Preparing for my ham :)

[Alright]

You may or may not have read the thread I posted a while ago about convincing my parents to allow me to get a hamster. Well, if you have, you know that they said yes!

But you also know that they said I can't get one until the middle of July (in a few weeks!) because of vacations and such. It has gone by pretty quickly because I've been so busy, but now that the time is near for me to get my ham, I'm just getting more impatient and excited! So I've made my list for what all to get. I'll be adding prices to everything for my own sake so I can tally it up in the end...Please let me know if I've forgotten anything!

-10 gallon tank: $20 (I will NOT be using this tank for my ham! My dwarf ham will be in a 20 gallon LONG with a lid that provides ventilation. I need to buy this 10 gallon tank because my 20 is currently in use and I need a 10 to put those animals in instead. I'll only be buying this IF I can't find my old 10 gallon tank.)
-Aspen bedding (1 large bag to start with): $8.49
-Scooper (for cleaning): $1.99
-Hut/hidey: $4
-Chew Toy: $3.99 (1 chew toy for right now but I'll also be putting a toilet paper roll in there to chew on as well)
-Wheel: Around $9. I'm not sure what size to get for one dwarf hamster? I'll be getting all supplies before I get my hamster so what size would be best for a dwarf?
-Food: 1 bag to start with is $7. I'll be going with the Care fresh complete menu one, I think, because then the ham can't just pick out all the good stuff and leave the healthier stuff. But take a look at this list and tell me what would be best please! Rabbit Food, Guinea Pig Food, Hamster Food & Hedgehog Food | PetSmart

-Water bottle: I'm going to go ahead and round to about $9...give or take a few. I'll be using a tank for my hams cage. Anyone know a bottle from Petsmart that'll either stick to or that I can hang on a tank????

-Bowl: $3
-Hamster: about $8-11 dollars if I don't adopt.

Total is about: $76. I think that's a pretty good price as it still leaves some money left over for buying things like more bedding and food in the future.

I also have a vet fund with $60 in it but my parents said they would help me out with that.

So please tell me if I've forgotten something!!

ETA: I have pet-friendly cleaning supplies already.

[Poppy ~ x]

hi~! is the aspen bedding to go on the floor as a substrate or for the Ham's bed? My hamster likes softy bedding stuff to go in his bed and then wood chips to go on the floor

[Tutu]

Hi alright,
You seem to got all you need. However 10 gallon tank is far too small to house any breed of hamster you'd be better of spending your monies on bin cage I'd say. I heard bin cage is the best for limited budget and is actually good for hamsters who like to chew.
Hope to see your hamster and cage set up pictures soon

[Gazmo]

Originally Posted by Tutu

However 10 gallon tank is far too small to house any breed of hamster

that's for the animals in her 20 gallon tank, the 20 gallon tank will be for her dwarf I think

Also, im so happy for you, it sounds like you have it all covered

[Posy123]

Saving money can be fun too if you make some DIY toys, bedding and substrate. Eggbox little houses, even cardboard caves covered in sand, toy forts, lollypop stick shelves or food trays, bowls, sandbath etc cost very little and are nice to personalise your hammie's space. Our hamster spends just as much time in his homemade cave and his eggbox hidey house than he does in his expensive little shopbought hut!
Also I have stopped buying expensive shredded thick paperstyle bedding and we make our own now.
I know you need to spend out of the cage/tank and some things like waterbottles, wheels etc, but there is a lot you can make yourself for very little cash and have fun too.

[_nod]

It's a long time since I had a dwarf, but here's a few suggestions on what you've mentioned.

Food:
Some dwarf hams are prone to diabetes, so you might need to be careful about the levels of sugar in some foods. There's a great list here Master Food List - Food & Nutrition - Hamster Hideout Forum which goes in to the contents and suitability of various foods.

Wheel:
I think a 8inch wheel is recommended for a dwarf? As I say it's a long time since I had a dwarf so, current owners would be able to advise you better here.

Water Bottle:
Some pet stores sell little stands for the bottle to sit in. I know some people use strong Velcro, but I use a method similar to this DIY Water bottle holder

As people have said, theres lots of cheap options for toys and treats, if you check out the DIY and feeding sections of the forum, theres loads in there to spark your imagination.

PS. I think it's amazing how well prepared you are.

[slatted]

I use a silent spinner regular for all my dwarf hammies and it is fine for them.

[Munchalot]

For wheels, it kind of depends on what your ham can manage. Bigger is usually better, but it depends on the style and weight. My Todd has quite a large wheel - he's tiny, but he has an 18cm wheel which suits him perfect. If it was a silent spinner or a wooden wheel he probably wouldn't be able to push it, but because it's just a light-weight Rolly wheel on a stand, he can. Which suits me fine, because the wheel was only about £3.50 and the stand was £2 I think.


You can get water bottles for way cheaper than that. Even if you had a proper bottle holding fixture, you could get it for less. I just buy a standard £1.15 bottle and suspend it on a wire which hangs from the corner of the lid.

Here's Todd's first bin cage. This was when I had first got him. It's a bit small and quite bare in this pic because it was only temporary, and the mesh on top is very crude. I had just cut in and clipped it down for the meantime.
But my point is, all of the stuff in there came to... about £10? For a wooden bridge/platform, a wooden log tunnel, water bottle, wheel and stand, food bowl, and wood shavings. Sorted.

[IMG][/IMG]

[evel_lin]

My dwarfs have 6.5" flying saucer wheels although I've just bought an 8 inch wheel for Oak as he's a chunky boy and bangs around very loudly on his saucer

[Scampi16]

You may wish to consider buying/suppliying a toilet, litter and a sandbath, you can use a large plastic container like a plastic take away container or like what I use for my robo's a large glass jar on it's side with sand in it. For a toilet you could buy a toilet or just use a jar lid or similar with potty litter in it. After this I would recommend more toys like a log tunnel, a see-saw (my dwarfs love the tube style one), some treats like hanging bird seeds designed for budgies, or a millet spray or a wooden log stuffed with a seed mixture etc. If you can stretch to it and have space you may wish to try a flying saucer along with the wheel as all my hamsters love both their wheels and flying saucers. Poss a mineral stone but this depends on the hamster some don't look at them twice, my Syrian isn't interested but my dwarfs will nibble at theirs. Attached is my old set up for my robo's showing their sandbath jar, they have since been moved to a bigger cage with a few more toys/accessories etc.