Hamster dead after 3 weeks

power pants

Had our hamster only 3 weeks, bought a huge cage, proper wheel with no gaps, proper bedding and sawdust. cage kept in quiet, warm room
Last night she was her normal self, eating and drinking and playing. Was out her cage running over Me on the bed
She went to bed V early which was unusual around 9pm and never woke up again

I checked her earlier and she was in her house deep under her bedding but cold and stiff

Is this common? Keep thinking maybe something happened. The cotton wool for her bedding was the correct pet friendly stuff
I cleaned her cage every 5 days. Always fresh water and food

My daughter is very upset

Cherry Blossom

What temperature is the room she is in? She could have gone into hibernation.

Cherry Blossom

Also, I don't know of any fluffy bedding that is safe for hamsters and sawdust should never be used as bedding for any pets.

power pants

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Also, I don't know of any fluffy bedding that is safe for hamsters and sawdust should never be used as bedding for any pets.

From maxizoo and all the other petshops in Dublin sell the fluffy bedding for hamsters. The sawdust is the incorrect word but again stocked in maxizoo and the other petshops across Dublin

Room was always around room temp, no drafts, noise etc

Just surprised as was acting as usual before she went to bed, running around, climbing, out of her cage in our hands etc

She went into her house, made her bedding and never woke up again. One eye is open, she's in a ball ie sleeping position with one paw sticking out

Just hoping I didn't do anything unintentional but can't think at all of anything

Silverfish

Seconding no sawdust and no fluffy bedding for small furries

I used to just put kitchen towel down for mine and she used to construct her own elaborate bed from that.

That said, small furries hide illness very well, you usually don't know something is wrong til it's way too late to do anything about it. And depending where you got it, it could have picked up anything.

power pants

Silverfish wrote: »

Seconding no sawdust and no fluffy bedding for small furries

I used to just put kitchen towel down for mine and she used to construct her own elaborate bed from that.

That said, small furries hide illness very well, you usually don't know something is wrong til it's way too late to do anything about it. And depending where you got it, it could have picked up anything.

Surely if all the petshops and maxizoo that are particularly helpful and knowledge in particular sell the bedding and flooring and states it is for hamsters then this is not an issue?

I appreciate I used the word sawdust initially but it is not that. Thanks

Silverfish

Well, I could buy a top in Tesco but it doesn't mean the staff are fashion designers. The trouble with the big retail chains is they don't specialise, and they just sell products with the best profit margin.

Again, that said, usually with the wrong bedding such as the shavings you get sneezing or weepy eyes/nose before death. If there's no signs, it's hard to tell what could have caused it. Pet shop hamsters can be excessively bred so she may have had a genetic problem.

godtabh

Many moons ago when my sister last had a hamster there was an accident (a cat got at it). We thought it was dead. Was placed in the shed so that my parents could deal with it.

A couple of days later we were going to bury it. Went to the cage and couldnt find it. Turns out she was running around in the shed. She must have gone in to shock as there was no external injuries. Lived for another 2/3 years after that. We were told at the time after a trip to the vets that hamsters have poor eye sight/balance and fall a lot. this can put them in shock but in some cases they wake up from it.

Cherry Blossom

I can't comment on Maxizoo as I don't know anything about them. Petshops in general though have a bad reputation in this forum. Pre-internet I would have relied on them too for advice. A pet shop is the last place I'd go for advice now to be honest. Three times I've brought pets home from pet shops only for them to give birth shortly after. Twice I got a pair of rabbits that died within days. I've had full blow arguments with members of staff about dog food ingredients.

I only have dogs now so I don't go near the places at all any more. I'd like a hedgehog someday and if I decide to get one I'll be travelling to England to a reputable breeder.

Welfare of animals sold by pet shops has become a sore point with me. If it has to come from a pet shop, I do without.

power pants

Silverfish wrote: »

Well, I could buy a top in Tesco but it doesn't mean the staff are fashion designers. The trouble with the big retail chains is they don't specialise, and they just sell products with the best profit margin.

Again, that said, usually with the wrong bedding such as the shavings you get sneezing or weepy eyes/nose before death. If there's no signs, it's hard to tell what could have caused it. Pet shop hamsters can be excessively bred so she may have had a genetic problem.

Ok, appreciate what you are saying.
The bedding is called safebed fluff bedding, naturally safe and non toxic. Made from plant fibres

Pet litter is called chipsi for hamsters


I genuinely don't think either was the issue but again appreciate the question

Knine

I think you mean shavings rather then sawdust? Shavings are fine as pet bedding. I have used them for many years with no issues at all. However that cotton wool stuff they sell is renouned for causing issues. It can cause intestinial blockages & I have heard of it wrapping around tiny feet. Toilet tissue unscented or kitchen roll is much better.

Have you any idea what age your hamster was? Was it an adult when you got her?

mfceiling

We had one who lived for 4 months and one who lived for a day...yep 1 day!!

liam7831

<snip>
Time and place.
This is neither.

power pants

Knine wrote: »

I think you mean shavings rather then sawdust? Shavings are fine as pet bedding. I have used them for many years with no issues at all. However that cotton wool stuff they sell is renouned for causing issues. It can cause intestinial blockages & I have heard of it wrapping around tiny feet. Toilet tissue unscented or kitchen roll is much better.

Have you any idea what age your hamster was? Was it an adult when you got her?

Well, I completely agree in hindsight regarding petshops. I bought all my cages, etc from maxizoo as several people recommended them and the staff did seem v knowledgeable

Unfortunately, I had already bought the hamster from a petshop that were terrible in their service but I didn't assume would be an issue with the hamster

They thought the hamster around 7 weeks, but then they tried to sell Me a habitrail small size cage, then a small reptile glass box.....

A few petshops rolled their eyes when I said where I bought her so I regret not researching properly about petshops

Just sad as my daughter is too. We did a lot of research after purchasing regarding food, dos and donts etc

She seemed just fine prior to going to bed

Silverfish

I got my hamster from a petshop up in Cavan, I didn't want a hamster but the staff handed her to me, and she plopped herself into my hand and let me pet her. Then she got back into her enclosure, filled her cheeks with food and climbed back into my hand, as if to say 'Ok I'm packed let's go'.
The hamsters there were specially bred by an employee's daughter, they were properly socialised and handled, and she was a very affectionate and attention seeking hamster. She lived just under two years. I see hamsters now in lots of chain petstores and the difference is incredible, wouldn't give any of them very long.

Sam Kade

power pants wrote: »

Had our hamster only 3 weeks, bought a huge cage, proper wheel with no gaps, proper bedding and sawdust. cage kept in quiet, warm room
Last night she was her normal self, eating and drinking and playing. Was out her cage running over Me on the bed
She went to bed V early which was unusual around 9pm and never woke up again

I checked her earlier and she was in her house deep under her bedding but cold and stiff

Is this common? Keep thinking maybe something happened. The cotton wool for her bedding was the correct pet friendly stuff
I cleaned her cage every 5 days. Always fresh water and food

My daughter is very upset

They usually start running around in circles and die after.

power pants

Silverfish wrote: »

I got my hamster from a petshop up in Cavan, I didn't want a hamster but the staff handed her to me, and she plopped herself into my hand and let me pet her. Then she got back into her enclosure, filled her cheeks with food and climbed back into my hand, as if to say 'Ok I'm packed let's go'.
The hamsters there were specially bred by an employee's daughter, they were properly socialised and handled, and she was a very affectionate and attention seeking hamster. She lived just under two years. I see hamsters now in lots of chain petstores and the difference is incredible, wouldn't give any of them very long.

Agree again, hamster we bought was very timid initially. Slept all day for first week or so from 6am to 11pm then go to bed when we woke up

Was told by petshop to pick her up as soon as we get home and play with her to get her used go us

Googled and this is apparently wrong, to let them adapt first to new surroundings and people for a few days then gradually put hand in palm up and let them sniff,take food from hand etc, then climb on

Did all that and soon if she heard us hone after work around 6 she'd wake up to climb on to our hands

Seemed v happy

Knine

A 7 week old hamster would be fairly small. I have seen petshops try to pass off adults as babies. Hamsters only live about 2 years. Most cages petshops sell are far too small for Syrians. I forgot to ask if it was a Syrian or dwarf?

power pants

Knine wrote: »

A 7 week old hamster would be fairly small. I have seen petshops try to pass off adults as babies. Hamsters only live about 2 years. Most cages petshops sell are far too small for Syrians. I forgot to ask if it was a Syrian or dwarf?

Syrian, she seemed full size I think when we got her or I'm trying to think, she definitely looked full size after the 3 weeks we had her

Used the biggest size wheel when I got her and that fitted best, so maybe was older than told

Silverfish

Possibly, that's the thing - you don't know if someone had her and returned her, or like I said, genetic problems - sometimes animals just keel over and die.

Also sometimes animals don't take well to environment changes, if she was slightly older and in the petshop a long time, she could have had trouble adjusting to changes in temperature, house, handling etc - it can be a lot for a small furry brain.

power pants

power pants wrote: »

Syrian, she seemed full size I think when we got her or I'm trying to think, she definitely looked full size after the 3 weeks we had her

Used the biggest size wheel when I got her and that fitted best, so maybe was older than told

Lastly, vet is just down the road, would it be silly to bring her just to confirm she is in fact dead and not hibernating.

I think she is well and truly dead due to being stiff, just element of wishful thinking as she made her bed and seemed normal prior

Silverfish

No harm keeping her warm anyway and get her checked tomorrow, maybe the vet might be able to give you some clue as to what happened.

power pants

Thanks again, surprisingy how quickly you get attached to them and their character. My daughter is devastated and I'm a little sad too

Next Time, will definitely take the advice on board regarding the fluff bedding, will use in scented toilet paper

Silverfish

Well, I had my hamster two years, and I bawled for two days when she died. I'm a grown woman!

power pants

Just remembered, on Sat night before she went to her bed, she was playing on our bed, her 2 cheeks were full and she emptied them onto the bed. Was full of the shavings.

Is this normal behaviour?

Bluefoam

Room was always around room temp

Am I the only one who laughed at this?

Don't mean to take away from your loss, but this is a bizarre statement.

DBB

Bluefoam wrote: »

Am I the only one who laughed at this?

Don't mean to take away from your loss, but this is a bizarre statement.

Room temperature is generally taken to be somewhere around 20 degrees Celsius... It refers to the temperature that provides a comfortable ambient heat, so it goes up a bit in winter, down a bit in summer.
Who likes drinking beer or tea at room temperature, huh?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_temperature

Your phrasing is a little bit insensitive too, given the subject and content of the thread.

power pants

Bluefoam wrote: »

Room was always around room temp

Am I the only one who laughed at this?

Don't mean to take away from your loss, but this is a bizarre statement.

Possibly, I was going under the assumption that room temp was around 20 c give or take. I meant that the room was neither too cold or too hot.

Hope that clears it up for you

Ashbx

OP I had a hamster years ago who would regularly go into hibernation. Problem is hamsters are not supposed to hibernate and unfortunately most of them do not wake up. If the hamster was fine the night before, this would be my guess what happened.

Just on the pet shop debate, I used to work in a pet shop years ago and peoples accusations surprise me here! It was family owned, the owner of the shop was regularly attending seminars to learn new things, he had friends who were specialists in each area (reptiles, fish, avian etc). so that he had correct information at hand if he didn't know the answer to someones question. This was a small independent pet shop and I do think that's the key. Staff in maxi zoo etc. are people in college or school and do not have efficient training. Go to a small independent pet shop and you will get much better/accurate advice. But not all pet shops are bad!

power pants

Vet rang, she is dead. Couldn't detect a heartbeat.She said hamster was perfect weight and looked healthy. I asked If she might have choked and she said that nothing in her mouth etc
Just thinks she either had a virus or weak heart.

Can't help feeling that it's something to do with my care. She was fine in the petshop yet only lasted 3 weeks to the day with me

Sad too that she went to bed earlier than usual around 9pm, made her nest and never woke up again

Oh well, these things happen

Walter H Price

power pants wrote: »

Vet rang, she is dead. Couldn't detect a heartbeat.She said hamster was perfect weight and looked healthy. I asked If she might have choked and she said that nothing in her mouth etc
Just thinks she either had a virus or weak heart.

Can't help feeling that it's something to do with my care. She was fine in the petshop yet only lasted 3 weeks to the day with me

Sad too that she went to bed earlier than usual around 9pm, made her nest and never woke up again

Oh well, these things happen

Feel for you OP , you can get attached so quickly but with Hamsters it's much more likely it was something natural rather than anything you did wrong.

as mentioned they do have weak hearts and short life span , can die from fright etc very easily , probably doesn't make it any easier but i doubt it was your fault at all.

I love the small furries but tend to stick to cats and dogs, because i get attached to them way to quickly and they naturally do just have very short life spans unfortunatly

SillyMangoX

So sorry for your loss OP. Its heartbreaking to lose them so soon

Just on the pet shop debate, I used to work in one of the pet shops mentioned here, and the staff were given a lot of training. A weeks induction training, sent away for two further nights training, and an online academy on different areas of pet care which had to be done every month, as well as going away for various training events. Maybe some of them do hire college students, but anyone I worked with or from the other stores we trained with, weren't!
Now maybe not all the training was done by everyone, you get lazy people in all walks of life. But it's very unfair to assume that of all the staff. Several of us had further animal education outside of what was given by the store as well - vet nurses, groomers, boarding kennels etc.

power pants

I found the pet shop I initially dealt with not very good in hindsight, however the hamsters looked clean and healthy in the shop.

The advice from the 2 other pet shops I went were excellent, both had a genuine interest in hamsters

So I agree with your sentiments

Knine

I can't commend on the training Petshop staff get but I remember recently one of the Petshops mentioned selling birds they were claiming were Parrotlets. Even when I showed the staff member what a Parrotlet actually looked like they still would not listen to me.

power pants

One final question, I keep panicking that maybe the vet mischecked that the hamster was in fact dead. I know, it's insulting to a trained professional but keep worrying

Hamsters wouldn't hibernate with an eye open? My hamster had one eye closed the other open, therefore sure sign it was indeed dead?

intheclouds

power pants wrote: »

One final question, I keep panicking that maybe the vet mischecked that the hamster was in fact dead. I know, it's insulting to a trained professional but keep worrying

Hamsters wouldn't hibernate with an eye open? My hamster had one eye closed the other open, therefore sure sign it was indeed dead?

The vet will have checked for a heartbeat. Vets will know if animals are dead.

Im so sorry to hear about your hamster.

power pants

Thanks, I need to get a grip.

Dubl07

power pants wrote: »

Thanks, I need to get a grip.

People grieve over beloved pets. Even though you only had this hamster for three weeks, it had become part of the family so, no, you don't need to get a grip. You have a kind heart that is aching and you feel bad for your daughter as well. Have a good hug and a cry together.