!

As I previously mentioned, boys do not have to be neutered unless there is a problem (see my previous links) - but that does not mean they should not be neutered unless there is a problem.

For example, since I have access to an excellent vet I usually have all boys neutered for several reasons ……………. two of which are that unneutered boys urine mark their territory more then neutered boys, and their urine contains more allergen. In my situation these are important quality of life issues

Oh my bad, I misunderstood! That makes sense. I have heard others say they didn't think it was worth the risk of the surgery if it wasn't needed, and therefore don't do it unless necessary, but I can see why people might want to neuter by default.

Thanks everyone. Seems like I'm in a pricey area. I'll just wait and hope for the best. I've since brought home 2 more males so it would actually be $1200 - $1400 if I had them all done. That's just too much money to spend on unnecessary surgery.