Want to buy a pet hamster.?

Question

I want to buy a pet hamster, but not sure what to buy and how much it'll cost. as in the accesorries. can someone tell me what to get and the rough price range as well? thanks ^^

Answer 1

Get the basic hamster, screen top, and special water bottle (the round one) from a pet store (the prices below are based on Petco and Walmart). The rest, you can more cost-effectively get from somewhere like Walmart or Target.

Hamster $10
screen top $15
water bottle $5
(best kind is rounded,
looks like a big sausage
they can't climb/chew it)

Cage
(aquarium 10 gal.)
Hardest to escape
from, easiest to clean $10
bag of food $5
(lasts a long time)
2 tbsp per day
"brick" pkg of pine chips $3 *HUGE bag at Walmart $5
wheel $5
little house to hide in $5

So, start up costs will run you around $60 or so. However, once you get that, it will only cost you $5 for a new bag of food and $3 for a new brick of bedding every month and a half to two months or so.

*Remember, syrian hamsters (the basic teddy bear/black bear/etc. variety, not dwarf) like to be solitary. **THIS GOES FOR MALES AND FEMALES (the females are actually MORE territorial than the males, in fact).** BOTH sexes should live alone. I know they are in cages together at pet stores, but that is only because it is for a short time (and believe me, fatal fights still do break out). Fights WILL eventually occur (this includes between family members and male/male and female/female combo's), so do not get more than one--or if so, get separate cages.

Good luck with your new little guy!

Answer 2

No matter what kind you get, you will need a cage, food dish, water bottle, wheel (most cages come with one), litter, and food. Talk a walk around some local pet stores or places like WalMart to see what kind of cages they have and how much they are. You can plan on anywhere from $15 to over $50 depending on the cage you choose. Litter varies in price as well. I personally like the corncob litter that is $3 a bag at WalMart and lasts me about a month for one cage. Food is $5-$6 a bag and lasts me about three months for one hamster.
As for the types of hamsters, you can choose between Syrians or several types of dwarfs. Dwarfs are smaller and can live in same sex groups, but they do not come in as many colors. They should never be kept in opposite sex pairs because they will breed too often. One pair can result in about 17 litters per year. Those babies will begin breeding around 6 weeks of age. You are looking at hundreds of hamsters in one years time. Syrians are larger and come in more colors, but they are strictly solitary. They will kill each other if kept in pairs or groups once they are past about 6 weeks in age. All hamsters lifespans are approximately 18 months to 3 years.
Check out these sites for information from hamster owners.
http://groups.msn.com/hamstersgalore
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/hamstersinfocus/
www.geocities.com/AAAHamsters
If the AAA Hamstery site does not work, try again later when she has it back up. She is the #1 breeder in the country and is extremely responsible and knowledgable.

Answer 3

Pets at Home is the best place, as you usually get a starter kit free with a cage worth 25 punds or more. Hamsters themselves cost 8 pounds. (starter pack includes bedding, woodshavings, vitamins, disinfectant and a small bag of food.

Make sure it's healthy and is not involved in a fight. Male Hamsters are more friendly when older, so i recommend them!

and if you want extra assesories they cost from 50p to 10 pounds depending on how big or modern they are. I recceomend all high street pet stores for the assesories.

Hope this helped!

Answer 4

To add to what everyone else is saying, don't use pine or cedar shavings for bedding. They cause respiratory problems and are very dangerous for them. I only use CareFresh even though it's more expensive because it's better for them, and softer too. Aspen is ok too, but I've never used it. I've heard good things about corn cob bedding. Here's a useful link:

http://www.hamsterhideout.com/allabthams.html

Oh and I just got 2 baby dwarves and a wheel, bedding, a little hut, a food bowl, a ten gallon aquarium with a lid and a water bottle cost about $75. The hamsters were $15 each.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Hamsters are usually about 5-20$.
Accessories are about 2-30$ depending on which kind you buy.
Food is about 5-15$
Toys and waterbottle is about 2-10$
And foods bowls are about 1-10$

Bedding is about 5-30$
Cages are about 5-50$ depending on which type of cage you buy.
Little homes or a wheel is about 2-20$

Any extra thing i issed just email me!
-The hamster luvr and owner =3
(Oh and btw.. When i got my first ever hamster everything together was 50$)

Answer 6

For a hamster you need is a cage with a big wheel, a hanging water bottle and a plate. Make sure the wheel is large enough that the hamster doesn't arch it's back giving it back problems.

I highly recommend these "Hamster Safari" plastic cages. It has a big wheel, and a small area where the hamster can climb and a small sleeping area.

For consumables; seeds, hamster pellets and wood shavings. Give the fella a tissue and he'll make a bed out of it. Change the wood shavings weekly. Water and food daily.

Answer 7

i have 1 female and 1 male syrain hamsters (1 is pregnant! im so exited) and my 3level cage (which is AMAZINGLY huge!) + 3 water bottle + 1 food dish + 1 big wheel + 2 houses + 1 huge house + a book + toys + hamster bedding + and treats for only $20 at a local garage sale!
a large pack of hamster bedding is around $5 at my local pet store for about 3weeks it will last

hamsters range from $5 to $20 (find one thats very friendly)

hamster food buy the pound isnt expencive mine is 3.75 for a pound i get like 4/5 pounds to last me a couple weeks

the cage ranges from $10-$100 find one that suites your hamsters needs

water bottle $3+

food dish $4+

wheel about $10+

chew toys for about nothing (you definatly need these so their teeth dont grow into their bottom gums and die :( )

houses $4+ get 1 for every hamster you get

toys ???
(you can make your own toys like paper towel rolls and plastic cups, also tree branchs, egg cartons)

hamster ball about $13+

Keep a look out for local garge or yard sales cuz you just might find something that your little critter might LOVE!!!!!

*NEVER get 2 male syrian hamsters cuz they will kill eachother (my own experices) dwarf hamsters are social hamsters so they can live in groups*
*DONT put a male and female in the same cage together unless you have plans for the babies*
*MAKE SURE your hamsters are of the same sex if you want them to live together (girls only)*
(please double check their sex cuz i got to female syrians and i saw them breeding 1week ago, im expecting babies soon)
Feel free to email me with anymore questions!
Hope i helped ;)

P.S ask the person that your buying the hamster from what kind of food they have been feeding DO NOT feed them a different food cuz they will get wet tail and DIE
wet tail is also dierhea, if you see that your hamster has a wet or dirty tail--take it to a vet IMMEDEITLY

Answer 8

I went to pet co and got the starter kit it had like everything except a ball and then all you do is but the hamster and the ball so it should be around 50$.

Answer 9

Cheap route:

Ten gallon aquarium:
advantage-- easy to clean, cheap (about 15 dollars at walmart with a lid!), great viewing of the hammy
disadvantage--not great ventilation so you need to clean about every week or so.

Aspen bedding:
advantage-- SAFE FOR PETS (stray from ceader or pine), cheap (HUGE bag for 7 bucks)
disadvantage--SOME hammies still have issues with it, but it is RARE

Plastic/Mesh wheel:
advantage--SAFE FOR HAMMY FEET!!!, cheap (between 3-7 dollars, pretty colors!
disadvantage--plastic ones rattle, and mesh ones squeak (though that can be fixed with veggie oil or vaseline)


More expensive route:

wire cage (multi level):
advantage--WELL VENTILATED, pretty colors, bars for hammy to climb
disadvantage--hammy will fling stuff out of it, more expensive (20-30 dollars)

Carefresh/paper bedding:
advantage--VERY SAFE FOR PETS, no harmful oils or strong scent for hammies to react to, comes in pretty colors.
disadvantage-- expesnive (about 15 bucks for the same size bag of 7 dollar aspen)

Silent Spinner wheel:
advantage--SILENT, unless you get a syrian hamster who may rattle it slightly and it will have to get replaced in a few months
disadvantage--a bit pricey (5-10 dollars)

YOU ALSO NEED:
-water bottle (2-5 bucks)
-food (5 bucks)
- toys (2-10 bucks depending in how fancy you want to be)
**REmember, toilet paper tubes and tissue do WONDERS for free toys.
-ROLL AROUND BALL (4-7 bucks)


Hamster wise, all breeds are great, just remember to TEST DRIVE your hammy before you buy it. Handle them in the store and don't settle until you find a perfect one. Try to stray from the big box/chain stores like Petco or Petsmart because they don't handle their pets and they are not friendly.

Answer 10

hi, for hamsters there is no specific breed which stays small their whole life. dont feed it too much. you need a cage, waterbottle,wheel,bowl, hay and bedding, also out of cardboard make a shelf so they can jump on it. iT WONT cost you more than 70 dollars for all that.