Hibernation causing sudden death?

[fuamami]

We got two young Syrian hamsters from the pet store for Christmas. They were littermates and we had them together in one large cage. Monday night before I went to bed, I checked on them and noticed they had taken quite a lot of their bedding (aspen shavings) into their little tunnels. So I put a few more handfuls in and they came over and said hi and were playing on their wheel and doing monkey bars and just seemed absolutely happy and fine.

Unfortunately, the next morning we couldn't wake them up and they seemed like they were hibernating. So we tried all the tricks to warm them that we found on the internet, including giving them a little juice, but instead of reviving, they both died within hours.

Can anyone explain this? From my research it seems like it would have taken them longer to die from hibernation/starvation, so I'm wondering if it was something else. There were no spikes in temperature or anything else that I can figure out. My children are so devastated right now, but we may want to try again at some point if this can be avoided. I'd just like an answer to ease my children's minds as well. Thanks for your help.

[de4life]

I'm really sorry for your loss. It's horrible to lose two both so young.

When hamsters hibernate they can pass very quickly. What was the room temperature? There must have been a common factor as it would otherwise be very unusual for two to die at the same time, even if they both had genetic issues.

As an aside Syrian hamsters should never be kept together, they are solitary creatures and will fight to the death if housed together when grown, even if they are littermates. The pet store should have told you this but if you get Syrians in future please don't house them together!

[racinghamster]

How utterly sad for you that this has happened. It`s not easy to say why two young hamsters would die so suddenly within a short space of time if they seemed happy the previous evening. I can only echo what de4life said and put it down to bad breeding and illness. What you might want to do is go back to the store the hamsters came from and go to the same tank and see if the other Syrians they have are all okay and report this sad episode to the store staff or owner. They may not be aware that these youngsters could be ill and they should check their stock and their habitats/diet for any signs of contamination. Even the water. I would also ask them if they have had any deaths occur in the past few months or reports of any from people who have purchased Syrians from them. Although I doubt they would say yes to this to cover their backs if they did know.

And yes, Syrians are solitary hamsters (meaning they should be kept on their own once sold as babies). Chinese hamsters are also solitary in most people`s eyes because they are sometimes sold in pairs as well and this is bad advice.

At home, check their cage, the room they were in, the heating (or temperature) in the room and if you have other, larger pets who may have been an influence (causing stress like cats?)

Very sorry for your losses, it must have been horrible to find them passed away. But having a single Syrian (from another source) might help ease the pain once you have had time to look into this. x

[Tutu]

Sorry to hear about your ordeal
You must go back to shop you bought your Syrian hamsters and complain! They should've giving you many advices before handing the poor hamsters to you and first of it should've been never ever house Syrian hamsters together! EVER! (This will result to death for sure)
Second thing is they must double check where they are getting those poor hamsters and how they breed!
If your hamsters kept in around or above 20c room temperature shouldn't have gone hibernation and dying just like that is just never ever heard off.
I strongly suggest you go back to store and complain for sake of those poor hamsters and future ones they going to sells for profit to unsuspecting people like you.
Good luck.

[BrainGirl]

When I was young I had a pair of hamsters (brothers) that I was told would be fine together. Well, they grew up and one day I found them both dead. I wouldn't have known what had happened except that one still had his teeth locked on the other. There was no blood at all that I can recall and I can only assume that their teeth were so sharp that they'd both managed to sever a vein that then bled internally but didn't show externally.

I'm so sorry for your loss

[DrKMcK]

That's awful! I am so sorry this happened to you. I'm really wondering if there was some illness with the litter because it's really unusual for both hammies to die suddenly like that. I have had a baby ham die from wet tail 2 days from the petshop, so I'm wondering if that may have been the problem. The pet shop should be told of this so they have a vet check the hamsters they still have. Although, by rights, the shop should replace the hams, I wouldn't want one from that seller. I do hope you try again so that this isn't your children's only memory of these sweet little animals.