Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Species > Dwarf Roborovskis Hamster

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-16-2020, 11:30 PM   #1
Johntu
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 5
Default Robo hamster sudden death

So unfortunately, my robo hamster just died. I want to figure out the cause of death, so my next robo hamster will not die.

I just got him, Skippy, around 2 weeks ago. He has been warming up nicely to me, and even allows me to handle him and will eat on my hand. However, I have been deliberately feeding him less, as I did not want him to be fat. I would give him around 5-10 pellets a day, balancing the amount such that he did not have any in storage. I went away for 24 hours, and before I left I placed 5 pellets of food. Upon my return, he died. Could he starved to death, or did he die from another condition? Before I left, he is very active and would constantly run on his wheel. (BTW the water is always full).

I know humans can go much longer without food than without water. Since robo hamsters are so small, could the cause of death be starvation, or another illness?
Johntu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 12:24 AM   #2
Ria P
House of Hamsters
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: Wiltshire, UK
Posts: 7,103
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

I am very sorry for your loss and don't know the cause of your hamster's death.

It is in a hamster's nature to hoard and its a natural instinct they follow. As humans we can't apply our own standards of "oh, we have to be slim" to a hamster and deprive them of their hamster rights to hoard. They are not greedy like humans and know when they had enough to eat. Not being able to forage and hoard doesn't make a hamster happy. I'm not trying to patronise you but i think that you need to learn more about hamsters before you think about getting another one.
Ria P is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 01:07 AM   #3
cypher
Dwarf whisperer
 
cypher's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Wales UK
Posts: 24,789
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

I'm really sorry for your loss.
It's often not possible to say why a hamster dies suddenly as they can hide signs of illness very well.As you only had him 2 weeks he may have already have had a problem that wasn't obvious when you got him.
Your robo had a lot of stress recently with the bath tub sessions & stress can really impact on their immune system & general health so it is possible that may have contributed in some way.
It is also stressful for a ham not to be able to hoard food, this is what they have evolved to do & they must be able to do this & follow their natural instincts, if you go away & leave your ham for a couple of days you should always leave more food than you would expect them to eat & always feed enough for them to eat & hoard some. As Ria said hamsters don't overeat & get fat so as long as you feed a healthy diet & don't give lots of unsuitable treats & your hamster is active then getting fat is not something you need to worry about, with such a tiny animal you should be more concerned with maintaining weight & avoiding any weight loss.
I would suggest you do a little more research into a healthy diet too as a pellet diet really isn't suitable for a hamster.
__________________
Slave to Zak.
Always loved, never forgotten, forever in my heart
T'ycor, Ziggy, Zephyr, Flynt, Mickle, Little Whisp, Zen, Zeki, Tinwë, Zylvan, Míriel, Calyanwë, Gusto & Meri
❤️
cypher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 01:24 AM   #4
Ithuviel
Adult Hamster
 
Ithuviel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Romania
Posts: 310
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Very possible that he died of hunger specially if you only gave him pellets with no seed mix. I keep my robo "thin" by giving 1 teaspoon of mix every 48 hours + additionals daily (some seeds, some vegetables, a treat every 2-3 weeks). Robos should be a round ball with a face from what i understood by my research.
__________________
Hamsters are addictive
Ithuviel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 03:05 AM   #5
Maker
Adult Hamster
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 303
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

RIP Robo x
Maker is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 08:24 AM   #6
Vierville
Hamster Addict
 
Vierville's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 1,010
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

I must agree with what the others have said.

1) Hamsters are hoarders of food by nature. It gives them great comfort to be able to gather and store food. They won't get fat unless you feed them large quantities of inappropriate types of food or they have a health condition. Not being able to hoard food would definitely have been very stressful for your hamster.

2) Hamsters do not like pellets in general. They should get a variety of seeds, some types of nuts , some protein (boiled egg, boiled chicken or mealworms with heads removed) and fresh vegetables daily.

I'm glad that you are caring enough to ask about what went wrong with your little one on a forum in order to better understand for next time but please go and read up as much as you can on hamster care before getting another hamster.
Vierville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 11:45 AM   #7
Johntu
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 5
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Thanks for all your replies. It's interesting because I know mammals usually survive much longer without food than without water. The other pets I have (3 dogs and a couple of goldfishes) were able to go much longer than 24 hours without food. I guess it has to do with the high metabolism of the robo hamster (my robo hamster would run on his wheel NONSTOP)?
Johntu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2020, 02:19 PM   #8
Vierville
Hamster Addict
 
Vierville's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 1,010
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johntu View Post
The other pets I have (3 dogs and a couple of goldfishes) were able to go much longer than 24 hours without food.
Yeah I'm not sure what circumstances that was but a pet owner should never ever make their animals go without food. Not ok.
Vierville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2020, 02:38 AM   #9
Johntu
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 5
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Thanks for all the information! Well, I'm excited to say I just got another Gerbil, Jumpy! I will make sure to feed him plenty of water and food this time haha!
Johntu is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2020, 03:35 AM   #10
Maker
Adult Hamster
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 303
Angry Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johntu View Post
Thanks for all the information! Well, I'm excited to say I just got another Gerbil, Jumpy! I will make sure to feed him plenty of water and food this time haha!
This post makes me angry and sad for any animal in your care. I am not worried about upsetting you as this is very serious.

If you think it is funny that you killed an animal in your care you should not have any more. Animals have NOT been put on this earth for humans fun, they may be small, unable to speak in your language and look differently to humans/people but they have feelings of happiness, pain and love, you would not treat a human in this way do not do it to an animal.

Please think about rehoming your gerbil and stop buying pets until you can take the responsibility seriously. If you won't re-home it Gerbils are different animals to hamsters and you need to research how to look after your gerbil.

Maybe english isn't your first language and you haven't communicated well if so I am happy to listen if you try again.
Maker is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
robo, death, hamster, pellets, water, food, died, left, die, active, return, starved, condition, longer, hamsters, illness, starvation, small, wheel, run, btw, humans, hours, full, constantly

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:33 AM.