We decided NOT to buy a bearded dragon.

[u/[deleted]]

My wife and I were looking at getting a bearded dragon for our son for his birthday. A young beardie is only about $60. So we set aside $200 in our budget counting on buying a reptile aquarium and some incidentals.

Then we learned it needs expensive UV bulbs that last about 6 months and are about $40 each. Also the electricity cost the run this heat 24 hours can be a drain on the electric bill.

Also the beardie needs to go to the vet every 6 months for a checkup. And finally, food. They have a very diverse diet and can eat up to $15 per week in foods. So I did a total cost analysis for a beardie that lives 12 years and it turned out to be a whopping $10,000

Life pro tip, do a total cost analysis on pets before deciding to purchase. Even free pets are absurdly expensive. In 12 years both of my kids are going to be in college and I will desperately need $10,000 then. I will not need an aging lizard.

Edit: For everyone giving me shit about my poor son, don't pity him. First he didn't know about the beardie. Second we are taking that $200 and taking him to an amusement park. He's fine.

Edit 2: This post is not about "don't buy pets, they're expensive." The post is about "make sure you're aware of the full cost of something before making a decision." Yes we have kids and dogs. Yes they're more expensive than lizards, but for us well worth the cost. A reptile, not so much.

Edit 3: Thank you all for the "you're way overestimating" and the "you're way underestimating" posts. The accuracy of the cost really isn't the issue. The issue is we were expecting something minimal and almost made a big mistake. The point is, we did the research and it was way more than we were expecting and wanting to pay. To us, it wasn't worth it. We have other pets. We aren't frugal, but we are smart with our money. I am simply encouraging others to do cost analysis. And at the end of the day if a bearded dragon is worth 10k to you, awesome! Do it.

[u/[deleted]]

Dogs are much more than that usually. You'll spend at least $6k on food over 12 years. $100-$500/year in vet bills. $100/year in toys/treats. Throw in a surgery or two at $1k-$3k.

[u/kittenpantzen → u/[deleted]]

We have a giant breed dog. 120lbs of pure love and loose undercoat. And yeah, way more than that.

Her food is $60/25lb bag and she eats 5-8c/day depending on the time of year, activity level, and other treats. Add $60-70/mo for heartworm pills and flea treatment (they don't make one large enough for her, and she can't handle the combined pills, so she takes two HW pills per month) and then an additional flea/tick pill every 3mo. Joint supplements, salmon oil, treats, toys, etc.

We didn't plan for the digestive issues ratcheting up the cost a bit on all of her food and treats, but otherwise knew what we were getting into, so I'm not complaining about the cost. But, she isn't much less expensive than a child would be.

[u/Casswigirl11 → u/kittenpantzen]

My dogs are each 7 pounds and eat about 1 $15 small bag of food a month each. Over 12 years they eat about $2,160 in food per dog. We get them the best quality food we can find, which we can afford because of their size. So maybe one way to cut dog food costs is to get a small breed. We also can carry them anywhere (even on a plane under the seat), it's easy to find people to watch them when we are away, and have them puppy pad trained so we don't have to worry about their tiny bladders if we are out a little late. They mostly go outside like a normal dog though. They are great walking companions, but maybe not running. I actually splurged on a bike trailer for them to ride with me because I'm trying to get into better shape. I love big dogs too though, but the little are just more convenient imo.

[u/kittenpantzen → u/Casswigirl11]

Oh, for sure. If we had gotten a 20-30lb dog, the costs would be lower in a lot of areas. We budgeted for a large dog, because that was what both of us really wanted. But, I definitely see too many people who pick a larger breed like a Malamute or a Retriever of one kind or another and are way underprepared for the ongoing cost.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

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[u/shooter1231 → u/[deleted]]

$40 for a 40lb bag at Costco, 1 bag per month for a medium/large dog.

40 x 12 x 12 = $5760 over 12 years. It's in the ballpark at least.

[u/wighttail → u/[deleted]]

There are other things you need to take into account when setting up your animal's food budget. A diet of nothing but dry kibble increases the likelihood of expensive surgery further down the line because it tends to be sugary and high in fat, degrading teeth and making diabetes and certain cancers & joint problems more likely. Sometimes you get lucky and it doesn't happen, but if spending a little more on food reduces the monetary, physical & emotional labor costs later on that should definitely play a factor in your choices.

[u/ShackledPhoenix → u/wighttail]

Kept my puppers on a rotating diet of Authority Grain Free, Diamond Naturals, Professional Plus, Merrick's Whole Earth and Dr. Timms. Both are incredibly healthy and are on the back ends of their lives. My older Dane is over 9, probably closer to 10 and his only issue is his teeth, which were god awful when I rescued him. My 6 year old is seriously a massive puppy with never ending boundless energy. I have an 11 year old Dalmation/pit mix too that is quite healthy.

Food doesn't have to be that high priced to be healthy for them. People just need to learn how to read ingredients labels and shop carefully.

[u/wighttail → u/ShackledPhoenix]

I'm glad your dogs are healthy and happy, but that doesn't change the basic facts that wet/mixed diets are more balanced and on the whole help prevent some of or lessen the cost of end of life care. Less sugar. Less filler. More liquid. More protein content. These are good things regardless.

Also, you are actually going out of your way to spend more money so your dogs eat well. People that want to go the cheapest option are going to grab a 40lb bag of IAMS from Walmart for $25-$28 and give their dogs gingivitis and diabetes. (Just the Diamond Naturals, if you can find it, is ~3-5$ more per 40lb bag based on some quick googling.)

Careful shopping and reading ingredient lists is super important no matter how much you intend to spend, ofc. I'll give you that.

[u/rippedhands → u/[deleted]]

Are you in the US? As a Canadian who uses Costco for wet food and dryfood our monthly bill is is around 60-70/month. Granted our dog is 100lbs mastif x shepard. Our border collie is on raw food, he alone is eating about $1700/year in food. However, it is worth it to us. He had gastrointestinal issues with every other dryfood on the market. I am pretty sure it has saved us a ton on vet visits.

[u/Youreprobablygay → u/rippedhands]

You have a horse no wonder your food costs so much lol.

But in reality going for the higher quality food is always the best option for both your pockets and your pet

[u/supermasterpig → u/rippedhands]

Yup two mastiffs, food is tractor supply brand has worked well. $35 for 30lbs they go through a bag a week. I spend about $1,800 a year on dog food. Love them though.

[u/wildzx17 → u/[deleted]]

My dogs 8.5 years old And had a $8,000 surgery a few months ago. No one was prepared for it, the things we do for what we love.

[u/Alwaysahawk → u/wildzx17]

I always feel like a terrible person when I see posts like these because while I love my cat there is no way I would spend $8k on a surgery to keep him alive. :/

[u/wildzx17 → u/Alwaysahawk]

Don't feel terrible, we had no clue on the cost. It started a few days before Christmas he was playing with his bone and threw it up in the air(we're guessing) and caught it and it went down his throat. We took him to a vet about an hour away they took xrays and got the bone out.

Or so we thought at least. Took him home, he was throwing up still and seizures and everything and it was Boxing Day so no vets but the emergency one was open. The used a machine with a camera on it and put the tube down his throat and saw they didn't get the whole bone out and we were in the last hour before we decided to put him down with like 5 minutes left and the other vets came to help and managed to get the bone.

We have pictures from the second vet, pretty gross if you ask me. Also would have only been like 2,000 had the first vet done it correctly and not missed another piece.

[u/Casswigirl11 → u/Alwaysahawk]

I just had to put my cat down yesterday and as sad as I am (I cried on and off all day) I still don't think I'd have paid $8,000 to keep him alive. Idk, maybe if it was certain that the $8,000 would give many more years of life or I had $8,000 extra just sitting there?

[u/CGPsaint → u/[deleted]]

My Dachshund ruptured a disc in her back and the total cost for that surgery with medications and follow up appointments ran well over $7K. That was just under 2 years ago. I just found out on Wednesday, that my dog has Cushing's Disease, and will require at the bare minimum, medicine for the rest of her life, and possibly surgery if tests shows that it's an Adrenal Gland tumor. These things do happen, and if you aren't prepared for that kind of expense, then you can find yourself in quite the pickle. I think that the OP is spot on, that people need to do a bit of research and be informed, before they run out and buy/adopt a pet.

[u/Casswigirl11 → u/CGPsaint]

Would pet insurance help with something like this or is it not a good idea? Because I want to get a dog eventually but don't really know how much extra money I should have on hand before I can afford one. I personally get a huge benefit from having a dog. I am more active taking daily walks, get out of the house more, go hiking more often, wake up on a more regular schedule, and even feel less stressed when I take care of a dog.

[u/CGPsaint → u/Casswigirl11]

I didn't really give much consideration to pet insurance, something that I'm regretting at this point, as it's far more affordable, and covers a lot more than I imagined it would. If you are contemplating a dog, then I strongly recommend getting it micro-chipped and having some form of pet insurance. Peace of mind is priceless, and I can guarantee that you don't ever want to have something happen to your pet, and then on top of that, find out that you have to pony up a huge sum of money in an emergency. In my case, I had to pay $4500 up-front, before they would even begin the emergency surgery. Don't get me wrong, I would walk to the end of this earth for my pup, but it would have been a much less hectic couple of weeks if I'd been prepared.

[u/Glitsh → u/[deleted]]

I can say I wasn't prepared for paying for the surgery when I had to. Definitely learned about emergency costs through that mistake.