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Old 06-29-2009, 05:10 PM   #1
h3rne
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Default Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

I've been a long time lurker on HC. Nearly two years ago my wife talked me into buying some Robs. We ended up getting 3 brood sisters (Aleph, Beth and Gimmel) who all seemed happy and healthy up to last week, thanks in no small part to the wealth of information at HC.

Then, on Wednesday last week, quite suddenly, Gimmel died with no obvious preceding symptoms - running around one night, dead the next day. She was always the smallest and had gone through bad patch of weight loss last month, but with focussed "feeding up" had regained a lot of weight and we really felt we were winning, which made her death even more of a shock.

Then over the weekend Aleph became more and more listless, and showed laboured breathing. Then, yesterday night she appeared to have wet-tail. We cleaned the cage and fed her some baby-food and dropped some water into her mouth. I resolved to get her to the vets the next morning but I was frankly unsurprised to find she had died in the night. Today has been a very sad day indeed.

It seems more than a coincidence that Gimmel and Aleph were next door neighbours (we had them separated into 3 cages a long time ago after they drew blood fighting) and I have read that they form relationships even "through the bars". Part of me wonders whether I'm seeing something prosaic like a wet-tail contagion or something more profound like death through grief for her brood sister.

The more obvious worry is that Beth, the remaining brood-sister now seems sad and listless too. We cleaned her cage today and thoroughly disinfected everything, but is there anything more we can do? Does anyone else have any experience of this kind of domino effect? Their dates are from when we bought them (which I expect was at about 6-8 weeks old), putting them at 23-24 months - so could this just be old age?

And finally I find myself bewildered by the depth of my own grief. As a 40+ professional male, I somehow didn't expect to be so upset, but I see no benefit in denying that I am heartbroken, and shed many tears as I laid them to rest, and indeed, as I type this...
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Old 06-30-2009, 12:56 AM   #2
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

Sorry to hear of your losses Its amazing how attached you get to something so tiny in such a short time.

I'm afraid I can't shed any light on what might have happened to Gimmel, it may just be "old age". I've had a few robos pass suddenly with absolutely no warning. It seems like really bad luck for the same thing to happen to Aleph so soon after but could still be the case - the diarrohea isn't wet tail in a robo, but again could be as she ages...Fingers crossed age is getting to Beth but she'll be around longer.
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Old 06-30-2009, 04:58 AM   #3
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

Welcome to the forum. It is a pity it is under such sad circumstances.
There is no reason to be ashamed of your grief over the loss of these little creatures who have shared your life for such a long time. The loss is real and hurts to the core. It is the same when you lose anything you care for and love. You have my sympathies. I am older than you and I still feel the terrible longing to hold some of my little ones who have gone now and it still hurts very badly when something reminds me of them
I think that it is their age in all honesty. They are a very good age for robos and their little bodies will be becoming 'worn'now so they easily succomb. It sounds as if they crossed the bridge peacefully and in the comfort of their own beds which is the best way to go isn't it. I hope little Beth hangs around a little longer for you and when you feel the time is right that you find some crazy, youthful little furry friends who can stamp their own special uniqueness in your heart
Rest in peace Gimmel and Aleph
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Old 06-30-2009, 06:35 AM   #4
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

Welcome to the forum although I am sorry to read about the recent loss. Not sure about why it has happened but can reassure you that your reaction and upset is 100% normal and that no matter how small the animal you share part of your life and home with, they steal a huge part of your heart. I guess that's why you and your wife decided to get them in the first place, as you had the extra love to give.

I hope that Beth is with you for a while yet.
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Old 06-30-2009, 07:26 AM   #5
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

aw, i'm sorry to hear of your losses. I'm not sure what the cause was. I wouldn't have thought it would be from upset of losing others that weren't in the same cage.

It could just be old age or something they've eaten. Have you fed more fruit or vegetables than usual? That can cause diarrohea.

At 2 years old, they are fairly old and it would be normal for them to pass away of old age at that age, however most of my robos have lived to 2.5yrs on average (i currently have a 3 yr old), so they aren't THAT old, really. Robos live longer than Syrians in my experience. So it could be old age or it could be an illness. If the cages are next to each other, it'd be easy for it to pass from one to the other when you are feeding them for example.

The one that's left i'd try moving to a different location, feeding nothing but dry mix and washing your hands before and after feeding/touching her.
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Old 06-30-2009, 02:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

Many, many thanks for all the messages of support and advice.

I really can't think what caused Aleph's diarrhoea - she got a small piece of apple daily, but never seemed to like it much (Beth always removes it from her feed bowl and leaves just the skin), but apart from that she had a dry food diet that had not changed for over a month. However, we'll take the precautions with Beth suggested anyway. I also think Aleph was something of a victim of poor timing - vets don't open on Sundays in the UK - had she sickened mid-week I might have got her to a vet in time for antibiotics to work. I can only urge other owners to learn from our experience and act with all possible speed.

Despite my worries over Beth, she has set about rearranging her cage with her normal level of enthusiasm over night (it looks like a war zone - the sand bowl is full of shavings, one corner is down to the cage bottom and a surprising amount has made it out of the cage onto the floor!). Aleph always lived life in a higher gear (we used to call her "Insomniac Ham" because she never seemed to sleep) whereas Beth has always slept lots (she often missed feeding time when Aleph and Gimmel used to go bananas, running around and biting the bars) so we're hoping she will last longer.

Also, today was my wife's half birthday (which we often celebrate as 30th of December is such a lousy date ). As a treat we went visiting the Hams at P@H and despite there being no hams for adoption (we decided long ago we'd make adoption hams a priority) we somewhat inevitably welcomed "Piccolo" - a dusky grey Syrian girl - to the family this evening.
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Old 06-30-2009, 02:38 PM   #7
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

Welcome Picollo and what a lovely family you have found to share you life. Looking forward to meeting her when she has settled down.
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Old 06-30-2009, 07:07 PM   #8
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

i'm glad the little robo girl seems to be doing better. When you have as many hams as some of us do, you always have antibiotics in the cupboards. It's really useful to save it as it keeps for up to 6 months (and even old stuff is better than nothing out-of-hours).

I'll look forward to seeing your new Syrian. Dusky grey sounds interesting... sable perhaps?
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Old 06-30-2009, 11:31 PM   #9
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Ohhh lucky Dusky - looking forward to hearing more
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Old 07-05-2009, 08:57 AM   #10
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Default Re: Long Time Lurker registers under sad circumstances.

antibiotics are a presciription only medication and shouldn't be kept and given to another hamster even if you have some leftin the bottle without a vet examining the hamster first
they have very delicate digestive systems and antibiotics are actually capable of being more hurtful than beneficial in some sick hamsters so don't do it please!
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