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Old 09-18-2016, 12:14 AM   #1
greysome
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Default Just want to check....

Hi all,

Long time no see (erm, talk to....) As some might be aware, I recently said goodbye to two of my syrians within a couple days of each other. As both were up there in age (one would have turned two on Halloween and the other turned two last month), I believe it is due to old age. The younger one, Chublet, was found in his den still curled up as if asleep so I believe he went peacefully.

Hazel Nut, on the other hand, was not in her den exactly but just outside of it (actually, thinking on it now, the past couple of weeks, she's been sleeping outside her den) and I found her on her back on top of the bedding rather than buried in it. Does anyone know what that might mean? Is it a sign she may have been in pain or suffered an illness I missed? She wasn't as energetic and in the last couple of weeks in particular, was sleeping most of the time and not as interested in playtime but I had chalked it up to her age and the cooling weather (all of my hammies have been getting up later as the weather has begun cooling). At first, I thought nothing of finding her on her back (while most, if not all, of my hammies sleep curled up, I don't tend to see Hazel Nut curl up--if anything, her burrow indicate her to either be a stretcher or a "straight arrow"--which is what I call it when her burrow is in the exact shape and size of her body when she's on all fours) but finding Chublet tonight....

Since both died within days of each other, even if both were up there in age, I plan on keeping an extra-sharp eye out on all my furries regardless. Sgt. Pepper, who I believe to be about the same age as Hazel Nut, is also in his second year and has slowed down and I actually thought I would be saying goodbye to him before Chublet.

Anyway, I wanted to see if anyone had experience with hamsters passing and being found on their back. Is it a sign she had been in distress or was ill? With my other hammies who have passed, I feel comfortable in the belief that they passed peacefully in their sleep as both were found curled up in their burrows. Hazel Nut is the exception (much like she has been most of her life, I suppose) and I don't know if it's because she was my first hammie and I was particularly attached to her and her feistiness, but unlike the other two, I worry that her death came about from an illness I may have missed or something. I know hammies are good at hiding discomfort/signs of illness and am wondering if some of the signs I chalked up to her old age (did not care much for playtime lately, no longer zoomed about her cage or tried to escape if the door was opened, did not quite eat/hoard as much food as normal and sleeping more and in general, seemingly becoming more mellow, particularly in the last two/three weeks) are not signs of aging but illness instead. If it helps any, her fur, while not exactly thin and never "shiny" had what I considered an "old" appearance--while the coat wasn't thinning, exactly, the strands of fur itself seemed to be thinner than what it used to be and her coloring had faded somewhat--she was maybe a shade or so lighter than a year ago. Her behavior, other than what I mentioned--and being particularly mellow the last couple of weeks--in general seemed normal. She ate less but I chalked it up to her being less active and sleeping more. Did I miss something?
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Old 09-18-2016, 01:24 AM   #2
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Just want to check....

So sorry for your losses. It sounds to me as if Hazel Nut possibly had a stroke or heart attack and died suddenly. All the things you describe are signs of ageing and sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between ageing illnesses and just ageing in my opinion - and I expect an ageing hamster could develop some kind of illness but not something you would notice maybe. It sounds like Hazel Nut had a good happy life and sadly it was her time xxx
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Old 09-18-2016, 02:23 AM   #3
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Default Re: Just want to check....

Sorry for your losses, at least one went peacefully

As Serendipidity said, Hazel Nut sounds like she had a stroke or heart attack. The sleepiness sounds like common signs of aging, as do the other things you mentioned.
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Old 09-18-2016, 06:44 AM   #4
Nancy's Hamsters
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Default Re: Just want to check....

I say it was just natural death due to age, and I have several here who sleep on their backs in the nest so she could have had some old and tired organ quit while sleeping on her back.

Only other thing which springs up with the memorial post is all passed once temps cooled down. colder temps usually mean we have a heat source come on to keep us naked skinned humans warm. That said have you tested for Carbon monoxide gas in the house?

Hamsters are much more susceptible to that being they are so much smaller to us. When I lost every hamster I owned to Carbon Monoxide gas, they all passed after going to bed. They passed very quickly and within 2 days of each other. In my case all were Syrians with some being older and some very young adults. They saved my husband and my life by losing theirs, but your situation sounds so so very much like mine it gave me chills reading it.

BTW the only effect my husband and I had from the gas was we would get slight head aches and found sleeping easy to do when we went to bed. Neither of us even thought about Carbon Monoxide until our Vet asked us had we tested for it after the 9th hamster had died.
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Old 09-18-2016, 11:41 AM   #5
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Default Re: Just want to check....

Wow Nancy, that amazing that the vet suggested that on the 9th hamster. That must have been an aweful time. Glad your hammies turned out to save you and husband.

I have Cinnamon sleeping on his back out in the open today, not for long though but I never noticed he did that before.

Sorry greysome for your recent losses.
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Old 09-19-2016, 04:54 AM   #6
greysome
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Default Re: Just want to check....

Thank you everyone for your kind words/thoughts. I am relieved to hear that it sounds like Hazel Nut didn't suffer--or if she did have a heart attack or stroke, it seems like she may have passed suddenly. The thought of her having suffered for any period of time is, I think, what really gets me. Perhaps it is because she was my first hammie that her death in particular seemed to get to me and I am hoping that her being found differently from my other two hammies that passed is simply a final act of contrariness--Hazel Nut was very much so a boss and never followed the mold of the rest of my hammies here so if this is the case, it would be just like her which, oddly, makes me feel a bit better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy's Hamsters View Post
I say it was just natural death due to age, and I have several here who sleep on their backs in the nest so she could have had some old and tired organ quit while sleeping on her back.

Only other thing which springs up with the memorial post is all passed once temps cooled down. colder temps usually mean we have a heat source come on to keep us naked skinned humans warm. That said have you tested for Carbon monoxide gas in the house?

Hamsters are much more susceptible to that being they are so much smaller to us. When I lost every hamster I owned to Carbon Monoxide gas, they all passed after going to bed. They passed very quickly and within 2 days of each other. In my case all were Syrians with some being older and some very young adults. They saved my husband and my life by losing theirs, but your situation sounds so so very much like mine it gave me chills reading it.

BTW the only effect my husband and I had from the gas was we would get slight head aches and found sleeping easy to do when we went to bed. Neither of us even thought about Carbon Monoxide until our Vet asked us had we tested for it after the 9th hamster had died.
I sincerely hope she passed peacefully in her sleep and didn't suffer. While the weather is cooling, it hasn't reached a point where we have turned the heater on (generally, the house remains in the low 70s without the heater now whereas before it would have been in the 80s or 90s. In my room where the hammies are, I keep the window AC on to keep the room at 68 F) though it is getting dark about an hour/hour and a half or so earlier which seems to be what the hammies are responding to. I can't think of a possible source of carbon monoxide leaking (the common causes I'm familiar with don't apply either atm or at all) but to be safe, I'll be going out once the stores open to grab an alarm. Thank you for the heads up--I've actually had headaches for the past week or so but since I'm prone to migraines/headaches, I didn't think anything of it.
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Old 09-19-2016, 05:41 AM   #7
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Just want to check....

You can get carbon monoxide detectors Look a bit like smoke alarms. We have one. Not that it was the case in your situation greysome, but as a point of interest.

This is the one we have

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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