If your kid has never whined that he wants a cat, or a dog, or a bird or … a python, you are lucky. Mine keeps begging me for a cat, but I am reluctant of the idea for different reasons. Finally, my younger son and I reach a compromise and I allowed him to get a smaller animal that would keep mostly to his cage. So, we went to a PetSmart store near me and bought a hamster.
I didn’t know that there are several kinds of hamsters, but the one we bought is the Roborovski or desert hamster. In fact, it belongs to the genus Phodopus and it’s a dwarf hamster, the smallest kind of hamster, reaching maximum 5 centimeters in length and weighing up to 25 grams when adults.
As we have never had a hamster before the salesperson at the store gave us some valuable pieces of advice on what hamster essentials we need. Of course, newly bought pet needed a cage to live in, so we purchased a cage for him.
The hamster costs $22.99 and we spent $40 to pay for the case. The cage is quite large and looks like a two-story house with the roof, windows and chimney.
All PetSmart products come with 14-day guarantee which means you can return this product if you are not satisfied.
As every home it needs to be filled with essentials like toys. We bought a couple of toys for the hamster to play with. By the way, PetSmart had a promotion: buy 3 get the 4th free which valid through February 26.
Also, the new hamster home needs to be cleaned. We’ve got disposable bedding tray for quick and easy cleaning. It contains white soft absorbent bedding so cleaning the cage should be no problem and my 7 year old son will be able to do it by himself. For me it’s important that the child should be responsible for the pet and not shift the responsibility of cleaning the cage on me.
I also purchased fragrance free cleaning wipes (50 count pack).
It goes without saying that the pet needs special food rich in vitamins and minerals. I purchased several packs of Vitakraft Natural Forage Blend hamster food. The price of it is $8.49, but I got the second pack at 50% off and it was a nice deal. Once the pet is at home you had better stock up on food supplies to make sure it doesn’t run out.
Since we bought many things in store, we qualified for PetSmart Treats Rewards Member exclusive offer of $10 off your in-store purchase of $30 or more. So, we saved $10 on hamster supplies, and basically, I liked customer service in store. I recommend PetSmart as the one stop shop where you can not only buy the pet, but also purchase everything you need for your new friend.
We brought the pet home in a white carton box, and it was time to give him a name. We watched his behavior in the hope to find some associations. The hamster was eating most of the time and his cheeks got twice bigger while he ate. I suggested naming him Chewy. There were two reasons for that. First, the hamster was chewing all the time, and second, because of online pet store chewy.com. I heard many positive reviews about the store and in the evening I decided to check it out to see what pet supplies for hamsters they have. Well, I found there a wider selection of Vitakraft treats than I saw at PetSmart. Pet treats for hamsters include fruits and yogurt, vegetables and more. In fact, the selection of food, treats and toys for hamsters is much bigger at Chewy. The prices are the same and special offers don’t differ. But if you subscribe for Autoship every product becomes a little bit cheaper. Plus, you can get an extra discount with online purchase due to Chewy Autoship which can be cancelled any time without fee. So, I registered at Chewy and immediately got Chewy Coupon at the email: $20 eGift Card if you Spend $40. So next time I am going to buy hamster supplies at Chewy to use my coupon and get the supplies delivered right home. How knows, maybe my purchase will qualify for Chewy free shipping so I could save even more. I also liked some toys for hamsters to add to those we already have ,and it would be a good idea to order hamster food and toys next month.
So, when you but a hamster make sure you get him a home to live in, toys to keep him busy and have fun, cage cleaning supplies like disposable bedding trays and cleaning wipes, hamster food and treats.