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Old 01-21-2020, 05:26 AM  
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Robo hamster sudden death

Hi. I am sorry about the death of your Robo. As Cypher said, anything could have been the cause. It is unlikely he died from starvation, but these little animals do suffer stress very easily. Robos are also tiny and can fall and have injuries, so a cage needs to be quite low and plenty of depth of substrate fir a soft landing if they climb and fall. Any hard or sharp cage items need to be under a shelf.

I think it’s all been said about them needing to have normal behaviours like foraging and hoarding to avoid them feeling stressed and anxious. They are hard wired to feel they need emergency food supplies. But also they don’t like their nest and hoard disturbed or thrown away (sometimes it needs to be if it’s pee’d on but then it’s recommended to always put new food back in the same place). They think someone has stolen it and get more anxious!

Anyway - I am sorry for your loss and hope this helps for the future. I honestly wouldn’t worry about a hamster getting too fat. That is very rare and probably only when they have had too many high catalogue treats over a long time. You can never give them too much hamster mix. They only eat what they need. They hoard most of it and prefer to eat from their hoards (snack in bed on private). Treats on top are fine as long as they don’t get too many sunflower seeds as extra treats (eg loads every day). Healthy treats are nuts without the shells - ie half a pecan or walnut once or twice a week. Fresh food is fine too as long as it’s plain and on the safe list.

I hope things go well with the gerbil. Gerbils can be a bit nervy as well - but very entertaining to watch. Their needs are a bit different - they need deep bedding and some tunnels buried in the bedding plus something low to climb. And don’t worry about over feeding them either
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