Have lost 2 hamsters similarly & mysteriously

Question
Hi there! I have had 2 Syrian hamsters in the last year; one from a pet store & the other from a friend whose hamsters had babies. The first lived to be less than a year and a half before dying suddenly - no symptoms of typical illness. The second was less than 6 months old  - i came home & found it dead today. When the first hamster died i thought it was a fluke, that it just died relatively young. This last one was simply too young. They were both curled up in their nests as if they were sleeping. I noticed with both hamsters that they seemed to be perfectly normal & healthy, but in the 24-36 hours before i found each one dead, they each had been unusually active. Both were alert and running around, using the wheel, climbing etc. during the day, when they would normally be asleep. They both continued this activity through the night as well. I'm really devastated to have lost another hamster and seriously think that something about my care or environment is causing these premature & sudden death. I was wondering if you or any of these experts had any idea of what might cause this unusual situations. i have seen nothing about this on the internet.  I obviously do not want this to happen to another hamster. Please let me know if you have any insight!
~Thanks!

Answer
Hi Tierney

I'm sorry to hear that you have lost 2 hamsters. This really is a mystery.  If they had shown signs of illness this would probably be easy to identify the cause - there is an illness that can cause a rapid death in a hamster, but the hamster isn't hyperactive beforehand - they usually struggle to breathe and collapse first.  This is an illness called aspergillosis and is caused by a hamster breathing in fungal spores that have collected either on uneaten food, soiled area of the cage or external damp conditions.

However, the fact that yours were both hyperactive before collapsing makes me wonder if perhaps you have just been unlucky and this is a coincidence.  Hamsters can behave like this if their sugar levels are wrong (some hamsters are diabetic#, or if there is a heart problem.

What types of food were you feeding them?  They should have a standard dry hamster mix and some fresh vegetables daily.  In addition to this they can have nuts, seeds, scrambled egg or a little cheese.  Hamster treats are OK but they often contain sugar/honey therefore if ever diabetes is suspected this should be eliminated from the diet immediately along with any other sugars contained in fresh/dried fruit, and in their place a mixture of sunflower, sesame, linseed and pumpkin seeds need to be given to try and help them regulate their sugar levels.  If there is diabetes or a raised glucose level, usually the hamster drinks a noticeable amount of water and their pee can smell sweet.  Did you notice anything like this?  Never feed chocolate - whilst you can buy some hamster 'chocolate' drops these are really just fat sweets which can clog up their cheek pouches.  Chocolate that is sold for human consumption is highly toxic for a hamster and can kill them so this must always be avoided as well as chocolate biscuits etc.

If you are thinking of getting another Syrian I would be tempted to take a few basic precautions - firstly, either get a new cage or thoroughly disinfect the one you have in a strong pet disinfectant.  Some pet shops sell this #it is stronger than the standard one you use for cleaning out the cage#, otherwise your vet may sell this.  Leave the cage soaking in this for a week before thoroughly rinsing with warm soapy water and allow to dry completely.  This will kill any germ that might be present.

Woodchip is fine to use providing it is isn't pine, cedar or cypress.  These contain a volatile oil that can cause skin irritation or breathing difficulties.  Always buy woodchip from a reputable pet shop and that is sold as small animal wood chip, or opt for a different type of bedding.  In addition, paper bedding is good to use for their nest rather than the fluffy cotton wool type which can get tangled around their legs.

Situate the cage in a warm area of the house - not near a window, tv/stereo speakers, or near any plants, or in any damp areas.  Cages that are close to a window can overheat. If they are too close or in a direct line with TV/stereo speakers this can stress them - as their eyesight is poor they rely heavily on their hearing and sense of smell.  If there are plants closeby that give off pollen or strong perfume, these can have an affect too.  Also, if they are in a cool/damp corner of the house this can cause aspergillosis.  Also, never spray anything near their cage - this includes insecticides, or air fresheners as these can be highly poisonous for them.  Hamsters should not be kept in a garage or similar as the car fumes will make them sick.  Avoid putting plastic houses in the hamster's cage as if they sleep and store food in this it can attract condensation and therefore fungal spores.  I personally prefer wire cages for Syrians as this allows good ventilation all round.  Any tubes/houses that I give mine are natural materials - wood, coconut shell, or there is an edible house/tube called 'snackshak' that they quite like.

If you follow these basic steps hopefully any future hamster will be fine.  If you are getting one from a pet shop - look at the cage conditions to make sure they are clean.  Select a hamster that is sleeping during the day time #females are generally much more active during the day than males and therefore this is quite normal - they tend to come out if there is any sound/movement as they like to investigate but generally they should sleep during the day and usually after a few minutes of being disturbed they head back to bed#.  When the hamster is woken and comes out of their nest they should raise their ears after a minute or two.  Their eyes should be bright and not sticky #although sticky eye is quite common and can mean nothing, sometimes it is a sign that there is an underlying health issue#.  Also, check the cage for droppings - they should be firm - if there is any sign of diarrhea, or if the hamster is showing a dirty rear end or pus/blood then definitely don't get it.  If there is any sign of diarrhea in the cage, don't get any of the hamsters, or even any from another cage in the shop.  Wet tail can cause this and it is deadly and if one hamster gets it, usually they all do.  It can be treated if action is taken immediately, but if you are getting a new hamster you don't want to bring one home with this.

I went through a phase a few years ago when I found I couldn't keep guinea pigs - about 6 or 7 died in the space of 18 months, all of which were young.  I felt dreadful about it as I was convinced that I must be doing something wrong, but sometimes things just happen like this and I must have selected guinea pigs who had come to die with me, rather than live with me.  Hopefully what has happened to you is something similar and that next time you will be OK.  When we home animals we never know for sure that they developed correctly when they were babies and it may well be that they brought with them some genetic problem that only manifested itself as they got a bit older.  I tend to offer a home to hamsters who have things wrong, legs missing or born with no eyes etc. and one time I decided I would like a completely 'healthy' hamster that had nothing wrong.  I took in a lovely 6 week old who was gorgeous.  After only a couple of weeks he collapsed suddenly and I got him to the vet who gave him a steroid injection and the hamster seemed to be fine for a few days and then died. The vet suspected that he had a congenital heart disease.  

It is very sad when something like this happens as a pet lover and I appreciate that you are concerned that you have done something wrong, but hopefully the next time you will be lucky and end up getting a hamster who lives their full life with you.

I am sorry I can't give you a definitive answer as to why your hamsters died so suddenly, but I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila