Pneumonia in hamsters

[PaulJD]

Hi All,

This is very strange only now writing to you all just an hour after our beloved little Astrid (Syrian Hamster) died in our arms as we raced 60 miles to get to a specialist.

We are currently beating ourselves up about how did we not see the signs, at 12:40 today she got up and was walking around like she was drunk with heavy breathing so we took her to the vet. The vet checked her over and said she looks a little dopey and just prescribed her Septrin.

We took her home and she was just acting all dopey and tired still until we felt her temp drop, this was 6 hours later, the second vet told us she is really struggling to breathe now and it may be better to put her to sleep or have her in an oxygen bed or a specialist clinic. we opted for her to see a specialist but sadly on the way there she died in my partners arms.

We are both so distraught, she was 20 months old and so full of life only last night, we just cant seem to get our heads around how we didn't see this coming and was it our fault?

Thanks for listening.

Paul

[Rads]

I am so sorry for your loss reading your post brought a lump to my throat.

Our little furry friends can go down hill so rapidly it is almost beyond belief.

I hope that your little furry friend where ever she is now is enjoying a walnut and creating a little bit of hammy chaos

[cypher]

Hi Paul.
I'm really sorry to hear you've had such a distressing experience, don't blame yourself, these things can develop very very quickly & with such a tiny animal something like a respiratory infection can sometimes become overwhelming too quickly for us to help them, it's possible there was an underlying condition, perhaps organ weakness from age that you could not have been aware of.
You did everything you could for your little one, do try to take comfort in that.

[Nancy's Hamsters]

Also do know Hamsters can hide their illnesses very very well and only when the illness is well advanced will you be able to see something is wrong. You and your partner did nothing wrong and it is not any ones fault. You both did all you could do for your hamster and she knew that you loved her. She must have felt very comfortable in your partners hands to leave this realm and go on to other places.

Hugs to you and your Partner during this hard times of Love. May Astrid live on forever in your hearts and memories.