The death of a pet is always associated with disappointment and heartache. Those who are planning to get a hamster should remember that its life is very short. Even in ideal conditions, the rodent will die within 2-3 years. If you do not surround the animal with care and love, then its life will end even faster.
Let's find out what most often causes pet hamsters to die, how to determine the approach of death, and what to do in the event of the death of a pet.
How do hamsters die?
The average life expectancy of pets is 2-3 years, but this period is much shorter when the conditions for keeping the hamster are inappropriate. If he experiences stress, often gets sick, or gets injured, he will soon die.
Signs of deterioration in the animal’s condition:
- loss of shine in coat and eyes;
- weight change;
- hair thinning;
- loss of appetite;
- problems with bowel movements;
- limb dysfunction;
- lack of response to external stimuli;
- breathing disorder.
But these signs do not always mean death. Rather, this is a reason to pay attention to your pet’s health problems. However, changes in behavior are possible:
- unreasonable squeak of complaint;
- low activity;
- aggression towards relatives and people;
- long sleep;
- change in habits (the hamster cannot tolerate any food);
- negative reaction to your favorite food.
Heart diseases
- Congestive heart failure in hamsters is a likely cause of death for hamsters that die suddenly. This occurs when old or genetically predisposed hamsters have weakened heart muscles that cannot pump blood effectively. Respiratory distress, erratic movements, edema (fluid retention in the abdomen), and bluish discoloration of the skin are possible symptoms.
- Atrial thrombosis is extremely common in older hamsters and occurs in up to 70%. Thrombosis usually occurs secondary to heart failure. Some symptoms include cyanosis (legs appear blue), hyperpnea (rapid breathing), and death after a week of these symptoms.
- Some diseases, such as polymyopathy, can be hereditary. Transmitted by a recessive gene, the disease affects the heart and weakens the muscles, eventually leading to early death due to heart failure in some hamsters.
- One study observing changes in "healthy" and cardiomyopathic (CM) hamsters found that CM hamsters had a shorter lifespan and had previously undergone damaging pathological changes in their hearts. Some of these hamsters died as early as 11-13 months naturally. It is therefore possible that heart failure will occur well below the hamster's life expectancy.
Causes of hamster death
When a pet dies, over time the desire to have another appears. Hamsters do not live long, so you should prevent the possibility of the slightest impact of negative external factors in the future:
1 age: nature provides certain functions, features of the life support of the body of living beings; in hamsters, internal organs can work for no more than 2-3 years, even if ideal conditions for existence are created, this is the average duration of the period during which the natural process of maturation and aging of the body occurs;
2 improper nutrition: hamsters react poorly to low-quality food, this means that you cannot give them rotten vegetables, as well as exotic fruits, sour, salty, smoked foods, snacks (chips, crackers, etc.), spicy foods are also prohibited, do not you should offer your pet food that will have a bad effect on a small body, including semi-finished products, ready-made food containing preservatives, dyes;
3 colds: the life of a hamster depends on the conditions of detention, because these animals are highly susceptible to temperature changes, ultraviolet radiation (direct sunlight), swimming in water is harmful to the pet, it is important to prepare special sand for this, and the ambient temperature was +20... +22°C, the animal must not be hypothermic;
4 other diseases: a hamster can get sick from eating excess amounts of sweets, this contributes to the development of diabetes, in addition, there is a risk of developing tumors, while the symptoms of the disease are not always obvious, much more often animals are exposed to infections, which also contributes to a shortening of life;
5 constant stress: it is not so difficult to bring a hamster to a heart attack or stroke, these animals are susceptible to stress, it is enough to scare them sharply, for example, by turning on the light, clapping your hands, the hamster reacts poorly to the appearance of large animals (cat, dog), even when they are calm presence puts small pets into a state of stress, not to mention loud barking;
6 improper care: it is necessary to remove excrement, change the bedding, thanks to this the risk of developing infectious diseases is reduced, it is still necessary to control the pet’s supplies, the hamster collects food in bins, but the air temperature in the room is quite high, they can spoil, however, you cannot throw away the animal’s food , he will experience stress, you need to change supplies to fresh food;
7 injury: a hamster is a fragile creature, the slightest careless blow, a fall can lead to injury, you should not squeeze the animal too much, which is especially important to explain to children, you should not allow walking on tables, cabinets, or other high objects, because the hamster does not realize that is in a dangerous place, it is necessary to provide for all possible scenarios.
Wet Tail
"Wet tail" is a general term used to describe diarrhea in hamsters and may also be called proliferative ileitis, regional enteritis, terminal ileitis, regional enteritis, enzootic intestinal adenocarcinoma, atypical ileal hyperplasia and hamster enteritis in golden hamsters. It is one of the most common spontaneous diseases of hamsters and is often isolated as a bacterial infection in young hamsters (3-10 weeks).
Diarrhea in adult hamsters may be due to bacteria; they cause Tyzzer's disease and are associated with parasites, overcrowding, high fever, malnutrition and stress. Cryptosporidium infection has also been associated with wet tail. It is observed only in animals with weakened immune systems.
An easy way to tell if your pet has had a wet tail is by looking for moisture around the hamster's genital area. They may also become dehydrated. Other symptoms include weight loss, anorexia, dirty coat, lethargy and hunched posture. Stress may be a contributing factor in the development of this disease. Sometimes survivors of wet tail may develop and die from a complete or partial ileal obstruction. Unfortunately, it has a mortality rate of up to 90%, and death usually occurs within 24-48 hours after the first symptoms appear.
Is it possible to save a hamster?
Under normal conditions, a hamster's heart rate is 180-200 beats per minute - a very high rhythm, which contributes to wear and tear on the organ. This is the main reason why a hamster is exposed to external factors, is easily injured, and quickly dies. It is sometimes very difficult to save it, but much depends on the type of disease and the stage of its development. If the malignant tumor has developed greatly, nothing can be done.
Heart attack, stroke, diabetes mellitus are diseases in which there is often no hope of saving a pet. If the cause of your pet’s poor health is an infection, then the likelihood of a cure is high. It is important what condition the animal is in. At the initial stage of the disease, quality care will help restore your pet’s health.
Learn more about under what circumstances it is possible to help your pet get out:
- prompt response to heart attack, stroke;
- infectious diseases subject to timely antibiotic therapy;
- eating disorders (problems with the digestive tract);
- fractures, injuries;
- maintaining appetite and mobility during developing diseases of the pet.
What to do after the death of an animal
But even preventive measures and careful care will not stop the onset of old age. If the hamster has reached old age, sooner or later it will have to be buried after death. In this case, you need to find out what to do according to the law. A hamster is a very small rodent. It can be buried in the local area, or in a park or planting - where there is a low probability of digging up the earth. Cadaveric poison harms the environment, but this is acceptable harm in this case, since the pet is small in size.
Relatives can arrange a small funeral. There are special funeral agencies that provide similar services: they have cemeteries for pets and the ability to cremate a pet. However, the cost of such a funeral will be high.
If the owners of the hamster valued them very much, they can try to carry out such a procedure, especially since this method of burial will alleviate the child’s condition after the loss of the pet.
Other infections
Hamsters can be susceptible to a variety of viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections.
- Hamster polyoma virus (HaPV) causes epizootic lymphoma in young Syrian hamsters and epithelioma in aged enzootically infected hamsters; the latter develop skin tumors.
- Hamster lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LMCV) is a zoonotic disease (can be transmitted to humans) that is fatal to small rodents. Symptoms: exhaustion, anorexia, lethargy, weight loss, seizures, blepharitis and hunched posture.
- Bacterial pseudomycetoma requires excision.
- Hamsters infested with mites usually recover after treatment, however failure to respond to treatment indicates an underlying severe illness and often results in death. These major factors include cancer, stress, old age, kidney disease, malnutrition and hyperadrenocorticism.
- Fungal infections in hamsters are rare.
Preventing premature death
To increase the lifespan of a hamster, you can follow the recommendations:
- change the water in the cage every day;
- remove excrement regularly;
- provide adequate nutrition: give nuts, fruits, grains, vegetables;
- provide an opportunity for physical activity - install a wheel;
- the cage should not be in a draft, but the room should be well ventilated;
- The animal does not tolerate ultraviolet radiation well; the cage must be removed from the bright sun.
It is important to know that hamsters do not tolerate being around loud electrical appliances.
How to correctly convey information about the death of a hamster to a child
If a small pet lives at home, adults need to prepare in advance for its care, since the life of a hamster is short. When something irreparable happens, in order to reduce the intensity of the child’s experience, the truth should be told. It is not necessary to go into detail, but it is important to explain that when a hamster dies, it goes to a good place where it finds peace. You cannot say that he was taken to his grandmother or somewhere else, the child will be waiting for a pet. Believing that an animal lives somewhere will cause severe pain later, and at the same time, trust in parents will be lost if the truth is revealed.
Stress
Stress is not a disease, but a condition that can dramatically affect your hamster's lifespan by weakening its immune system, leading to illness. The bacterium can be opportunistic in stressed immunocompromised hamsters. Stress can also aggravate pre-existing conditions such as heart disease. It is generally assumed that hamsters that die unexpectedly died from a heart attack or stroke, which can be caused by acute or chronic stress. This may also be a normal age-related death.
How to cope with the death of a hamster
You can overcome the bitterness of losing a pet if you try to follow the recommendations. But you should prepare for the fact that this will take some time, you should not try to set deadlines for yourself, it is important that the pain you experience goes away naturally.
Preparing for loss
The pet will not live long; this must be remembered at the stage of acquiring it. The average lifespan of such animals is 2.5 years. If the owners take home a hamster under this condition, it means that closer to the end of this period, preparations need to be made:
- learn to recognize the symptoms: a pet can often get sick when old age sets in, the body weakens, the risk of developing pathologies increases, body functions are disrupted, you should monitor the animal more closely, devote more time to it, provide careful care;
- consult with someone who can help you: you can contact a psychologist or someone who has already experienced this, it is important to understand what awaits the owners in the future, get some advice on care and burial;
- take into account the physical suffering of the hamster: you need to pay attention to the state of the animal’s body, if it is sick and in pain, it may be necessary to consider the option of euthanasia, the owners should not feel guilty about this;
- prepare your friends and family members: knowing that the animal will die soon, you need to talk with loved ones, it is important to support each other, and find the meaning of life after the death of the animal in something else.
Keeping a Dying Hamster Comfortable
In the last days the animal is given rest. He must feel the love of his owners. Then the animal's death will be more peaceful. What should you do if you are aware of premature care due to illness:
- do not pick up your pet too often: there is no need to disturb the animal, the hamster may experience pain due to illness, in addition, body functions gradually fade away, so excess contact will cause discomfort to the pet;
- feed and water the hamster well: despite the decline in vital functions, the pet still needs food, water, you need to clean the cage, change the bedding, and this should be done more often than before, because the hamster’s functions (digestion, bowel movements and etc.).
Experiencing your own grief
You need to not only take care of your elderly pet, but also think about yourself and your loved ones, who will also suffer after the death of the animal. What to do:
1 realize your own grief due to the loss of a hamster: it is important not to close yourself off from what happened, but to accept all the feelings that arise, because they will not disappear, but will be buried at the bottom of the soul, sooner or later they will rise, they will have to be lived;
2 give yourself time: you don’t need to try to speed up the period of grief, no one knows how long it will take, because everything is individual, you should allow yourself to experience the pain, perhaps you need to take a day off from work so as not to think about anything else;
3 talk with friends and relatives: you shouldn’t be alone, probably other family members are also grieving, it’s important to support each other, talk, because if you keep all your feelings to yourself, they will accumulate, sooner or later they will find a way out, which can cause more pain;
4 save good memories: you can share funny stories about your pet with loved ones, save photos, videos, make a memory album, at first the memories may cause pain, but soon you will want to review the pictures with the hamster, so you should not throw everything away;
5 write down your feelings: knowing that hamsters do not live long, you need to prepare, you can write down your feelings both before the death of the animal and after, this will allow you to give vent to your feelings, relieve pain, perhaps look at the situation differently, see the death of a hamster as a natural phenomenon which cannot be avoided;
6 contact your fellow sufferers: not every person can understand the pain of losing a pet, because its depth is determined by the degree of sensitivity, sentimentality, so you need to prepare for sarcasm and jokes from loved ones, it is better to find special forums where people share their experiences in connection with the loss of a pet.
Recovery after loss
When your beloved hamster dies, it takes time to get over the tragedy. It may take several weeks, months or 1 year to process grief. The timing in this case does not matter, because it is important to let go of all negative feelings. You can speed up this process with these tips:
- become a volunteer at an animal shelter: when going through difficult moments in life, you need to try to give energy, thereby alleviating your condition, you need to forget about the pain for a while, concentrate on the animals that need to be saved (sick, hungry), this will help take your mind off grief, survive it faster, and also benefit others;
- find yourself a new friend: one day the hamster’s owners will stop constantly remembering what happened before, the pain will subside, life will return to its normal track, then you can think about purchasing another pet, it could be a hamster or another animal, the main thing is to approach it responsibly acquisition issue;
- return to everyday life: sooner or later you will have to return to work, to study, to do your usual things, to manage your daily life and home, this is a natural process of life, so you need to accept the fact of changing periods of grief and joy;
- remember that everything will be fine: it is important to keep in mind the idea that any pain becomes less intense over time, it may not go away completely, but people learn to live with it, negative feelings pass, balance returns to life, faith in it will also help you overcome a difficult period.
After death a hamster: what you should never do
When a pet dies, a person does not always know how to behave. First reactions and actions are often wrong and can lead to negative consequences. What not to do:
- withdraw into oneself, avoid any conversation and communication, and for a long time;
- drinking alcohol is one of the ways to escape from reality, to replace it;
- throw away things related to the hamster: the death of an animal causes pain, and a person tries to eliminate its cause, but over time he may regret what he did;
- immerse yourself in work, other activities, and not experience the feelings that arise;
- concentrate on your pain, forgetting that other family members are also experiencing and need support, because together it will be easier to endure the loss.
