How much does a hamster cost – If you adopt a hamster from a reputable source, be prepared to pay $20 to $25 for a hamster. However, you’ve to pay a lot more than this for ownership. The total costs you’re expected to pay for keeping a hamster include setup and veterinary care costs, too, making the total around $600 per year or $50 per month.
You must be looking for detailed information on the total costs of keeping a hamster as a pet. In this post, we’ll explain all the costs that you’ll pay for your hamster.
How To Calculate The Total Costs For Keeping a Hamster?
The total costs for keeping a hamster should include the cost of purchasing a hamster and its essential supplies and care products.
In addition, your hamster may get sick and will need a vet and medication, so you have to consider a budget for this too. Continue reading to know how much you’ll spend on all these things to keep a hamster.
Following are the main expenses that you will have to bear to own a hamster:
Upfront Costs
The upfront costs include one-time costs, including the purchasing price and the environment setup for your hamster. If you’re adopting a hamster for the first time, you should have an initial budget of around $200. These will include the cost of your hamster, his new cage, exercise wheel, food bowl, water bottle, etc.
Hamster’s Feeding and Care Supplies Cost
Once your hamster’s environment is settled, the next thing is to think about his feeding and care supplies. Hamster’s commercial food pallet bags cost anywhere between $3.99 to $12.99 and can easily be used for four to six weeks. The duration can be less or more depending upon the number of hamsters you have in your home.
For hamster care supplies, you should have a budget of $50 – $140.
Healthcare and Medication Cost
The factors on which the health and medication cost of your hamster depends include the experience of the vet, your hamster’s condition, and the prescribed medicine. Your hamster will need to be checked by the vet from time to time to ensure he remains healthy and doesn’t get any disease.
If your hamster needs more vet visits per year, the costs for keeping a hamster will be more.
Annual Cost For Keeping a Hamster
The annual cost for keeping a hamster is the sum of all the expenses. For keeping your hamster happy and healthy, you’ll be spending around $400-$600 per year.
If your budget isn’t limited, you can spare some more money than this average price quote for some unexpected expenses. For example, your hamster might have a serious illness that will require regular visits to the vet clinic and expensive medication and treatment.
How To Save Money on Hamster’s Care?
Sometimes you might have a tight budget and want to save some money from your hamster’s expenses. There are some ways to do it without affecting your hamster. You can replace the things with economical yet quality items to ensure that your hamster isn’t disturbed due to any change.
You can follow these simple tips to do some savings on your hamster’s care:
Remove and Replace Costly Hamster’s Bedding
Instead of keeping money to get bedding for your hamster’s cage, you can also use newspaper, toilet paper, or paper towels as bedding.
These items are easily available in homes and won’t disturb your limited budget.
Use Economical Hamster Toys
Hamsters love to chew things and can even chew items that can harm them. To protect them from chewing harmful things, most hamsters’ owners provide them soft, safe toys for chewing. But, with a limited budget, these toys will become pricey.
So, instead of purchasing expensive items, you can give leftover paper towels or pieces of cardboard for chewing.
Make Healthy Changes In Your Hamster’s Diet
If you can’t afford commercial pallets for your hamster, go to your kitchen and check the cabinets. Fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts are a good replacement for the commercial pallets and healthy.
First-time hamster owners can save a lot by studying comprehensive hamster feeding guidelines.
Use Fleece Blankets
Hamster owners have recently started using fleece blankets that can be used as bedding. Moreover, these fleece blankets are absorbent, washable, and reusable. Your hamster can play, hide, and layover on the fleece blankets.
FAQs
Following FAQs and their answer will help you take care of your hamster in a better way:
The cost of a hamster’s cage depends upon your budget. You have various options to choose from, and the price is usually between $44.99 to $349.99. As the price increases, so does the quality. In this case, you should be a little generous as a good living space is the primary requirement of your hamster.
Hamster’s care is less expensive than most pet animals. For example, if you have a dog, you’ll be paying $500-$875 a year. For rabbits, the caring costs are more than $1000. Similarly, most of the other common pets need you to spend more money on them to make them comfortable and healthy.
Yes, hamsters’ average purchasing costs vary depending upon the breed. You can get a Syrian hamster for $5-$10, but you’ll need $5-$20 for a dwarf hamster. Of all the hamster breeds, Syrian hamsters will be the most economical option for you.
Cost Of Owning An Hamster Summed Up
Although hamsters are small creatures, they can considerably increase your monthly expenses. So, before you get one, you have to be aware of the total amount you’ll be spending on adopting and caring for your hamster. In this post, we have explained all the costs that will be added to your monthly expenses if you plan to have a hamster.
In addition, ways to cut down your costs, if you have a limited budget, are also listed. So, you don’t have to give up on your wish to keep a little hamster as a pet due to budget constraints.
Just make sure your hamster is getting all the care that he deserves before you shower him with all the love you have!
