What are main causes of a hamster "passing on"

Gibbs&JackBlack · 02-22-2012, 05:09 PM

Not trying to be morbid here but we've had a terrible time recently with losing 3 hamsters over the last 2 mos! It's so hard!
It's so sad and I wish I had some type of reason. I'm getting paranoid about getting a new one for fear it will meet a terrible end too

We had 2 dwarf hams and just today, our syrian, passed away.

I admit, he was the favorite and so sweet and loved being held. My daughter is crying her eyes out and I feel so bad.

They had no signs of illness before hand and they were all active just the day before they passed.

The syrian was about 1.5yrs old so he might have been natural causes of getting old-he was slowing down recently.

But the dwarfs were younger-one was about 7 mos and the other was about 2-3 mos. I'm wondering if the dwarfs might have had diabetes because they were both hybrids....but not sure. We were sure to pick all corn from their food mix and the only treats were fruit/veggies.

We use carefresh basic for the their bedding but I did use 1 or 2 changes of aspen and I wonder if that could have contributed somehow with breathing issues? It wasn't dusty but that was the only thing out of the normal routine these last 6 mos.

I know there is not always a reason but I'm just worried about getting a new one if there is something I should be aware of.

Gibbs&JackBlack · 02-23-2012, 07:45 AM

Anyone? I know you can't give an exact answer but for those more experienced, is there any info you can give?

We cleaned the cages (20 gal long tanks) each week, changed water every day, gave them a good diet, etc. I'm just wondering if there is anything we might be missing.

souffle · 02-23-2012, 08:25 AM

It very much depends on the genetics really. Your syrian was an average age I would say and if your dwarfs were indeed hybrids there can be genetic issues associated with this that can lead to an early death. Often hamsters bought from pet stores have not had the best of care from when they were young and even before they were born and the close inbreeding that happens in 'hamster farms' often results in things like heart disease and organ malfunction because little thought goes in to the pairings and nobody chooses the healthy animals for the next generation as a reputable breeder would. Little things like faulty heart valves or brain blood vessels can suddenly just 'give out' and lead to a sudden death.
There is a thread called 'how long to they life' stickied in this section where I have been gathering data for a number of years.
Excluding 'old age' which I would classify as anything between 18months and 3+ years most female syrian hamsters seen to die of Pyometra or womb infection and another cause is kidney failure which seems to be part of the ageing process in all hamster species.
It is quite difficult to select hamsters for longevity as you have already bred them before you know how long they live but over time it should be possible to select lines which do have the longest lives and these are usually the healthiest lines of course

I would stick with the carefresh with your new hamster and be sure to replace all wooden items plus any bottles and potties. You can use a baby bottle steriliser or bottle sterilising tablets for toys and bowls.
I am sorry to hear you lost them so early but I'm sure they had a lovely life.

Gibbs&JackBlack · 02-23-2012, 09:45 AM

Thanks Souffle.
All our hams except one were adopted off craigslist so their background and breeding is unknown. I would still rescue a ham from a bad situation, but now I'll know that a long life is not necessarily expected.

This experience has shown me the value of a quality small breeder though. I'm lucky to have one locally and will use him next. He's expecting babies late MArch and we will be looking at another ham then.

p_anda · 02-23-2012, 09:50 AM

Are you 100% sure it was aspen bedding? Aspen is meant to be safe, but the change of bedding seems to be the only common denominator between the deaths. It could have also been some kind of contagious illness. Did your hamster show any differences in their behaviour?

I know hybrids can have a lot health issues due to their genetics, that could explain their deaths. Also inbreeding could have been a contributing factor.

Gibbs&JackBlack · 02-23-2012, 01:30 PM

Yes, it was 100% aspen-it was not a mix (according to the bag).
However, the carefresh basic IS a mix I think since I can't find anything that says it's 100% aspen. There could have been something in the wood shavings of any of the bags I used.

And I wondered about something getting passed from one to the other but only 2 of the cases were side by side and the other was in another room. They didn't interact at all.
But who knows...

Just goes to show fragile their lives are.