Hello! I will give you this piece of advice -- unless you plan on prominently displaying the enclosure, go for a Sterilite, Rubbermaid, etc. tub. This will greatly decrease the $ required for startup. Along those lines, you can use a bowl or container with holes drilled in for hides, and a tupperware container for a water bowl, which is much cheaper than alot of the 15 dollar hides you see at pet stores.