lifespan?

[mrslincoln]

hey there--i have a quick question (or maybe not)--
my 6-year old's teddy bear hamster just died--
we'd only had her eight months or so--and she was little when we got her.

i changed her litter every week, made sure there was water in her bottle and food...is it possible i didn't feed her enough? the lady at the pet store said i just had to fill her bowl once a week and watch for times when it was empty...the hamster kept hiding food, so i never knew for sure what was happening...and she also left food in the bowl.

however, her death was so unexpected and early, that i half wonder if she starved to death. no evidence of disease...there is one other question--
can a hamster's heart give out? she got out of her ball the other day and between my husband and my son, they scared her half to death--she was screaming by the time i got a hold of her and put her back in her cage.

any help would be so appreciated--also--is it wise to replace her so soon? my husband wants to get a new one today--we found her today, and my son is having a difficult time.

thanks

[Halogengirlie]

This is unusual. Hamsters are prone to many stress related dieases... but they usually show symptoms of diarrhea or hair loss.

Since your little one showed no such symptoms, I would wonder if (no offense is intended) if maybe she was squeezed a little rough during playtime by accident?

It wouldn't have been of starvation.. if you kept food in the bowl, then that would be fine... unless... did you notice any weightloss? If the teeth are misaligned they can have difficulty eating....

Was she is pine or ceder shavings? They can cause respatory illnesses, and are very harmful to hamsters. Hamsters should be kept in a recycled paper bedding like Carefresh.

Also hamsters can suffer if they are exposed to too much heat or cold. Was she in a wire cage that was in a drafty area? Was she in an aquarium in direct sunlight?

Those would be my thoughts... as for getting a replacement. I would first try to understand why this one passed away.

Also I would talk to your son about this. It is a good time to discuss what happens when an animal passes away. How it is a good thing that he is sad, since it shows how much he loved his pet. Your thoughts on afterlife (if you are a religious family).

I believe that while you are talking to him, he will let you know if he feels ready for a new pet, or if he wants to wait. On a side note it has also been shown that children who activly participate with small animals as children are less likely to abuse them as teens (thank godness!). So I would provide a pet once he feels ready, its a great experience for a child.

If you decide to get another pet, be sure to sanitize EVERYTHING in bleach. Just to make sure that your baby wasn't carrying anything infectious.

Good Luck, and please let us know how it goes.

.

[mrslincoln]

thank you--

we used a bedding that was supposed to be okay for hamsters--
had chlorophyll in it...

i wondered about that--and yes, it is possible that my husband squeezed too hard when he was panicking that she got away...
my son said he dropped her...but she seemed okay other than really aggressive and rattled...

i'm still trying to figure out what happened...thanks for your input...my son is going to draw her picture in memorial and display it when his next show goes up at the gallery.

[Halogengirlie]

Hamsters are pretty delicate.. but I have to admit, that I've dropped mine before.

She leapt out of my hands and hit the coffee table on the way down. Her poor little head made a thumb, that made me cringe.

I was lucky in that she's been ok. Other than giving me a heart attack, everything has been fine since.

Who knows why these little guys pass away, but I know that you did your best. It's nice that your son is going to draw the picture.

The PetsHub also has a place to put memorial posts. You might consider posting your sons picture on the internet, and linking to it from the memorial post.

Memorial Forum (http://www.petshub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23)

Best Luck and hugs to you and your son.

[Halogengirlie]

Here is also a little tribute to our lost pets..

(I must confess that it makes me cry everytime I see it *lol*)

The Rainbow Bridge Pet Memorial (http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html)

[jennawing]

I am very sorry for loss. I don't think you should be thinking you did anything wrong, though. There are a lot of sudde unexplained hamster deaths that we are just now starting to get a little clue on.

Hamsters cannot digest their own food- they depend on the bacteria in their stomach to digest it for them. Sometimes this bacteria will die suddenly- sometimes from excess body heat like in warm weather or from stress- and then, though the hamster eats as normal, they are getting no nutrition from the food. It only takes 2 or 3 days for their little bodies to give out when this happens.

A lot of people are now feeding a little plain yogurt, yeast powder, or crushed yeast tablet once a week to help maintain helpful digestive bacteria. Ther is also a medicine called Benebac that does the same thing- though I would then to stick with the natural treatment when possible.

[Halogengirlie]

I've seen the the Bene-bac sold at Petco.. I read the back of the instructions and I couldn't quite figure out how to dose it.

Perhaps I'm just silly.. but I really couldn't understand what they were trying to say.

Have you actually used it before?

[Zouave]

I had a litter on Jan. 3rd, 2003. 12 of them. I cared for them all. Despite a very good mom, Rainy (RIP), and my best care, Larry died at three weeks; Peter at 2.5 months; Onyx and Ringy at 10 and 12 months; and in the months since then Boudicca, Theodora, and Makeeda have passed away. They all died suddenly from no apparent reason, except Makeeda who had Cushings Disease (a separate thread I started some weeks ago).

Right now, Ebony, Zeb, Raven, Zenobia, and Hypatia are here surviving from that litter; they are all 20 months old.

Oldest hamster I had was my beloved Princess (no relation to the others) who was happy and frisky until she suddenly and shockingly died quickly of a stroke at 2.5 years. That happened almost exactly a year ago - see Pet Loss forum. :(

Some folks have told me they've had hamsters that lived over three years.

My point? Despite good care, you never can tell when they MIGHT go. So enjoy every day with them - it might be the last.