Wally

[elusive]

I am so sorry to hear this, it must be such a shock for you. It’s really hard when we lose a hamster suddenly & unexpectedly, especially one so young.
It isn’t always possible to know why, with a young hamster it may be that there was some abnormality or genetic problem that you would not have known about, it won’t have been anything you’ve done or anything he’s eaten in a case like that. It can be hard to accept the loss & not think you could have done things differently but you gave Wally the best life & all the love he could have wished for.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Thank you all so much for reaching out. I have also wondered if it was a genetic abnormality that we couldn't have guessed at given the circumstances. At least we were able to enjoy his company and take care of him for several months. He was a wonderful first family pet, albeit a very shy one! But still adaptable and so gentle.

 

[Maz]

I am so very very sorry to hear this. As the others say this is most likely to have been something he was born with - eg a heart defect - and it is incredibly sad - it will be incredibly hard for your daughter. Even within a pedigree litter with good ancestry this can just happen in a particular hamster sometimes. Likewise a hamster from bad breeding can be fit and healthy and live a long time. But such a bad experience for you and heartbreaking for you and your daughter. It may explain him being particularly shy and not so active.

All I can say is - he loved his cosy burrow and passed there in his sleep most likely and wouldn’t have known anything about it. And he had such love and care and a lovely home. But it is so devastating wheh the hamster is so young.

Huge hugs. It will be very hard breaking it to your daughter and it can make people quite anxious that the same thing may happen again if they get another hamster. But please be assured this is unlikely - especially if it’s a rescue hamster IMO - they have survived a bad start and still healthy.

 

[Hamster Haven]

I am so very very sorry to hear this. As the others say this is most likely to have been something he was born with - eg a heart defect - and it is incredibly sad - it will be incredibly hard for your daughter. Even within a pedigree litter with good ancestry this can just happen in a particular hamster sometimes. Likewise a hamster from bad breeding can be fit and healthy and live a long time. But such a bad experience for you and heartbreaking for you and your daughter. It may explain him being particularly shy and not so active.

All I can say is - he loved his cosy burrow and passed there in his sleep most likely and wouldn’t have known anything about it. And he had such love and care and a lovely home. But it is so devastating wheh the hamster is so young.

Huge hugs. It will be very hard breaking it to your daughter and it can make people quite anxious that the same thing may happen again if they get another hamster. But please be assured this is unlikely - especially if it’s a rescue hamster IMO - they have survived a bad start and still healthy.

Thank you so much! Very reassuring.

 

[Coco61]

I am shocked and saddened to read this news about Wally. Other members are right though, young hamsters can pass away suddenly and for no obvious reason. It has absolutely nothing to do with the love and care they have had at home as you now know. Your poor daughter will need much comforting but there is no blame or guilt in this situation. Please reassure her of that. Some sort of small but tangible memorial may help you both.
This really can be so. I have had 2 Syrian males that both lived to be well over 2 years old even though both needed vet care in later months. In between them came another Syrian boy who was 2 months old when he came home with me and he only lived for another 2 months. His tummy was slightly swollen so maybe a tumour at an extraordinarily young age. I will never know for sure. It just happens.
Hugs to you both

 

[Hamster Haven]

C.C. had a good cry this morning but is in good spirits now. I let her pet Wally one last time in his box coffin (my husband's instinct was against showing her his body, but my instinct was for it and when I asked she wanted to pet him). Then she asked to write on his coffin and wrote "Here lies Wally, the best and cutest hamster ever," and we plan to bury him in the backyard. Her instinct is to get another hamster that looks as close to Wally as possible, but we'll see if that actually happens. She gets little waves of sadness, but is handling it well. My husband talked to her about what she thought he might be doing in "hamster heaven."

Now I'm cleaning out his cage and toys so that we can be ready for our next one. Practical question: do you do anything to sanitize or clean more porous items such as a coconut hideaway, grass tunnel, wooden or paper-based chew toys? Do you reuse or just throw away?

 

[RainbowBrite]

Oh that is such a lovely message your daughter wrote for Wally.

I personally would throw away the items you listed. With things like cork logs and grapevine wood you can pop them in the oven on a low heat for 45 minutes.

 

[Coco61]

It was lovely to involve your daughter in this way if she wanted. It does help greatly to say goodbye like this.
Once buried outside, perhaps plant some thing over the spot to mark it. A plant or flowers that will bloom every spring.

 

[Maz]

That is lovely she has adjusted like that. When our first syrian passed I also wasn't sure whether stepson should see him or not - he was looking comfy in a little cardboard coffin with tissue paper. But my stepson said he wanted to see him so I thought he should. I just said it looks like he's sleeping peacefully - which it did.

Yes I think it's a good idea to get another hamster now - whether it's one that looks like Wally or not.

Disinfecting. I would bin cardboard grassy things or chew toys. Things like a coconut hut could be baked. Wood is debatable - if it's smooth wood like the house it could just be wiped clean with pet disinfectant and rinsed - if it's wipe clean (sometimes people paint them with petsafe waterproofing paint so they're wipe clean). If it isn't painted or wipe clean I probably wouldn't use it - mainly because it could retain the smell of the previous hamster for quite some time and if you don't know what he died of. But you could keep it stored away and in time, in the future, it could be reused. Things like rough bark wood like bendy bridges - some people bin them, some bake them. Ceramic is easy, it can just be washed or disinfected- also plastic and metal. You need a petsafe disinfectant though for small animals.

 

[Hamster Haven]

It was nice that Wally was curled in a little sleeping ball. He just looked like a hamster normally curled up for sleep, which it made it comfortable for closure. After my daughter pet him I started to put more bedding on top of him and she didn't like that. I had to brush it off and show her him again and she approved- sitting peacefully on top of bedding. She played some games with her friends and now she is drawing pictures for him and writing out his "will."

 

[Member ID2]

Our Robo Bernard lives in the spot where our first Syrian Henry lived and then our Syrian Rodney who was my heart hamster.

Both their pictures are in frames on the wall and watching over Bernard like his two furry guardian angels.

It's just a thought that may appeal to C.C. to have Wally watching over the new hamster.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Our Robo Bernard lives in the spot where our first Syrian Henry lived and then our Syrian Rodney who was my heart hamster.

Both their pictures are in frames on the wall and watching over Bernard like his two furry guardian angels.

It's just a thought that may appeal to C.C. to have Wally watching over the new hamster.

I think she would love that. I'll have to suggest it. I plan to make a photo book of him, too, through one of those companies like shutterfly or even Google Photos.

 

[Hamster Haven]

Yesterday was filled with ups and downs, as one might expect with a death. C.C. perked up throughout the day and decided that Wally's ghost was with her and she could hear him respond to her questions and "feel his warmth" next to her in bed. But as soon as the lights went out the real missing came back and we had sobbing for quite a bit before falling asleep.

I'm waiting to hear back from the only ethical breeder we have in our area- for all I know she could be on vacation right now. I've tried looking up rescues, but we also don't have a reliable rescue place for hamsters in the area, so I don't see much advertised. Sometimes our local Petland has them, but they are rare.

Attached are some drawings and things that C.C. made during the day yesterday- and also a Wally-themed snack plate.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Aw, it is understandable this has hit CC hard. Wally was so loved by her. You may find a hamster on the classified ads too. I know lots of people post their hamsters on those sites.

 

[elusive]

It’s so hard learning to deal with grief & loss at her age but those are lovely & she being so creative with all that love she feels.
I hope you can find another hamster somewhere soon.

 

[Member ID2]

It will take a while for C.C. to process what happened. It's difficult enough for us adults emotionally.
Have you tried craigs list? I think that's the equivalent of gumtree over here.

 

[Maz]

It does sound like finding another hamster is a bit of a priority. Private ads are a good idea. You can sometimes find a tame friendly, young hamster where "child has lost interest".

 

[Hamster Haven]

I know this isn't rational, but I look back now and Wally had a swollen or distended belly and had lost a small amount of weight (10g), which I didn't notice until a few days before he died. I didn't know to recognize the belly as a sign of possible cysts or a tumor then, and I thought the weight loss was odd, but I thought maybe I'd weighed him improperly at some point since I couldn't see the weight loss visually. I don't know that a vet would have been able to do anything anyway. But it still comes into my mind from time to time and I wonder if I could have changed anything if I'd taken him to the vet. I just hate that this happened when he was only about 5 months old. If he were older, I'd just say it was natural ailment with age, but I know many of you have said you've also had a hamster from time to time who died unexpectedly at a younger age. Still processing. Still miss him

 

[RainbowBrite]

I can understand looking back and trying to work it all out. Please remember that it is easy to say that in hindsight but at the time Wally was eating and drinking as usual and did not appear to be unwell at all. I have my first hamster just like Wally was yours and it is so hard to notice and know what is normal or not at times.

Just remember, Wally was so dearly loved by you all. You cared enough to join this forum, ask advice and were so open minded about taking on board any suggestions. I strongly suspect there was a genetic reason for Wally's passing. It is very sad it happened at such a young age and I think him being your first hamster will be even more of a shock. Please be gentle with yourself.

 

[Maz]

Firstly - big hugs. Secondly - it was nothing you have done or could have done. It is actually a normal part of the grieving process to feel you could have done more or "what ifs". But the reality is - he showed no real sign of illness. He just passed in his sleep. Sometimes their tummy's do feel a bit distended normally - it was massively so, you'd have noticed. He didn't feel different when you held him so more likely the scales weren't reading properly. If a hamster lost 10g it would be really quite noticeable.

It is such an incredibly hard thing to process when they are so young but in hindsight (for me) maybe he never was 100% - he did hide away a lot and wasn't that active. It is more likely he was born with a heart condition x