# How muh does it cost to keep your Beardie



## malc68 (Jun 6, 2008)

I was wondering how much a month do you reckon it costs to maintain and feed your beardie. Im getting one and i just want to make sure its not gonna be to expensive.

thanks


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

I would personally say a *minimum* of £6 a week to feed one adult if you are buying 2 boxes of livefood + £2 worth of salad. If you buy in bulk for the livefood instead of boxes you may be able to make it stretch a bit further.


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## smilo (Aug 17, 2007)

Think I would probably agree with Athravan and say £6-8 a week when mine was growing fastest. Now he's a bit older the costs are going down a bit though.


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## Darwin (Apr 12, 2008)

Hi there,

DEFINATELY at least £6-£8 a week while they are young. 

Sarah x


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## Edirty6 (May 15, 2008)

Dont forget the electric cost of a heat mat, light and UV tube

PLUS you need to replace the tube every year, replace substrate, buy calcium etc

I would say combined and averaged, a beardy of any age would cost around £20-£25 a month minimum

HOWEVER, they are worth *every* penny


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Puff cost about £6 a week initially in food
Rising to about £10 a week at the peak of his growth (~5months old iirc).
Full grown now (3yrs old) and only costs about £3 - £4 a week as he mainly has salads now (crickets once or twice a week)

Plus ~ £16/quarter on electricity

If you set up a roach colony the costs of feeding would come down a bit
Not much you can do on electricity

Edit: Plus as Edirty6 mentioned, replacing UV. I would highly recommend a mercury vapour bulb. If you buy 2 at a time from reptileuv.com they work out at just over £30 each for the MegaRay SB including shipping - just make sure you order the High Voltage one (230v). (nice exchange rates . Although a MV bulb may be to hot for a baby's smaller enclosure initially.


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## malc68 (Jun 6, 2008)

thanks guys
the one im getting i been told is about 4 months old.
6-8 a week is doable although the dog may have to go on cheaper food :lol2:


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## tamz08 (Apr 17, 2008)

Wow, just reading your threads. I think I must be over feeding my beardie. He gets through at least 100 locusts a week, plus veg - it costs me about £20 per week but he is worth it. I am not sure how old he is. When I got him, which was 8 weeks ago, the shop told me he was about 3 months old. At that time he was 11" now if his age is correct he is 5 months old 15" and growing fast. Am I over feeding. He is happy, playful, goes to the loo regularly.


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## dandeftones (Mar 18, 2008)

*hi*

i know its diffent my cham cost loads to feed so got cost at least 6quid and if you get them sent be more


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## Durhamchance (Mar 21, 2008)

Dont forget other costs- such as unexpected vet trips, fresh substrate, cleaning products, blown bulbs etc...

If you are on a really tight budget- try to save a little away each month/week for these sort of things.


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## mscongeniality (Apr 15, 2008)

I go through around 300 locusts a month plus a tub of waxworms for treats and that's for 2 leopard geckos. The big guy doesn't eat much but my 2 month old baby eats LOADS. I vary the food, but right now it's locusts they're interested in.
I order from various online stores. The livefood warehouse are really cheap, have a good range and ship incredibly quickly. I had the bugs the next day after ordering.
I have heard that beardies can eat A LOT. You'll need to buy in bulk to keep costs down.


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## debcot1 (May 13, 2008)

i buy bugs in bulk and put an order in of about £25 each time plus top up at the local rep shop. this usually last about 2 weeks. 
im on a key meter for electric and seem to be at the shop every couple of days!!!
obviously its gonna be cheaper for 1 beardie, just keep in mind reptiles are ADDICTIVE so before you know it youll have loads!!! :lol2:


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## Becky Wheeler (Jun 15, 2006)

Well I have 18 Beardies of my own and cost me £30 a week but when i've got babies like now it cost me £60-70 a week! I buy all my food in bulk.

But as said before theres the electric bill that runs all my vivs! new UV tubes, dimming stats etc.... Not cheap I can tell ya! Sometimes i could pass out when i see my bills.


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

tamz08: Don't know about where you are, but around here feeding locusts instead of crickets could easily push the price up from £6 to £20, so you may well not be overfeeding. (very difficult to overfeed a young beardie anyway!)

Vet's bills can push the price up a bit. Our rankins spent quite a long time refusing any food that was white coloured and didn't get all that much calcium because of it. That was £70.

Electricity bills definately add up as the addition grows. 25+ aquariums (in space heated fish room) and 3 reptile vivs made for a £300 quid MONTHLY electricity bill over the worst of the winter.


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## malc68 (Jun 6, 2008)

i used to run a 125 lite tropical fish tank so im fine for the electricity cost.
I hate getting into something that i dont fully understand. So to be fair to the me and the bearide i get i want to make sure i do as much research as i can.

So thanks for you inputs much appreciated.

Hopefully lizard wont be that addictive i started with a 6 litre fish tank and ended up with a 4 ft tank.:whistling2::lol2:


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## Durhamchance (Mar 21, 2008)

malc68 said:


> i used to run a 125 lite tropical fish tank so im fine for the electricity cost.
> I hate getting into something that i dont fully understand. So to be fair to the me and the bearide i get i want to make sure i do as much research as i can.
> 
> So thanks for you inputs much appreciated.
> ...


They are! we bought 1 leopard gecko 3 weeks ago- now we have 4!! :lol2: If I had a spare £300 we would have another beardie by now too!


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## Edirty6 (May 15, 2008)

I am on a key meter too and i have 5 vivs and an incubator running so...

6 heat mats
2 UVb
3 Basking lights on timers plus 2 bulbs on when it is cooler
PLUS running a 2 bed flat and works out to be about £40-£50 a month ish

Reckon the vivs etc take up around £20 a month of that

I spend £25 a month in live food (various sources) for 4 geckos and 2 beardies plus salad

I would say my 3 month old beardy will cost me around £100-£150 year with everything except vets bills (i hope i never have any of course)

I would say that the enjoyment you get from them WAY out-weighs the cost

That said, if you are on a really tight budget, then getting a living animal is maybe not the best plan as you will want the best for it and so it may come down to either you, the dog or the beardy not eating hehehehe


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## Edirty6 (May 15, 2008)

malc68 said:


> i used to run a 125 lite tropical fish tank so im fine for the electricity cost.
> I hate getting into something that i dont fully understand. So to be fair to the me and the bearide i get i want to make sure i do as much research as i can.
> 
> So thanks for you inputs much appreciated.
> ...


Me too

I had a 140 litre marine tank and so i have seen my electricity bills plummet!!!


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## malc68 (Jun 6, 2008)

im not on a tight budget its just i want to know all i can before i get one. I wont be in the garden catching bugs, im not that cheap :lol2yep i know NEVER to feed bugs from the garden)

I must admit the more i talk to you guys and the more research i do im getting really excited about getting a dragon. I think i can pick him up this weekend


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## xyra (Apr 26, 2007)

Excellent, you won't regret it!

Wonderful animals.

Don't forget to post up pictures


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## smilo (Aug 17, 2007)

I know they aren't ideal, but I think the main thing to do regarding costs is to avoid locusts and just feed crickets if at all possible. I know they are a nice treat and if you can afford them then thats great, but personally I don't want mine to taste locust then me not be able to provide it as a staple as they cost more than double crix.


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## R0NST3R (Nov 28, 2007)

Including everything around £10 a week for my female


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## jaf2212 (May 10, 2008)

My food bill for one beardie is about £8 a week and the electric is about £10-£15 a month running a 6ft viv


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## buddy (Jul 10, 2007)

omg i spend a fortune lol 

i buy in bulk also i have 3 females and 2 males and them alone excluding my other lizards cost me around £30-50 a week 

i think i am shopping in wrong places or got really bloody greedy beardies 
xx


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## Chimp (Sep 23, 2006)

my cousins beardie which is fully grown 

eats 80 hoppers a month £24
four packs of crix a month £10
and probobaly about 3 packs of salad a month £6

probobaly being overfed but hope this helps


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