Our 2 year-old Syrian hamster is dying. Noticed on Wed. evening that she was shaking and felt her and she was stone cold. Picked her up and she bit me hard which isn't like her as we held her from buying her so she was very tame. Rang the PDSA and a vet rang me back and said it's just old age and some are just found dead and some linger. He said it's best just to leave her to die peacefully. She's not drinking even. Anyone had one linger like this and how long before it died? When we say her name she lifts her head slightly and opens her eyes. So sad really.

i have a baby hamster called gengis...this has made me feel really sad, i wouldnt know what to do, poor little thing

Aww that is so sad, but I know that hamsters do not live very long. Is there another vet you could take her to?, as it would be kinder to have her put to sleep rather than have her linger on for too much longer.
Good luck

It'll pass away sometime in the next day, maybe 2. This has happened to a number of our hamsters and we just made sure they were nice and comfortable in their bedding and they were usually dead by the next morning.

Sorry to hear this, OP, your poor little hamster.

Take it to the vet and get him/her put to sleep.
Its not a nice thing to go through but at least you can send them to the hamster wheel in the sky and they dont have to suffer any more.

Take it to the vet, it's not fair to let it suffer. We sadly had to take one of ours to be put down about a month ago due to a prolapse.

Aww poor little mite. Please get him to the vet and get him put to sleep. If he isnt drinking then letting him dehydrate to death is long and painful
We have a hamster aged about 8 months called Elvis and am dreading the day he goes

I had a degu who was dying and took her to the vet who did the decent thing, it will make you feel better too as it will be over and done with

Dying of old age (which your hamster is doing) is not pleasant - it's a gradual shut down of the major organs over many days which does cause pain. Take her to the vets to be put to sleep asap.

I've had millions of gerbils (ok, not actually millions!) and they always die this way after 3-4 years.

I would disagree with the other posters and say not to take him to the vet. The trip would be very traumatic for him and I think you should definately let him die in peace. He'll be sleeping most of the time.

When mine are dying I hold the water bottle up to their mouths for a little bit a few times a day and feed them porridge oats. It's all they can muster the energy to really eat.

The way I see it, is that its better then dying of some disease. He'll be more peaceful then you think and he'll probably just feel really dozy.

It's very sad but it's the course of life and I bet you've given him a very good life.

((hugs))

As a hamster owner myself (and a lover of hamsters) why not just take it to the vets and do the right thing?

It is not fair to let the animal suffer.

It's sad that Hamsters (nearly put Humans there ) don't have a long life span. We had 4 Hamsters growing up (Sonic, Knuckles, Snowy and Sandy) and they only lived for about 3 years.

i really am fond of hamsters, they are lovely little things. if i were in your position i would just keep the hamster home with me and let it go peacefully. i am sorry for you OP, losing an animal is tough. i'm not a dog person really but when our family dog died, it devastated me, probably because i felt guilty because i didn't give it the time it deserved

i had a hamster when i was a kid, my idiot father used to let it leave it's cage and roam the house. i hated him doing that because i had this feeling that one day it would never come back. needless to say, i was right. it bit through our alarm wires and electrocued itself. it was found on its back with it's fur sticking up...

It won't be dying peacefully though Not taking it to the vets to be put down is making it suffer even more as it's not even able to eat or drink. Also taking it to the vet won't be traumatic as someone else said earlier.

I agree that taking him to the vet would put him at rest but I still think it would be traumatic and I don't think it's necessary.

It's nature. Millions of animals in the wild and domesticated, die every day of natural causes. It's nature and it shouldn't be messed with.

Nature is a wonderful thing and don't think dying of natural causes would be painful. I don't think he's suffering at all.

Our hamster was lingering for a couple days. Very sad. In the end I couldn't let him suffer any longer and took him to the vet to be put down. The vet said although he wasn't suffering as such, he was very tired and could have lingered on for a few more days. Putting him to sleep was the kindest thing to do.

Our hamster didnt linger for long, bless her. One day she was lying still, breathing oddly. The next day she'd gone. I found her in the morning and had to wait all day to tell my daughter. She was heartbroken.

Tomorrow I've got to tell her that her cat has escaped from the cattery and can't be found....

Animals dying of old age do die in pain - we just don't see their pain in most cases if they are small rodents, etc.

I did try to let my first dog die of old age. When it was obvious he was going to die, I booked a vets at home put to sleep after the weekend - I wanted him and me to have a last weekend. However, I ended up rushing him to the vets to be pts because he was really in pain - dying by organ failure (the natural death) is not a painless death.

That's what the PDSA vet I spoke to yesterday said.


Thanks for all the replies.

Please don't go off the opinion of one vet only. Most vets won't let a hamster suffer like that.

I've heard to opposite. I think scaring the poor blighter, having a needle shoved in him and taking away his life before he's ready is not the sensible option.

But it's up to the OP. We would like to know how your little hamster is doing OP?

A vet is a business just like any other and they need their wages paying too. That's why they charge ridiculous prices.

My hamster died today after 3 years

Very very tame loveable creature who'd let you touch and play with him all day long (never ever bit a sole)

Long overdue death though, he's had enormous tumours all over his body for the last year. There are some little miracles in nature though - 3 years is a long time for a hammy.

He died quietly with plenty of food and water, and was all cosied up in a ball - so I hope even with his tumours he felt no pain.

Just seen the update. Thanks OP. I hope you are ok.

She's asleep all the time now but still breathing. I'll ring another vet first thing tomorrow if she's still alive and ask another opinion and will maybe take her to be put down.