Hamster Cannibalism (Warning, somewhat graphic)

[poilettaper]

I apologize in advance that this is disturbing subject manner. I am new to this forum, I wanted to turn to some hamster experts on something that I haven't found too much concrete info about online. I hope this doesn't violate any community guidelines.

I ran an errand to Petco today to get something for my dogs (I typically avoid shopping at the big pet stores, but the local store by me recently closed down so sometimes I'm forced to) and I like to stop and watch the small animals for a bit while I'm there. Guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, lizards, etc.

It was right after store opening in the morning, so evidently the employees had not tended to the animals yet that day. In one of the hamster enclosures I observed a dead hamster being consumed by another hamster. It was a gruesome scene and I'd guess he had been dead at least through the night.

I showed an employee what happened right away, so they could take care of it. I wanted to make sure I alerted them, so no other customers (god forbid children) would see. I know Petco doesn't source their animals very ethically and don't always care for them well, but it's not necessarily the fault of the few young girls who were working there that morning, so the last thing I wanted was for them to get screamed at by an appalled Karen. Sometimes with animals, gross and disturbing things just happen.

But this lead me to some questions. Is this common with hamsters? Do they often cannibalize their dead? Are they known to kill and eat each other? Is it possible that this one unfortunate hamster just died overnight and the other seized the opportunity? Or does this denote some other issues with nutrition or husbandry? Could you say it's Petco's fault (or the fault of those caring for them), or is this just something that happens at times?

[souffle]

This is a normal situation if a hamster should die or be killed during fighting for example. It is an instinct to remove a dead animal which could attract predators to the nest. It is also a valuable source of protein not to be wasted.
It happens not infrequently in groups and especially if a mother has culled her pups due to fear.
It's probably nothing to do with the store unless they are overcrowded or not fed properly and just something that can happen. It's nature really.

[mo mo]

this is sadly not a rare occurrence, especially with Syrians, as hamsters are generally territorial and don't do well with house mates. some dwarves do okay, but its never recommended. this can happen in a home or in a pet store as you described. it is disturbing because it can be easily presented, and in this case, the pet store prioritizes money over the animals' well being and overall quality of life. i'm glad you brought this up, because not enough people are educated properly! ((

[sushi_78]

Originally Posted by mo mo

this is sadly not a rare occurrence, especially with Syrians, as hamsters are generally territorial and don't do well with house mates. some dwarves do okay, but its never recommended. this can happen in a home or in a pet store as you described. it is disturbing because it can be easily presented, and in this case, the pet store prioritizes money over the animals' well being and overall quality of life. i'm glad you brought this up, because not enough people are educated properly! ((

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with hamsters liking or not liking their cagemates, and this can happen when a hamster dies naturally as well as through fighting. This is just what rodents do with their dead. Therefore it's not necessarily due to any fault on the part of the pet store.

This is a fairly common topic of discussion in the gerbil groups I'm in and since it's normal behaviour, it isn't the owner's fault, nor can it be prevented when rodents live socially though of course in the case of hamsters keeping them singly will prevent it.

[Pebbles82]

If the hamster just died of natural causes overnight this would happen. My concern would be if it was inappropriate housing. While baby Syrian hamsters can live in the same enclosure, once they get to a certain age they should be separated or they could fight to the death as they are a solitary, territorial species. Syrians over 8 weeks old should never be kept in the same enclosure. If it was dwarf hamsters, they can continue to live together in pairs or groups after a certain age. But it is also common for them to get territorial and fight as well especially if the set up in the enclosure isn’t conducive to a group living together. Eg not enough space or levels in the enclosure.

If you think it was a case of inappropriate housing/age of species then you could write to the store Manager and politely remind them that it is a welfare issue if adult Syrian hamsters over x weeks old are houses together or adult dwarf hamsters are houses together without sufficient room to live as a group without fighting. They will probably write back saying they weren’t adult and it was just one of those things. But they will have been alerted to the mention of “welfare issue” and may improve things if they think they could be investigated.

Do you know which species of hamster they were and if they were Syrians did they look full size?

[poilettaper]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

If the hamster just died of natural causes overnight this would happen. My concern would be if it was inappropriate housing. While baby Syrian hamsters can live in the same enclosure, once they get to a certain age they should be separated or they could fight to the death as they are a solitary, territorial species. Syrians over 8 weeks old should never be kept in the same enclosure. If it was dwarf hamsters, they can continue to live together in pairs or groups after a certain age. But it is also common for them to get territorial and fight as well especially if the set up in the enclosure isn’t conducive to a group living together. Eg not enough space or levels in the enclosure.

If you think it was a case of inappropriate housing/age of species then you could write to the store Manager and politely remind them that it is a welfare issue if adult Syrian hamsters over x weeks old are houses together or adult dwarf hamsters are houses together without sufficient room to live as a group without fighting. They will probably write back saying they weren’t adult and it was just one of those things. But they will have been alerted to the mention of “welfare issue” and may improve things if they think they could be investigated.

Do you know which species of hamster they were and if they were Syrians did they look full size?

They were dwarf hamsters, I'm not sure of the age but I don't think they were of full size.

I didn't choose to deliberately contact a manager about it, it didn't really feel like the fault of the people who work there. At the end of the day I know Petco the corporation isn't treating their animals very well and if the employees are told put x amount of hamsters in this enclosure, I know they probably don't have much choice. This Petco is by my house and I've been there a good amount of times, never seen anything I thought was sketchy before so in the end I just decided to make sure the employees took care of it.

As it turns out tho, the girl I alerted did end up going to get her manager to handle it.

That's not to say broader change starting from the top isn't necessary, for the welfare of the animals. I believe the big pet stores really aren't doing what's best for the animals, that's why I only buy supplies for my pets there if I absolutely have to.

I appreciate the response from you and everyone here, it's definitely cleared things up for me!