My hamster died, i need to put my mind at rest

Question
Yesterday i found my hamster dead, it looked very peacefully in a sleeping position with its eyes closed and i was upset but not distraught when i thought it died of old age, but when it came to removing the hamster i noticed blood had come from its anus and it looked like its insides where coming from the anus, but i didn't want to look closely so i am not sure, there was a little blood on the bedding and i have no i dead what has happened, it was well cared for, i had it out every day, fed every day and watered, its house was usually very clean, it had been acting normally and its feces were healthy. please put my mind at rest and tell my what has happened. thankyou

Answer
Hi Josie,

I'm sorry to hear your hamster died. But I must give you credit for how well you have been looking after your hammy, and I'm sure wherever she is, she is happy :)

anyway, I think whats happened here is called 'rectal prolapse' and its usually caused by constipation. when the hamster is straining to use the toilet, it can push so hard that the intestines fall out, it is more common in old hamsters when the muscles become weaker.

this was just an unfortunate accident and there wasn't much you could do to stop it, so please don't worry yourself.

Thank you so much for your question and if theres anything else you need, just ask :)

Joanne x