my daughters hamster died

Question
My daughter had a black Syrian hamster (Hammie), a male that we bought right after Christmas at Petco.  He was VERY active for the first month, so much so that we were wary of taking him out as he had a habit of nipping the kids.  But, he was loved, talked to, played with and eventually, he calmed down.  We took him out usually once a day (although not always once a day) kept his cage spotless, his water bottle full and his food bowl stocked.  We fed him fruit and veggies about once every week or so, carrots, apples, grapes.  In the past month, he had started to become sort of aloof, staying in his "condo" (a petting deck in the top of the cage) and hording all the biggest seeds and veggies and burying them up there.  As soon as we would fill his bowl, he'd pick out the biggest seeds, put them in his pouch and bury them upstairs.  His activity at night began to dwindle.  In the past few days, I had neglected his cage (usually cleaned out 1-2 times a week).  I filled his food bowl last night and this evening we went to take him out to change his bedding and he was dead.  My daughter is heartbroken.  She wants a new hamster, but before we commit, I want to know if we did anything to make this happen, if we bought the wrong hamster and what we can do to make a different hamsters life longer than poor Hammie.  Thanks for any help you can offer!  Leslie

Answer
Hi Leslie,

I'm very sorry for your loss :(

It doesn't seem as if you did anything wrong.  In fact, you sound like a great hamster parent!  

The hamster probably had something wrong with it for a while, even before you brought him home (perhaps an inherited disease).  Or, he could have suddenly had a stroke.  Strokes are most common in older hamsters (2 years +), but they can occur in younger hamsters.

Make sure you use Aspen or Carefresh beddings.  Pine and Cedar beddings are dangerous to small animals and cause respiatory infections.  (It doesn't sound like your hamster had respiratory problems, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway.)

So, as I stated before, it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.  I'm sure you'll have better luck with the next hamster :)

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask :)

Kelly