Well, seeing as I'm still new to the game (only had 2 of my guys for 3 months and Chester for a few days), I'm all for listing startup costs so far.
Item Cost Notes
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Snickers and Titan at time of purchase
Initial Purchase cost of pets - $10 - I got each of them for $5 as the store had a larger than expected litter from one of their females, there were only 5 males in the large cage when I got them (est. age - approx. 4-5 mths at time of purchase). Rats were separated by gender.
Cage/Starter Kit - $150 - Seeing as it's my first time owning rats, my girlfriend and I opted for a starter kit to help get us rolling and save some money. We got the Living world Rat resort kit and the cage had a few shelves in it so that the boys have some room to move around and they sorta outgrew it a few months later... Still use the cage though for now until I afford a new one or build one (which I'm looking at doing).
Extra Food and Aspen Bedding - $25 - Come on, we all know that starter kits only include enough food for a week or two, and pine bedding doesn't fly with me and my pets (birds get irritated by the smell and aren't afraid to vocalize it).
Current Upkeep for food/treats - $30/mth - Seeing as they're growing, they eat pretty good and I have to get a new feed bag every 2 weeks.
*Toys were easy to take care of as I have extra wooden bird toys that my two don't like, so it was easy to give to the rats whom destroyed them a week later...
Chester
Initial purchase of pet - $10 - Got him from the same store/breeder, he's an older male probably about 8-10mths old. Seems to be well socialized, will sit there and be happy to be pet, loves sleeping in my lap.
Cage - $20 - Found a used cage online from Used Ottawa, pretty decent size: 20" wide x 36" long x 14-18" tall, sorta ended up using that for Titan and Snickers as they were fighting in the other cage often enough due to space issues (Snickers ended up with a shallow nip mark). So far they're getting along, even with Chester now (still in a separate 'cage') and the fighting has seemed to have stopped for now.
Planned expenses for the next 2-3 months:
Vet checkup for all three: $80 (well I hope, still have to phone the vet that callie recommended, mine who deals with my birds charges more for rats (he specializes in exotics) and neuterings would run me almost $200 each... :gaah: but the vet she recommended is closer as well and easier to reach by bus.
Neutering for Titan (instigator of most fights): ~120 w/tax, meds, etc.
Neutering for Snickers (preventative measure): ~120 w/tax, meds, etc.
Just a few comments about my rats as well:
Titan and Snickers went after Chester right off the bat for a full out brawl in separate events as my girlfriend and I tried to intro them separately to avoid a 3 way fight. Chester kept trying to run away, but either would chase him. I know that he was a retired breeder and maybe the smell of a female was still on him, I gave all 3 a bath yesterday and it seems to have calmed everyone down (thank god for my large kitchen sink as it could hold all 3) and they seem to be getting along a little better if not quieter. Other than that Chester doesn't seem to mind the other 2, he'll just sit there and watch them scurry around during free roam time.