A hamster will only set you back a few dollars. The animal itself should be the last thing on your purchase list, however, after a cage/hutch, bedding, toys, a wheel, food, a water bottle and a food bowl. Altogether this initial cost will be more than a hundred dollars, but the expensive parts of it - the cage - will only need to be bought once, remember (unless you need the second cage to help break up fights among the Dwarf hamsters you're keeping).
The price if a hamster doesn't vary much unless a species is particularly hard to come by in your particular State. In general, a hamster will cost between five to fifteen dollars in a shop, and a bit more if you're buying an unusual variety. And although they're always available in pet stores, spare a thought for the thousands of unwanted hamsters kept in animal shelters and rescue centres, and consider adopting one from there instead.
Hamsters won't break the bank
When you do the math, hamsters cost very little to take care of on a week-by-week basis. The monthly bill will be just a few dollars for food and bedding. The bedding only needs changing once a week usually, as hamsters are small animals that don’t make much mess, so you won't be paying for lots of new bedding every week.
In the longer term, there are larger costs such as vet fees, so you might want to set aside some money every week in case of emergency. Or, even better, take out hamster insurance to meet any health costs.
Comments
Deezy, 4 November 2024
They are cool
Liza, 27 November 2023
I'm getting a hamster in Christmas. I find your information really helpful.
Emma, 7 June 2021
amazing! i have 3 hampsters! they are so fun! but they intitally cost me 500 dollars a year, of course, thats with 3 hampsters, with food, and such
Erin, 2 May 2020
Hamsters and dogs are my favorite pets, but owls are my favorite animals.
Mad, 12 April 2020
the cost of every hamster is around £10-20 so they are pretty cheap to by on their own