Did my hamster die suffering?

[WaspishJupiter]

There is no way he passed away so quickly for old age, in such a short time frame. I could have saved him if I actually paid attention to any changes in him...

Anyway, thanks for your help and honesty guys, it helps.

[Pebbles82]

I don't think you could have saved him. It was his time. If you had taken him to the vets they would probably have given you the option to keep him comfortable (which you did) or have him put to sleep. Ageing is a cruel process. But I think he wanted to hang on or he would have gone sooner.

[Scargirl]

I was wondering, speaking of age, how long does a syrian live? That is what scarlet is. She has never had pups unless they did when she was in a pet shop but she was fairly young.

[DrKMcK]

Hello WaspishJupiter and welcome to Hamster Central. I wish it was under better circumstances, but you came to the right place. First, your little guy was so beautiful. I love the expression on his face in the photo. Thank you for sharing it.
Now...it is not only possible for a hammy to pass away the way yours did, but it happens more often than you know. I lost my beautiful Ted E. Bear in the very same way you did. One very important thing you need to know; when a hamster starts going downhill like that, going into such a deep sleep, they are preparing to let go of life and move on to the Rainbow Bridge. They withdraw into themselves and get on with the business. They aren't all that aware of what is going on around them. So, no. He didn't suffer, he, most likely was slipping in and out of coma.
Ted E. Bear was just fine, doing his hamstery thing, when he suddenly stopped eating and was staggering around and sleeping the way you describe. Same with his eyes. I still, after over 50 years of having gerbils and hamsters, have not decided which is better, a fast short downward slide, or the longer deterioration before the end. Truth to tell, for the hammy, I guess the fast way is best.
From what you describe, you did what you could to ease him. I doubt a vet could have done a whole lot more. Grieve for him, but don't ever blame yourself. You gave him a very good life and, for him, that was what mattered. {hugs} for you. Play well at the Bridge beautiful boy.

[WaspishJupiter]

Originally Posted by DrKMcK

Hello WaspishJupiter and welcome to Hamster Central. I wish it was under better circumstances, but you came to the right place. First, your little guy was so beautiful. I love the expression on his face in the photo. Thank you for sharing it.
Now...it is not only possible for a hammy to pass away the way yours did, but it happens more often than you know. I lost my beautiful Ted E. Bear in the very same way you did. One very important thing you need to know; when a hamster starts going downhill like that, going into such a deep sleep, they are preparing to let go of life and move on to the Rainbow Bridge. They withdraw into themselves and get on with the business. They aren't all that aware of what is going on around them. So, no. He didn't suffer, he, most likely was slipping in and out of coma.
Ted E. Bear was just fine, doing his hamstery thing, when he suddenly stopped eating and was staggering around and sleeping the way you describe. Same with his eyes. I still, after over 50 years of having gerbils and hamsters, have not decided which is better, a fast short downward slide, or the longer deterioration before the end. Truth to tell, for the hammy, I guess the fast way is best.
From what you describe, you did what you could to ease him. I doubt a vet could have done a whole lot more. Grieve for him, but don't ever blame yourself. You gave him a very good life and, for him, that was what mattered. {hugs} for you. Play well at the Bridge beautiful boy.

Thank you so much for your reply. It's just horrible knowing I can't come back from College anymore to be greeted by my little guy... He was always so eager to be taken out and let loose in my room, never did any damage or peed/pooped outside of his cage. I just hope the most that he indeed did have a good life and that I did all I could.

[WaspishJupiter]

Originally Posted by Scargirl

I was wondering, speaking of age, how long does a syrian live? That is what scarlet is. She has never had pups unless they did when she was in a pet shop but she was fairly young.

They live between 1.5 to 2.5 years, but if you got yours from a breeder and they had really good genetics and you have him/her a good diet then they can make it to 3 sometimes. 2 years of age for a Hamster is like 80 for a human.

[Pebbles82]

Dr McK has excellent advice from experience there As for how long they live - you could be right that breeder hams with good genetics could live longer - but in a way it's a bit like humans - there is no knowing how long someone will live - disease can get any of us at any time. Sorry that sounds a bit maudlin! My Grandmother ate all the wrong things and lived till she was 92. My cousin died at 50. Her Grandmother too. Life is precious for human and hams and we don't know how long so just enjoy the life as it is for as long as it lasts. Your ham had a good life with you xxx And is now playing free x

It must be a real empty space for you. Maybe put the cage out of sight for a while and when you feel ready, clean it all out. Meanwhile say goodbye and godbless and thank you. And maybe think about getting another little one when you feel ready. I think if anything happened to Charlie, I'm not sure I could get another Syrian straight away, but I'd quite like to get a Robo for a totally different kind of ham - and apparently Robos can live a bit longer. But they all have fairly short lives. But during those short lives they bring so much joy and have so much fun - if they are housed well. Which is mainly what this forum is all about, in my mind. To help people give the best life they can for their pet hamsters.

Apparently if you want a pet that outlives you, a parrot is the thing to get lol! I'm sure I read the Winston Churchill's parrot is still alive! But they can't prove if it really was his parrot. Still they can live to be 80 or 100 apparently in some cases. But then apparently they can also get depressed when their owner dies, so depression for a pet isn't great either.

[Tildauk]

I really think it was old age, I have had several hamsters who have aged in 1-2 weeks from being sprightly happy things to being old and rickety and then dying peacefully in their sleep, of course some hamsters are months like this but then humans are the same we all take age differently. 2 Weeks is actually quite a long time percentage wise compared to a hamsters lifetime if you think about it.

Yes of course there is a small chance a vet might have been able to help but from the sounds of it this would have maybe prolong their life by days or weeks at the longest. A vet trip is stressful and who knows how happy they would have been in that time there is a good chance that trying to keep them alive longer would have been the poorer of the two options. You are so upset and worry about your decision because you cared so much and that can only bee a good thing

The decision a hamster owner makes who cares for the hamster is the right one, I would try to rejoice that you had each other rather than dwell on what might have been - which I know is hard, every one of my little hamsters I have had in the 22 years I have kept them has deeply saddened me when they have gone.

I have wished many times that they lived longer but I wouldn't have swapped them or not known a single one to get rid of the pain at their passing, I couldn't ultimately be without them.

Myself and my husband thought about different pets when our last hamster went because his death was unexpected and hit us very hard, but we ultimately decided how fair would it be to keep a different animal - we would love it sure but I think at the back of our minds we would always be slightly sad it wasn't a hamster which wouldn't be fair on the poor animal.

Maybe when the grief has calmed - it never completely leaves you I'm afraid, and you feel ready you could get another one in memory of this one. You will love it just as much but differently because all hamsters have different characters

[WaspishJupiter]

Originally Posted by Serendipity7000

Dr McK has excellent advice from experience there As for how long they live - you could be right that breeder hams with good genetics could live longer - but in a way it's a bit like humans - there is no knowing how long someone will live - disease can get any of us at any time. Sorry that sounds a bit maudlin! My Grandmother ate all the wrong things and lived till she was 92. My cousin died at 50. Her Grandmother too. Life is precious for human and hams and we don't know how long so just enjoy the life as it is for as long as it lasts. Your ham had a good life with you xxx And is now playing free x

It must be a real empty space for you. Maybe put the cage out of sight for a while and when you feel ready, clean it all out. Meanwhile say goodbye and godbless and thank you. And maybe think about getting another little one when you feel ready. I think if anything happened to Charlie, I'm not sure I could get another Syrian straight away, but I'd quite like to get a Robo for a totally different kind of ham - and apparently Robos can live a bit longer. But they all have fairly short lives. But during those short lives they bring so much joy and have so much fun - if they are housed well. Which is mainly what this forum is all about, in my mind. To help people give the best life they can for their pet hamsters.

Apparently if you want a pet that outlives you, a parrot is the thing to get lol! I'm sure I read the Winston Churchill's parrot is still alive! But they can't prove if it really was his parrot. Still they can live to be 80 or 100 apparently in some cases. But then apparently they can also get depressed when their owner dies, so depression for a pet isn't great either.

Thanks for the help. I've always been thinking about getting domestic rats as companions for the past couple of years, but was told they smell horrible. I know for a fact that they're incredibly intelligence, on par with German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers and other dog breeds in the 'most intelligent' category. They can be taught tricks even easier than some dogs and, well... They're literally are mini-dogs haha. (Got a black Labrador myself, he's 1.5 yrs old.) Still thinking about it though...

[Tildauk]

Oh and I hadn't noticed the picture before, he was such a cutie a lovely colour