Please help me put my mind at ease :'(

[strubbyy]

My approx 2.5 year old ham just passed away sometime today while I was at work, comfy in her little burrowed hole. Needless to say I am beyond devastated. I had seen tiktoks about hamsters going into "hibernation" or torpor, and while I know that 99.9% this is NOT the case with her, I just need an outsiders' perspective to confirm because of the emotional state I'm currently in.

She was showing signs of aging and decline before this, not necessarily illness but just general energy and mobility levels decreasing with age. This evening when I found her she was very stiff in the body, but the hands and feet were still somewhat moveable (not responsive, I was just able to kind of wiggle them a bit). No breath sounds or movements. Eyes were about half-open and dull seeming, and there was no response to touch whatsoever. Also the home is a good temperature and she's never been in a room that's cold enough to trigger any type of catatonic state.

I'm so so sad and just want the anxiety to go away so I can properly say goodbye and let her rest. Can someone please just give me their perspective here? I've attached a picture of my sweet girl, Bonnie.

 

[Maz]

Hello. I'm sorry, it's such a hard time for you. It does sound like Bonnie has passed away. As you say she's never been in a room cold enough to trigger torpor. She was a very grand age at 2.5 and had been declining. It sounds like she has just peacefully passed in her sleep.

I completely understand the worry about not being sure. I've been there too. I've linked below, an article by one of our experienced members - it's about torpor, but further down there's a section about how to distinguish whether it's torpor or whether the hamster has simply passed away. But it does sound like she has passed away. The stiffness only lasts for a while and then goes away/wears off, so some parts may feel like they have movement.

It's a big shock for you as well, and hard to fathom for our hearts and brains. I had that same feeling of anxiety when one hamster passed. What I did was make a nest of tissue for him in a small open box and just observed him for a day until I was sure and my brain had accepted it. She will be fine for a day like that.

I don't know where you are in the world or what time of day it is for you (it's gone midnight in the Uk here), but if you want to know definitively you could see a vet, who can determine if she has actually passed.

I think it was just her time personally. But you have time to wait until the next day to be sure, if you don't want to see a vet.

Sending big hugs

Torpor: how to prevent, recognise and respond to it

What is torpor? Torpor is a state of low body temperature and low metabolic rate which hamsters may enter when it is very cold. It is very dangerous for hamsters, as they don’t often come out of it, especially unassisted. Therefore it is important to know how to prevent, recognise and respond to...

www.thehamsterforum.com

 

[strubbyy]

Hello. I'm sorry, it's such a hard time for you. It does sound like Bonnie has passed away. As you say she's never been in a room cold enough to trigger torpor. She was a very grand age at 2.5 and had been declining. It sounds like she has just peacefully passed in her sleep.

I completely understand the worry about not being sure. I've been there too. I've linked below, an article by one of our experienced members - it's about torpor, but further down there's a section about how to distinguish whether it's torpor or whether the hamster has simply passed away. But it does sound like she has passed away. The stiffness only lasts for a while and then goes away/wears off, so some parts my feel like they have movement.

It's a big shock for you as well, and hard to fathom for our hearts and brains. I had that same feeling of anxiety when one hamster passed. What I did was make a nest of tissue for him in a small open box and just observed him for a day until I was sure and my brain had accepted it. She will be fine for a day like that.

I don't know where you are in the world or what time of day it is for you (it's gone midnight in the Uk here), but if you want to know definitively you could see a vet, who can determine if she has actually passed.

I think it was just her time personally. But you have time to wait until the next day to be sure, if you don't want to see a vet.

Sending big hugs

Torpor: how to prevent, recognise and respond to it

What is torpor? Torpor is a state of low body temperature and low metabolic rate which hamsters may enter when it is very cold. It is very dangerous for hamsters, as they don’t often come out of it, especially unassisted. Therefore it is important to know how to prevent, recognise and respond to...

www.thehamsterforum.com

Thank you so so much, Maz. Your reassurance is very helpful and means a lot.

The rigor mortis thing makes sense- I know the body goes stiff, and she likely passed in the morning and I wouldn't have gotten to her until 6pm when I got home from work. That likely was enough time for the stiffness to leave her extremities but still affect her body.

 

[Rescued One]

So sorry to hear about Bonnie's passing; she looked adorable. I agree with Maz that she probably went peacefully in her sleep, and the stiffness was rigor mortis. I've had two hamsters pass at home, and their eyes do stay open after they pass. You can tell if they are still with you are lay a gentle finger on their side and between their front legs on their chest; if they are alive you may feel a heartbeat and you will surely feel their sides rise and fall as they breathe.
Condolences for your loss; it is amazing how such tiny lives can leave such big holes in our hearts