I woke up this morning to find our poor little hamster streched out cold, with a tiny spot of blood on his nose and a tiny spot on the side of his cage
He was fine when I went to bed last night really ative and full of life. His food dish was empty so he'd eaten.The only strange thing I noticed is for the past 4/5 days hes been draining his water bottle of every drop.
He was just about 18 months old,but I've heard they can live for 2 to 3 years. Any ideas what caused his sudden death?

I've done a little research myself, looks like the most likely thing was a stroke, hope it was quick. He was so active last night it was a real shock to find him in that state this morning

Poor little chap - if it was a stroke he probably knew nothing about it.

It's always sad when they die but it gives a chance for some other poor little chap currently living in a tiny little space in a pet shop to get a good home.

If you search back a couple of weeks I think there was a thread on sudden death of hamsters and guinea pigs, you might find that helpful.

Thanks I did sit and do a search after I got no replies. I'm almost sure he had a stroke

or better yet a rescue center, most have them in

very true!

i just had one given by a lady who had to hand rear the litter

as for your ham it will have likely been a stroke - my first ham went at 18 months, my second at 24 and my third at just 12
the first got wet tail, the second and third had a stroke

it's very sad when they go though, sorry for your loss
rest in peace little ham.

Ours died at 18 months old a couple of years ago, we sat him in is his ball for a run around as he hadn't been in it for months and he just sat there, then we realised we hadn't heard him in his wheel at night for a while too. I realised that was probably down to his age. It's distressing when they seem alright, it's such a shock but I was told ages ago that they don't have a very long life span. Big hugs for you x

Marie, I just want to say how sorry I am about your hamster. Little animals like hamsters, rats, gerbils etc can capture our hearts just as much as dogs and cats and leave us devastated when we lose them. I love rats; my last two died recently, two days apart. Both of them seemed fine hours before their death. I think, in their case, it was old age.

Comfort yourself with the thought that you gave your hamster a loving home and he had a happy life.

My first hamster lived till she was 5 years old and eventually died of a stroke.

Hope you'll be ok OP.

It's about 7 weeks now since he died(OP) and my daughters hamster who we bought at the same time(same litter) appears to be ill just feed him and noticed hes not touched yesterdays food, he did come out to see me but he's walking funny on closer examination his back legs appear to be streched out behind him and hes sort of dragging them His breathing also seems a little laboured (deep). I shall take him to the vet in the morning but until then is there anything I should do?

i'm not sure if there is, just make sure he is warm and comfortable

or maybe try to tempt him with something super tasty

He usually loves the banana chips that come in his hamster muesli,I've dug him a few out but they are still outside his house.
He always sleeps in in house curled tight up with bedding and sawdust blocking the door, but tonight his head is in but his bum is hanging out.Not like him at all

Update...It's not looking good he's usually driving me nuts by now hanging off his bars and being noisy in his wheel. Hes still half in and half out of his house, not sure wheher to try and tuck him in his house or leave him where he is

aw bless him
it's not fun seeing them unwell

is he attempting to use his rear legs at all?
and is he a similar age to the other ham?

if he is, unfortunately he is very near his life expectancy and you should be prepared that he may not recover

it will be best to see what the vet says in the morning

if it were me, i'd leave him where he is, if he is distressed, he's very likely to bite you

Yes same age was picked from the same litter at the pet shop.


Hes not bitten anyone since we trained him, hes such a friendly little guy, and do you know both him and his brother use to know when I put the PC off at night, as soon as the fan noise dies they'd hope on top of their houses stretch up in wait of their nightly choccy drop, such clever little creatures.Got a feeling he wont tonight

aw bless them, sounds sweet, fingers crossed he'll come out for his treat

i mentioned the biting as being scare, distressed or in pain can make even the most placid animals suddenly lash out
my ham, who had never bitten at all either actually latched onto my finger when i disturbed her when she was coming to pass and wouldn't let go

had to get a pen and pry her jaws off me >_>

she was as soft as anything though, loved cheetos! and chicken
she used to manage to get out of her ball too, whenever you found the empty ball, you just needed to wait for a while and she'd eventually turn up on top of the wardrobes!
must have climbed the tv cables up there

Hammie bams are so so tiny and delicate The slightest temperature drop can cause hibernation (where their little bodies get so cold and they can suddenly just give up), that happened to two of mine.. one I found just bleeding suddenly with an e-coli infection, one who's colon prolapsed... they're such tiny delicate little things. All we can do is enjoy the cheeky snuffly fluffy cute time we have with them Sorry for your loss x x

Another update and sadly the last one... I got up this morning,moved the bedding I'd placed over his back end last night and he was gone,looked like he'd just gone to sleep.
Thanks to everyone who took time to comment on this thread

I ams so sorry for your losses. Run free little hammies

very sorry to hear that MarieH