Dead Hamster!

Question
QUESTION: My son's hamster "Chuck" died yesterday.  For the past 3 weeks he has been sluggish and slept a lot.  We thought it was the heat. Two days ago I noticed a thick greenish stain around his butt.  Could this be the symptom, could it have been treated and with what, and what would cause it and be prevented for a future pet?  Thanks -John

ANSWER: Sorry to hear that Chuck died.  It is difficult to say what caused his death as there are many illnesses that these little creatures can get.  How old was he?  Any type of discharge/pus should be investigated as it would mean there was an infection of some sort.  I have not come across this type of stain on a male, but usually diarrhoea, or in a female a white smelly discharge - are bad news.

Was he eating/drinking OK before he became sluggish? Did he suddenly become 'dull' and lifeless, was he hunched over? These are the usual symptoms that something is wrong.  Unfortunately, illness can appear quickly in these small animals and their deterioration is rapid.  By the time you realise something is wrong it is often too late to do anything.

Had you got him to the vet, he would probably have been treated with antibiotics in case of infection, and rehydrated if necessary.  Although there is no guarantee either of these treatments would have worked.

Hamsters can suffer from heat stroke as they have no way of cooling themselves down, but with this they usually collapse totally and need urgent rehydration and cooling.

Sorry I can't be more help. If you get another hamster you may well find there are no problems at all.  

Regards

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the response.  Chuck was 9 months old and was drinking his
water even during his sluggishness.  He ate till 2 days before death.  We
would occasionally supplement his diet with fruit and veges -hope that wasn't
a bad thing to do.  Could it be "Wet Tail disease"?  We bought at Petsmart. Is
there a better place to buy a hamster? My son wants to replace Chuck in a few
weeks, so we will disinfect the cage and I don't know what else we can do to
prevent it again.  Thanks for your help.   -John

Answer
Hi

It could have been wet tail - this is a very sudden death.  As you are thinking of getting another hamster, in case it was wet tail you need to thoroughly disinfect the cage for the next few weeks - if you can fill it with water and add pet disinfectant and leave it - change the water/disinfectant every few days and repeat the exercise - just to be on the safe side.

Hamsters' diets should be supplemented with fruit/veg.  I give mine a small amount every evening - avoid giving lettuce as it lacks nutrition and can cause diarrhoea  - but mine love peas, sweetcorn, cabbage, spinach, brocolli, apple, grapes etc.  Try to give a bit of variety in the diet along with their usual dry mix.  

Good luck with the next hamster - it will probably be fine - it sounds like you were just unlucky.

Regards