2nd hamster died in short space of time

[Blondie160]

I have the mini duna cage(for a chinese/russian dwarf). Ive had 2 hamsters in it (seperately) and both have died within about 3 months of being in it. Both have taken to crawling upside down along the metal bars, and falling off quite a lot. I just found the 2nd one dead and feel guilty that maybe its not suitable at all as they fall and hit their heads, has anyone else had similar issues? All my other hamsters have died of old age and this has really upset me.

[velma]

Hi. Welcome to HC. I'm sorry for your loss. That must have been very saddening for you. It can be hard to know what hamsters die of and virtually impossible to guess on a forum. If you've seen a fall and know they are injured (dragging a leg or something like that) it may have given a clearer indication but there are many factors that could have contributed. It may be something else in their cage that isn't so great for them, it may be a genetic weakness or illnesses such as diabetes that caused them to pass so quickly (it can happen with pet shop hamsters) and been really unlucky to have two like that.
Cage size is an emotive subject and not everyone will be a fan of the mini duna as it can be on the small size. However, I had one for one of my hams (a robo) who didn't like open spaces so it suited him perfectly. And not all Chinese hams like a large cage so it may be better for them. It really depends in the individual hamster.
With monkey barring, it's best avoided if you can so they don't fall. If they fall onto a good layer of substrate it's not so bad as the mini duna isn't very tall but if they fall into something hard then they might hurt themselves. I found with mine it was best not to have anything tall on the shelf that comes with it so they can't reach.
I would reccomend reading through some of the housing thread boards on the forum and see what cages people have for different hams and also check out what bedding and substrate is suitable to make sure you haven't used anything that might be bad for hamsters.
Please don't feel guilty, all hamster ownership is a learning curve and you've probably just been unlucky but you're being a responsible hamster owner in doing all you can to ensure any future pets have the best life you can give them.

[Pebbles82]

So sorry for your losses. Velma has said it all really. The mini duna is not very tall, so it does seem unlikely they would die from a fall if there is substrate to land on, so it may have been some other issue and just coincidence. There are other cages available that are a bit larger and would have room for a shelf. With a shelf there is less height to fall onto from the top, and you can put any hard items underneath the shelf so if they do fall it is only a short way to the shelf, or onto soft substrate. The deeper the substrate the better.

Chinese tend to be very active, so more space might help - but they can also be shy so need lots of hidey places and deep substrate to burrow in. I think it's the same for dwarf hamsters generally. People on here can also help with setting up a cage to avoid fall risks when you are ready to get another hamster.