# Help - Hamster sudden death



## Miidgetxx (Apr 1, 2021)

Hello All, 

Just looking for some thoughts and opinions as to what possible happened to my hamster! 

He was no older than 10 weeks. Up until Tuesday he was absolutely fine . No issues . He was drinking and eating fine, playful, handling well etc. 

Then we got him out Tuesday night and noticed his eyes were all sticky and one of them was bulging as seen in the photo. 
We wiped them with warm water and a cotton Bud . 

We then let him having a run around and he kept falling over on to his back. He was really off balance and didn’t appear well at all. 

We popped him back in his bed to have some rest. 

in the morning he was dead. 

Anyone know what could have happened!!?


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Ok this sucks but you should have taken him to a vet either to get medicine or put him out of his misery. It sounds like an infection which has gone into the brain  
But it would be longer than a few days. 

Where did you get him from as another reason could be a tumour of some sort.

Trauma being a third option.

In the future, if you see anything wrong with your hamster, take them to a vet as they can deteriorate very quickly as you can see. Simply popping them back in the cage for some rest isn't good enough as it wont get better.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Sorry for your loss but agree he should have been taken to the vet.


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## Tiggers (May 27, 2014)

I fully endorse the above comments.


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## Miidgetxx (Apr 1, 2021)

Hey guys . Thanks for you replies. 

We were going to take him to the vet that morning. 
When we saw him with his sore eye it was 1am in the morning and we don’t have a 24hr vet around my area. 

And we got him from Pets at Home.


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## Tiggers (May 27, 2014)

Where you got him from speaks volumes. [email protected] should be prevented from stocking animals.


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## Miidgetxx (Apr 1, 2021)

Tiggers said:


> Where you got him from speaks volumes. [email protected] should be prevented from stocking animals.


Can I ask why?


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## Tiggers (May 27, 2014)

They have a deplorable track record for small animal care, advice and knowledge.


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## Engel98 (Oct 7, 2018)

Miidgetxx said:


> Can I ask why?


To start off they get them from rodent mills. These are like puppy mills. The dont care about the animal they just churn out as many as possible as fast as possible for money. Theyre kept in terrible conditions which can cause illness and injury and most are sold with these illnesses/injuries and told 'its normal' and 'healthy'. The genetics are horrendous too. They don't care about their lines. Just breed and breed and breed so genetic issues are passed on and they dont care as i mentioned its all about the money. Also why theyre such cheap pets to buy. Theyre deemed disposable unfortunately. Sad, but true.

Also i will state that issues like you describe dont happen over night or within a few hours. While they do develop and take hold quickly, it doesnt happen in the space of a few hours. Its obvious it had been going on for a while before that.


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