Appropriate donation for small animal rescue

[onthefencesitter]

I am getting a pair of rescue gerbils this weekend and would be making a small donation. What is a good amount to donate. I was thinking £30 but that's probably too little? Thanks.

When DD and I got rescue guinea-pigs ( this was years ago , 10+ years ) the rehome fee was £10
We checked the price in our local (very good) petshop, they were selling for £20 and P@H £25

So for two adult un-neutered boars we paid £30 (so between the Rescue price and Petshop , if that makes sense ) as we weren't getting the "baby" animal.

When we got a young piglet (male) we paid £20 (because he was a baby , but sadly boars are harder to re-home. All the sows were reserved)

2 ex-breeder sows ( mad as frogs and not handled ) £30 for 2
Castrated boar we paid £50 ( thir vet charged much less for castration but I knew the usual price was £58 from having the piglet castrated )

Then another 2 sows (they were £10 each + we took a big bag of food which was £10ish)

Do they have a suggested price ? Or maybe check the PetShop prices and use that as a guide ? Ask them if they want food donation? Even vegetable if they have rabbits and piggies

Our cats were £80 each , neutered , chipped and vaccinated which is a bargain - but the main concern of Rescue is getting a good home . They have over heads of course but will charge a fee to ensure you are serious too .

Good luck with the gerbils

I would have thought they'd have an adoption fee and, if you wish, you can add a further donation.
I volunteer at Cats Protection and currently fees are £90 or £110 for a kitten under 6 months. I would imagine less for gerbils but the rescue will still have overheads so maybe £40/£50?

Hi @onthefencesitter I volunteer for a rescue as a Gerbil specialist. Although we advertise a minimum donation of £10 per Gerbil, our rescue has every animal vet checked on arrival at approx £30 each, then there is food, supplies etc. Adopters donate anywhere between the minimum to £100, as they're not paying for the Gerbils necessarily, but making a general donation to the charities overall running costs. So it's whatever you can afford and feel comfortable with. I would agree above around £50 for a pair feels right.

We also give our adopters a wealth of information and support. As information online for Gerbils is generally awful I've written my own Gerbil care website, which gives the standards we ask for on adoption and is sharing years of best practice and knowledge. Feel free to ask any questions.

gerbilcare.co.uk/

Thank you so much for adopting!

That's a really good Gerbil Information link @SilentHedges
I looked at gerbils on Gumtree (out of interest , not buying any ) and the cages do fall into the unsuitable catergory , I rant at the guinea-pig sellers with their "huge cage" which is usually under 3'6" with the horrible little shelf/hideaway that means the timid guinea-pig can get trapped with no escape from it's cagemate .
Love the use of the Ikea cabinet .
We used a cupboard laid flat as a haybox in their shed , the door was the lid for easy cleaning and one side was removed to give them a wide doorway to escape

They had a bookcase laid flat with doors in each shelf to give a seroes of rooms . Most of the time they squeezed their three lardy bodies in the middle room

I rant at the guinea-pig sellers only to the screen , I don't phone them up or anything !

I think I donated £30 for a pair of boy Guinea pigs, £10 for a hamster. Greyhound was £190 including food, lead, coat and muzzle. #adoptdontshop Thank you for rehoming.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget Thank you for the positive feedback. Likewise, I despair that the pet industry has no regulation, or housing welfare standards. I aim to help Gerbil owners with the better options available 🙂