What's involved in keeping a hamster (attention and costs)?

[alegre]

DD would dearly love a hamster but, having never kept hamsters myself (altho have had dogs and cats), we'd like to know what's involved in keeping one and what weekly costs might be. How do you keep a hamster happy? How much attention does a hamster need? How long does a bag of bedding last? How often does the bedding need changing? How long does a bag of food last? That kind of stuff.

TIA

BIG cage. Minimum size is one similar to hamster heaven brand cage. Rotastack etc are crap, hamsters need space and a good wheel - wodent wheels are fab
One bag of food has done me 6 months so far! Bedding - you can toilet train them so mine uses potty litter but I just have to top up her bedding. I use carefresh for her cage and loo roll for her nest
Attention wise she entertains herself in her cage as she has too many toys but she loves a run round in her ball
Savic cages are good, really really dont buy any of the teeny ones from p@h.

Oops should say cage size does depend on type of hamster. I have a Syrian they have to live alone, chinese and dwarfs are smaller but also quicker
Google minimum cage size for hamster and you will get links to hamster forums that list best cages
After initial output cost is pretty minimal. She costs me less than a tenner a month

Thanks for the info brighthair and the point about the cage.
I'd read that you have to be careful about cage size so will look into it further.