Costs associated with owning a hamster

The costs associated with owning a hamster go above just the cost of the hamster itself. You will have the hamster housing, toys and food to keep in mind as well. Many of these expenses are unexpected for the novice hamster owner; however play a vital role in keeping your hamster happy and healthy.

Initially you will have one time costs that are relatively inexpensive:
*Hamster Cage - up to $40 for a basic cage
*Food Dish About $5
*Water Bottle less than $3
*Climbing Toys depends on how elaborate you want the cage to be.
*Chewing Blocks These are around $4, but dog chew treats will do too
*Grooming Brush- about $5

Many pet stores will sell a kit that will include many of these items for one price. Before buying the package, take a look and see if buying the individual items would be cheaper for you.

When shopping for these items keep in mind that there are varying price ranges for all budgets. For instance you can find a water bottle for less than $3 that is just a plain old water bottle, however if it makes you smile at night knowing your precious hamster is drinking water from a $23 water bottle, then you may purchase one. However, hamster doesn't know the difference between a designer bottle and the cheaper version.

The place where the money would be worth the value would be the cage itself and the climbing toys. Your hamster will be living with the cage and a little more money spent on a larger cage now will save you money later on. The tunnels you will be purchasing should probably be bought at one time, because hooking up these things later is very difficult.

There will be some items you will find will be a recurring expense:
*Food - $31
*Toys - $13 (These are occasional)
*Non-surgical Vet visits- This varies but should be around $15
*Treats and miscellaneous - $34

Hamsters can eat not only commercial hamster pellets, but also can eat seed mixture and some fresh vegetables. This may reduce the amount of money spent on food.
Owning a hamster does not have to be expensive if you can resist all the cute and fuzzy wuzzy stuff. The essentials typically have a cheaper version that will work just fine for your hamster. Believe it or not, they don't care if the cage isn't a Louis Vuitton.

Learn more about this author, Danielle Branch.