How much are these animals worth?

[Oryan77]

If these animals were sold as pets, how much would you say their cost would be in the standard 3.5 edition rules?

Badger
Boar
Cat
Dire Rat
Dog
Eagle
Hawk
Owl
Rat
Snake, Viper, Medium
Snake, Viper, Small
Snake, Viper, Tiny
Weasel
Wolf

 

[TKDB]

Well, a trained guard dog costs 25 gp, so that's a good reference point to work from.

Regular cats and dogs are ubiquitous in most human settlements -- companionship aside, cats are vital for protecting food stores from vermin, and dogs are great for hunting and security. I would assume that the cost of a guard dog is mainly a matter of breeding and training, and a plain old mutt would be maybe a silver or two at most, and likewise for a cat. In fact, you could probably get cats even cheaper -- just find some random farm, they're sure to have plenty to spare.

Rats would be even cheaper than cats and dogs, maybe a couple coppers at most.

The rest of them are a bit more "exotic", and so would fetch a higher price due to the effort of catching them. I would be inclined to divide them into two groups, like so:

Group 1: Eagle, hawk, owl, weasel
These are common, more or less nonthreatening wild animals. They wouldn't be easy to get, but there isn't too much danger involved. I'd put these around 10 gp.

Group 2: Badger, the vipers
These animals are dangerous if dealt with carelessly, but a skilled handler could catch and transport them with little risk. They'd probably sit around 20-30 gp. Vipers might be subject to additional fees or restrictions due to their venom, though.

Group 3: Boar, dire rat, wolf
These are tough, dangerous animals that would be quite difficult to catch without risk of injury, even for a skilled handler. They'd command the highest price, probably in the 30-50 gp range.

 

[frankthedm]

Group 1: Eagle, hawk, owl, weasel
These are common, more or less nonthreatening wild animals. They wouldn't be easy to get, but there isn't too much danger involved. I'd put these around 10 gp.

Trained Raptors are as much a status symbol as a hunting animal, they should be expensive. In 2E, a trained falcon costed 1000gp.

 

[TKDB]

Trained Raptors are as much a status symbol as a hunting animal, they should be expensive. In 2E, a trained falcon costed 1000gp.

Hm, good point. But then again, I'd put the emphasis there on trained. Just as a random mutt won't be nearly as expensive as a trained guard dog or riding dog, neither will a random untrained raptor be anywhere near as expensive as a trained one.

Though even for a trained bird of prey, I think 1000 gp is probably a bit much. Most things that would be considered "status symbols" (horses, carriages, fancy clothes, jewelry, etc) are pocket change to PCs past the first couple levels. I'd say an untrained raptor would fit well around 30-50 gp (assuming the seller knows of their worth as a status symbol), whereas a trained one might be around 100-200 gp. That puts a trained raptor in the ballpark of a light warhorse, which would also be a significant status symbol. I'd lean more toward the 100 gp end of that range, given that a warhorse costs significantly more to keep (and therefore raise/train) than a raptor.

 

[TKDB]

Pardon the thread necromancy, but I just happened to stumble across an answer to this question in an official source book (albeit a setting-specific one).
Dangerous Denizens, a bestiary for the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting, has an appendix at the back for mundane animals, including a list of market prices for a wide variety of both wild and domestic animals. So if you really wanted to use official published rules rather than just eyeballing it, that'd be where to look.