All of my friends hamsters keep dying

[Pebbles82]

This is very sad and no it isn't usual for so many to die under a year. My first thoughts are 1) One hamster was infectious and the others have picked it up from cage items etc. 2) She should get a carbon monoxide monitor. 3) Use a different pet shop.

One member on here found her hamsters kept dying and it was because of carbon monoxide emissions from the boiler. Which of course also kills humans but perhaps they were very low levels and the hamsters were in the same room.

It's usually recommended, after a hamster dies, to not only thoroughly disinfect the cage and all contents, but to wait to or three weeks before using them again for another hamster.

If she is getting them all from the same place then the pet shop or breeder may have ongoing disease on the premises. So going elsewhere would be better.

It is true that hybrid dwarfs and pet shop hamsters can be prone to genetic health issues through bad breeding and interbreeding. Hybrid dwarfs are also prone to diabetes which can shorten their life span. So any dwarf hamster should have a sugar free diet. I don't think Higgins is. Sugars can be in dried fruits etc in the mix as well.

It used to be recommended to get Burgess dwarf hamster mix which was sugar free but its not made any more. The best option would be Harry Hamster which is sugar free and contains everything needed. If she's in the Uk or Europe, Rodipet make dwarf specific mixes and one especially for hybrid dwarfs.