How much did your hamster cost?

[Maz]

Not just the initial purchase price, but everything totted up! Cage, wheel, bedding, toys. Either initial set up or lifetime set up! It's surprising how much it can add up.

I find it varies. With some hamsters I hardly spend anything - I already have a cage/wheel/bedding/toys.

With others I've done things from scratch. With Raffy (Syrian) I needed a new Plaza cage (as Pip was in the other one), more bedding (didn't have enough for two plazas left). A new shelf for the cage, a wheel, a new house, a new rainbow bridge. I already had the other toys/hides etc..

So on average it would be, for me, cage, wheel, bedding, toys, food.

I think for me £75 on the cage, £30 on the wheel (average), £15 on a shelf, £38 on a house (that's my extravagance) - maybe another £50 on cage items and toys. £0 on cardboard. About £50 a year on substrate (A 10kg bag of Fitch every 6 months), probably between £10 and £20 a month on food. So that's about £500 over the lifetime of the hamster with about £360 on initial set up costs. It is surprising how it adds up!

 

[RainbowBrite]

As Orko was my first hamster. I had to buy everything from scratch. I first had to ensure a cage would fit into my tiny flat and to do that I needed to get rid of a big chest of draws I had and replace it with smaller ones that could fit in corners. I then had to get rid of the coffee table and change it for a trunk so I could store hamster supplies. Haha I am sure you do not want to hear all about the furniture arrangements.

I bought things slowly over about 8 months and I did not know which species I was going to find so I had to buy a lot to ensure it could be used for any species. I got the cage custom made and that was about £330. Then all the bedding and supplies were likely about £500. I did this and research over a long period of time though as I wanted to get everything right.

 

[Member ID2]

I don't even want to think about it!

 

[Riven]

Don't expose me like this Maz!

 

[Maz]

Sorry! I was just thinking as a guideline for new owners and also see how addicted we are ha ha.

I think the set up costs now are not able to be as cheap as they used to be. Cages have all gone up in price a lot. Fitch hasn't gone up much! (Dare I say that). Hamster food has gone up a bit. Wheels have definitely gone up a lot.

I guess the cheapest set up with a decent sized cage would be:

Used Alaska cage about £25
Substrate maybe £15 initially
Trixie wheel £20
Shoebox house £0
Pringles tubes and tissue box hides £0
Food £10 initially maybe
Chew sticks £10 maybe

So at least £80 people would need to be prepared to find, plus the cost of the hamster. Triple that for a new cage and few bought toys.

 

[Hammie Heart]

I got mine free. We were given him free.

 

[Emx93]

I already had the plaza cage and multichamber for teddy but honestly with new substrate, sprays, forage, houses, new wheel (for some reason I've got the same wheel but a new one for each new hamster), toys, chews, playpen items over £200 we had vet bills in the first week too which totalled at around £100

 

[Maz]

It does get expensive now doesn't it? Just the cost of bedding. I'm heading that way with my new set up! I already have the cage, and perspex panels for it for deeper bedding. But I need more bedding, a new wheel, a couple of platforms and a house, and sprays and other bits and pieces. I do have some bendy bridges I can use though. I have a lot of spare Syrian things and a few screw in shelves but they're not much use with a tank style with the perspex! One might fit though. I have plastikote, glue and dowels already Everything has gone up in price so much as well. However cardboard is still our friend!

 

[Emx93]

It does get expensive now doesn't it? Just the cost of bedding. I'm heading that way with my new set up! I already have the cage, and perspex panels for it for deeper bedding. But I need more bedding, a new wheel, a couple of platforms and a house, and sprays and other bits and pieces. I do have some bendy bridges I can use though. I have a lot of spare Syrian things and a few screw in shelves but they're not much use with a tank style with the perspex! One might fit though. I have plastikote, glue and dowels already Everything has gone up in price so much as well. However cardboard is still our friend!

I was just looking for the cardboard creations thread as I have just done some online Xmas shopping so have loads of boxes to make use of somehow

 

[Jain]

£10 for my hybrid dwarf a bargain but stopped counting after other expenses reached well over 3 figures a lot of mistakes made in the beginning so some wasted expenditure

 

[Maz]

I think many of us have had that Jain. I wasted loads on hamster "toys" on Amazon only to find they were either too small for a Syrian, dangerous with nails in or broke very quickly! So I still think cardboard is our friend! Probably lasts longer as well!

 

[Maz]

Fitch hasn't gone up much! (Dare I say that).

I said that just under a year ago - and now it has gone up! A lot! It is £16 a bag more and the bags contain a bit less (now classed as 70 litres rather than 10kg. Mind you they were £23 for many years but have gone right up to £39!

 

[RainbowBrite]

Costs have gone up so much. It is a shame.