Buying hamsters?

Question

i wanna buy some hamsters can anyone help me in picking out the cage? wat food should i buy them? can i keep 2 hamsters together or no if so wat kind

Answer 1

here are the links for all that supplies.http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... and the food http://petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?pr...

Answer 2

First of all I would make sure that you get a friendly hamster.  The people at the pet store can help you with that.  I have a female fancy bear.  I have had her for over a year and she has never once bitten me.  She is so unbelievably friendly.  I love her because she is big for a hamster.  I love when she comes to the front of her tank when she knows that I am giving her food.  I use a ten gallon tank.  She loves it and it is fine for hamsters.  Just use a screened top that is secure.   I am more comfortable with a tank because she is less likely to escape and it is much easier to clean a tank as opposed to a cage.  I give my hammy Nutriphase pellets.  She love them.  Make sure that fresh water is always available.  Put a wood chew in the tank because their teeth grow continuously and you don't want them to get too long.  Carefresh bedding is the best but it is more expensive than wood bedding.  Aspen is the best of the wood shaving bedding.  Kiln-dried pine is fine.  I used it on all my small animals and I have never had a problem with it.  Do not use Cedar bedding because it will cause respiratory problems.  I don't even know why they sell it.  Hamsters unfortunately only live up to three years.  I have a wheel in Honey's cage.  Hamsters love them.  I change her cage weekly and clean out the cage.  Hamsters are nocturnal.  So they will sleep from early morning until dinner time and then be up all night.  I use a water bottle that has a hook at the top that I just hang over the aquarium and then I put the lid on.  Use a ceramic crock for their food so that they can't tip it over.  I hope I was helpful.  Very important.  Do not keep two hamsters together because they can seriously injure or kill each other.  They are solitary animals who want to be alone.  You can hold them for a few minutes but then they want to be put down.  Syrians and dwarf hamsters are the nastiest of hamsters.  When you get your hamster leave it alone for the first day or two so that it has time to adjust.  Then proceed slowly.  It is much easy handling your hamster in a tank than in a cage.  Try not to put your hand in front of its face but instead pick it up from behind.  Be very gentle.  I would pet it first and talk to it gently before picking it up.  Your hamster will let out a warning sound if it wants to be put down.  Their bite hurts so you don't want it to bite you.  Good luck and I hope that I was helpful.  As for pricing it depends on the breed.  You can get one for six or seven dollars or as much as around 12 or 13 dollars.  Mine was like 8 dollars.

Answer 3

Go to Petco they tell you everything.

Answer 4

Here is a basic guide for a syrian. Syrians are best for begginers. They are calmer and friendlier than dwarves, but must be kept alone:

Cage: $20-40 (we will average 30)

Syrians will sometimes get stuck in Critter Trail and Sam/penplax tubes. Aquiruim cages can be expensive and also hard to find and buy.

Here are two wire cages you may want to try:

http://www.petco.com/product/106173/PETC...

http://www.petco.com/product/106282/PETC...

Otherwise i think you really should make a bin cage. They are really suprior because they can be huge and cost nothing compared to wire and plastic cages. Here are two links on how to make bin cages(>$20):

http://www.ehow.com/how_2101498_hamster-...

http://www.freewebs.com/happyhamsterhelp...

Wheel: Comes with the cage usually (5)

A wheel comes with the two wire cages i showed you. But many people turn to a different wheel. If you choose to make a bin cage you will need to buy a wheel.

http://www.petco.com/product/105026/PETC...

Beeding: $10 (if you go to a Tractor Supply like store(farming) you can get a huge bage of wood chips for 10 dollars)Also many people choose to get carefresh bedding: http://www.petco.com/product/3370/Carefr...

If you are on a budget i alos suggest unbleached tolite paper.(3-7 for a LOT!) All you do is rip to squares from the roll and put them in the cage your hamster will love it

Food: $5. But this really depends on what way you decide to go here are two foods i reccommend:

http://www.petco.com/product/106049/Vita...

http://www.petco.com/product/10389/Kayte...

Bottle: ($5)Water bottles are a MUST! Here is a link. You can choose the size you wanthttp://www.petco.com/product/105615/PETC...

Hamster: 10-20(average 15)Now this really depends where you live many people it costs less than 10 dollars, but i live in NJ and most hamsters cost $15.

Hamster Ball: $7(not needed)

This is not a must be i reccommend it. This is great to let your hamster out in to get exsercize and can be a good place to put her when you are cleaning the cage.

http://www.petco.com/product/101969/Supe...

Chew toys: ($3)You may have some fruit trees you can use, but you do need chew toys. Here are one you may like to buy. http://www.petco.com/product/6560/Small-...

Hamster Boook:($7) This is highly reccommend for all hamster owners, expecailly first time owners here is a great book: http://www.petco.com/product/7737/Hamste...

So now the total really depends on which way you go.

Bin Cage, Carfresh bedding or wood chips, everything else, W/ hamster~~ $63

Bin Cage, Carfresh bedding or wood chips, everything else, W/out hamster~~ $48

Bin Cage, Tolite paper, everything else, W/ hamster~~ $58

Bin Cage, Tolite paper, everything else, W/ hamster~~ $40

Two or three level Cage, Carfresh or wood chips, everything else, W/ Hamster~~ $ 70

Two or three level Cage, Carfresh or wood chips, everything else, W/out Hamster~~ $ 55

Two or level three Cage, Tolite paper, everything else, W/ Hamster~~ $ 65

Two or three level Cage, Tolite paper, everything else, W/out Hamster~~ $ 40

You can also subtract $14 from any of those if you don’t get a ball and books.

You could also add $ 2.50 for a food bowl if you want, but you can also use any small ceramic container you may have. http://www.petco.com/product/106845/PETC...

You could also add $3 if you want to buy a hamster hideout if you want. http://www.petco.com/product/10219/Small...

The only big difference between the syrains and dwarf needs are the cages. If you do indeed decide to go with a dwarf or dwarf pair than i suggest these two cages or a bin cage. As for everything else it is basically the same.

But i do reccommend getting a syrian if this is your first hamster because they are easier to care for and handel in many aspects.

http://www.petco.com/product/13607/SAM-D...

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

I really hope this helps. Also if you choose not to get a book I would make some print out of this websites pages for reference. It’s a really great site http://www.freewebs.com/happyhamsterhelp...

Good Luck