Hello. I am so sorry to hear about Bruce. Hamsters, as with humans, can die at any age. They can be born with congenital heart disease or other conditions. He may also have been a bit older than you thought when you adopted him.
It doesn’t sound like anything you have done and I cannot see a vet visit was needed at any stage. They can also get internal tumours. Hunching can be a sign of pain but that then improved.
I think it is just very sad he didn’t live longer but it was his time. My only comment would be that it is not a good idea to pre treat hamsters for mites with store bought meds. The meds are quite strong and can be toxic to them. They are best avoided altogether unless prescribed by a vet and there should be a skin scraping done first to confirm it actually is mites, so unnecessary medication isn’t given. Unfortunately a lot of vets ascribe skin conditions etc to mites without testing first and prescribe Invermectin to them too much.
That is just for future reference- I don’t think it would have been the cause of death on this case - as it would have been near the time the meds were given.
I was also saddened to find a Robo we had developed a tumour at about 15 months and only lived to about 18 months. Some of it is genetic and breeding practices of sellers are not always the greatest which can add to genetic diseases.
It is just luck - as with humans- will we live till a ripe old age or will we get cancer in our thirties or have a heart attack in our fifties? The difference is human medicine these days does pre checks for disease so it can be spotted early.
Bruce was clearly much loved - he is pain free now, playing free over the rainbow bridge. You gave him a happy life.
But I know the shock and grief is hard at first. Feeling guilty and questioning what you did is a normal stage of grief- eventually you will just remember the happy memories.
I find I need to get another hamster to care for after one dies as it speeds up the grieving for me. It doesn’t replace the hamster but is a welcome distraction and a new baby hamster brings joy and laughter.
As you are pregnant the upset may be affecting you more - lots of emotions going on - so take care abd look after you and relax xxxx. Incidentally I have never heard of hamster poops being a problem in pregnancy. Cat or dog ones maybe. Hamster poops are bot that dirty - they’re more like seeds and sometimes they actually eat them (they have two stomachs and can redigest vitamins and nutrients from their poops). Although obviously best to wash foot hands after handling stuff in the cage
