Hamster deaths

[grimwold]

Hi a few months back i picked up my a hamster for my younger sister from pets at home. Having a fair bit of experience with Winter White's from my younger days. I was eager for her to have a similar experience. So i picked her out a suitable cage and the normal safe toys and equipment. On the second night the hamster had sadily passed. On inspection of the cage i noticed a lot of diarrhea. So i took it back to the store and i stated i also wanted a new cage because i wasn't happy about putting a new Syrian in the cage. So i got a new cage and a new hamster replacement. Stupidly. About a month ago my sister asked me to look after it. I quickly noticed it wasn't very responsive and couldn't really seem to see anything. So i booked it in at the vets. And to my disgust i found out it was quite blind and deaf.
So i told my sister the best thing we can do is it give a good life. As faults and all it was quite a pleasant chap. Then in the morning i heard my sister cry and then once again it was dead. I immediately hoped that the hamster had gone into HIBERNATION as we had a big temperature drop in the area. Sadly rigor mortise cant be mistaken. I have had to wake up a hamster before so it not a big deal for me.
So is this down to breeding or what. This really isnt the experience i wanted my sister to have. I mean is there no reputable sellers or breeders anymore.
WHen i told my sister my winter whites lasted around 3 years but a Syrian should last longer. So does anyone know any reputable breeders in the nw because i refuse to buy any more......

[freyashamsters]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that, not a great first hamster experience especially for someone young like your sister

I would avoid buying any animals from that shop again because it seems like they could have a case of wet tail going round

If you look on the Southern Hamster Club website, there is a list of breeders registered with the NHC on there who all breed healthy, tame hamsters. I think the same is on the Northern and Midlands websites as well but I don't know as I never go on them

Once again, so sorry for your losses - pet shops are always unreliable with the selling of animals and it's just not worth it. Either get your next hamster from an NHC-registered breeder or an adoption centre xx

[Ceretrea]

There are a lot of reputable breeders but none of those sell to Pets at Home who tend to source from large scale commercial breeders (known as mills or farms) either in the UK or abroad.

As above Id look for an NHC registered breeder for your next try, or go to a local and reputable rescue.

[Fluffagrams]

I'm so sorry to hear about the hamsters.

Pet shops seem to be a bit hit and miss with what you get. I've had pet shop hams that have lived to over three and a half but then I've known other people buy hamsters from that particular chain of pet shop that have lasted significantly less and I guess considering their sources and the volumes they must purchase, you can't always be 100% sure of what you're getting. Don't get me wrong, I don't object to pet shop hamsters and think that they can make lovely pets but with an NHC registered breeder you'll know that they'll be following a code of conduct and that breeding is done with optimum health in mind.

[freyashamsters]

I agree with you Fluffagrams - when I was a lot younger (6 or 7) I had a hamster from Pets At Home who died within 2 weeks of bringing him home.

Whereas Willow was also purchased from a pet shop, she's nearly a year old now and seems to be at optimum health

Generally it is a hit and miss with pet shops, which really isn't good enough! With an NHC-registered breeder you are guaranteed a hamster with good health and temperament, saving you heartbreak and expensive vet bills

[Pebbles82]

I am so sorry you and your sister have had this awful experience. I can only say what the others have, that you should get a hamster somewhere else. Our Syrian came from a local pet shop, which is quite small and friendly - he has always been very healthy (if a bit neurotic for a while!) and is nearly 2 now. Maybe ask around for recommendations of good pet shops or find a breeder.

One of the advantages of getting a hamster from a breeder (well more than one advantage!) is you will know the genetics when you get them, and they will be used to being handled and so easier to tame and handle from the start.

I would have been devastated if this had happened to me - especially twice. What part of the country are you in so we can suggest a breeder or pet shop near you?

Another option could be adoption - there are rescue centres looking for good homes for hamsters and some rescue centres are very good won't sell a hamster until they know any possible health issues have been checked.

As an aside I would write and complain to the pet shop you got the hamsters from. And say that they should be checked for illness before sale and treated if unwell.

[grimwold]

Actually i have decided to take this all as a learning experience.
When i was 16 my friend gave me a Asian preying mantis in a tub. When i went to the store they tried to encourage my father to spend £250 on the kit i needed. Well he didn't pay up. He said i should find out what the creature needed to survive and we could probably do much better or selves at creating habitat. I think it cost £30.00 all together to create a terrarium for pea. A few sheets of perspects, a bag of substrate, flowers and branches, a humidifier. It was all enough to hold a 20 cm praying mantis with plenty of room to hunt hide and explore.

Now when it came to the hamsters i shouldn't have taken the shops word for anything. After some research i have come to the conclusion ,yes the hamster was ill but a cage really isnt going to help the hamster in anyway. Also the dish type wheel dose not seem to have been suitable for a Syrian. Because of curved spine problems. Also i was not aware that hamsters used sand to clean themselves.
So in hindsight i should have been treating the hamster more like the mantis. If a mantis deserves a terrarium maybe so does the hamster. A habitat for the hamster not a fancy space age cage.
So after seeing many of your great members ikea builds on youtube and this site its gave me a few ideas for building a real natural habitat. And a big thank you to ErinsAnimals there all good tips.
Once i have a good set up we will try again.
There is to many education problems here. I accepted hamsters belong in cages(not in habitats). And the shop really did not have any good recent info or actual knowledge about the animals they sell.
Thanxs all for your great site its very informative.

Also yes i am going to wright a letter to the store and ask for a refund and the vet bills.

[Pebbles82]

Have you seen the detolf? It's an ikea glass cabinet - you leave the door off and tip it on its side. It needs two lids making out of strips of wood and mesh (there are tutorials around for this). It makes a good habitat. I'll link some examples below. You are right pet shops sell you items that aren't always suitable. A bigger debate is why they are made in the first place if not suitable! But there are good cages available. The Barney and Alexander from Zooplus are good spacious cages that can be set up like a habitat. You can go bigger than that with diy or something like a detolf. The detolf costs £40 which is pretty good value for the size and considering aquariums cost hundreds!

This is the Barney and Alexander from Zooplus

Barney Pet Cage | Great deals at zooplus!

Great deals on small pet cages at zooplus: Alexander Small Pet Cage

The Barney is really good value for the size. This is our Hamster's Barney cage set up - he also has a large hide/labyrinth house at one end.

Old set up





Current set up (lowered due to him getting older and the new labyrinth house)



Cages and tanks have different pros and cons - they can both give the floor space and levels for activity, and fit a large wheel in (for a Syrian that is). Tanks have the advantage that you can put much deeper substrate in so they can dig tunnels. Cages have the advantage that you can tie/hang things from the bars and create roof runs that connect to levels.

I think some of the detolf set ups are amazing!

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ha...0cAlcQ_AUIBigB

The smaller dwarf hamsters can actually be more active than larger Syrian ones, so putting them in tiny cages because they are small is pretty bad - so you're spot on there!

This 100cm perspex tank style cage is also good for setting up a habitat - it's a bit expensive though

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ferplast-Ma...axi+duna+multy

There are different ways to set them up - with more traditional toys and tunnels, or on a more natural theme using cork logs and levels. I particularly like this set up in the maxi duna multy

Obi's natural set up is complete!

Some people make diy cages from melamine and plexiglass/mesh as well - although plexiglass can work out quite expensive. Hope there's some food for thought there!

Wheels are better as the main running toy - for syrians anyway - a saucer can be good as an extra. For dwarf hamsters either a wheel or a saucer is ok, although they can fly off a saucer. 11" to 12" wheel for a Syrian and 8" is a good size for a dwarf hamster.

[Cinnamon Bear]

Hi, you mentioned that your WW lived to 3 yrs! I'd say that is the exception as most hybrids lifespan is around 2 yrs. Anyways, I like to think that every day over 2 years is a gift.

I'm not sure on Syrians, what their life span is? I think it would be less likely to make 3 years as well, but don't quote me on that I think Chinese and robos can live a little longer than the hybrids.

[Pebbles82]

I think Syrians it is anything from 1 and a half to 3 years There are some that have lived to four years or more but it's rare.