How to Save Money on Pet Supplies: Hamster

If you have a hamster, or are thinking of buying one, then you may already have realized how expensive the little critters can be. There’s the cage for your pet, plus the food and bedding, toys and treats. It all mounts up, and if you are anything like me, it is easy to go over the top with your new friend!

First of all, you need a cage. It is a good idea to get this before you get your pet, otherwise your new hamster will gnaw his way through the little cardboard box the pet shop provides him or her in, and you will have lost your hamster, and probably vital pieces of your carpet! (Hamsters, when left to their own devices will nibble on everything!) You decide the size of the cage, but don’t go too far and buy the thing a mini mansion! As long as it has enough room to pop a wheel in, it’s food bowl, a bedding corner and some room to run around in, you will be fine. The exercise that your hamster needs can be gotten from the wheel or those balls that you can buy that enable him or her to run around your home.

The first money saving tip, is to think about the bedding for your hamster. Combine sawdust with shredded newspaper, but make sure staples and suchlike are removed first. This can save money on buying lots of sawdust, and you can even add some toilet paper or paper towel rolls  for your hamster to rip up and make it’s bedding out of, instead of buying the commercially made stuff.

Another great idea is to use the cardboard tubes from paper towels and toilet paper rolls. Hamsters love eating them, running through them, rolling them around and suchlike, and the plastic tubes that you can buy for this purpose never last very long. Save your money and use these cardboard tubes instead. You could make it more fun for your pet by popping food in there and making him or her find it.

You do have to buy hamster special hamster food, but that’s not to say that you cannot supplement it with food of your own. It can eat many things that you will find laying around in your kitchen, so to save money on food, try feeding him or her some of this as well. Certain foods are poisonous to hamsters, so make sure you know about these first, but foods that you can feed them are – acorns, (found in the garden) bread, cheese, boiled potatoes, cooked fish and chicken and cooked eggs. So, next time you are cooking dinner, save some for the hamster!

There are many ways in which you can save money when you own a hamster, and the trick is, to use your imagination. Substitute more expensive brands with cheaper options, use materials lying around in your own home and be creative. You can even make a run for your hamster if time and materials allow. Just have fun and be imaginative and you can save money with your little pet!