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Counting the Cost

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I post a picture and just a few words…a 104 project, if you will.

(as opposed to a 365 project)

Lately, I’ve been finding papers like these around the house.

hamster calculations

They’re not school papers.

Nope, they’re, “Can Zoe and I afford a hamster?” papers, by Sonia.

She and Zoe could certainly save up enough for the initial cost, but Sonia is bearing in mind the ongoing costs of a hamster, like bedding and food, adding them up for a year, and then dividing them in half to see what each of them would have to pay.

I love how circumspect she is being about this.

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MM

Sunday 11th of January 2015

Please consider adopting your hamster - sometimes people surrender them to local shelters, and some shelters will call you when they get one if they don't currently have one. Alternatively, you can adopt one that a person is looking to re-home on craigslist or freecycle. So many people (not you!) irresponsibly get hamsters without thinking of the long-term, and then they abandon them. If you adopt, you can save an animal's life and also avoid the horrible breeding industry.

Also, please consider adopting two hamsters (of the same gender so you don't get lots of babies). It's lonely for a hamster to never see its kind again.

Kristen

Sunday 11th of January 2015

Whether or not you can have two together all depends on the breed. Lisey used to have Russian Dwarf hamsters, and those needed companionship. The Teddy Bear hamsters, though, will usually not do well if there's more than one in the cage.

I'm so surprised people abandon hamsters, given their super short lifespan!

Ashes

Friday 9th of January 2015

Add me to the 'very impressed' list. :)

Between my sister and I we had every pet in the book growing up (a dog, cat, hamsters, fish, a turtle, budgie birds, bunnies, frogs, and a newt), although Joshua would be disappointed to hear never a reptile.

My small-pet preference is a rabbit (though maybe that's medium-sized?). They can be litter trained, and taught to do tricks. Our rabbits were very much like little cats except they lived most of the time in a cage and just got out around the house or our bedroom for a hour or two a day (with a litter box in the corner). They ate all sorts of dinner scraps and my dad would dry grass for them in the summer (instead of hay). They were a very frugal pet.

Sandra

Friday 9th of January 2015

Hi, Your daughters are a credit to their parents! :-) PLEASE don't keep 2 hamsters together in one cage as they will become extremely aggressive and will actually kill one another. When you go to the pet store check them for gang tats and concealed weapons ;-)

Kristen

Friday 9th of January 2015

No, no, they're just planning on getting one to share. :)

Ani Mia

Thursday 8th of January 2015

Love that about Aldi, just wish they would add High Fructose Corn syrup to that list. It is in too many of their products I would like to buy occasionally like chocolate milk. Won't buy anything with that stuff.

Kimberly

Thursday 8th of January 2015

Wow--this IS impressive, as so many have said...they must have great parents!

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