Hamster Death-very disturbing

Question
Ms. Jones,
I bought two dwarf hamsters at the pet store about one month ago.  One was smaller and albino, the other grey.  The white hamster(sammy) seemed to always have a lot of energy.  The grey hamster (paws) was more laid back and friendly. Today when  I came home from the gym I found both of the hamsters in the petting compartment of their cage.  Paws was eating Sammy's head!  I am really disturbed, I am up tonight typing this e-mail because I am so upset.  My hamsters sleep and eat together.  They sometimes squeek at each other, but have not hurt each other or had a change in behavior.  I check on them, and visit with them several times a day.  They had food and water, and I had just cleaned their cage two days ago,  The only change that I can think of is the grey hamster has increased in size while sammy has not gotten any bigger.  I did notice Sammy was a little bit lethargic today when I opened the cage door to feed them.  She usually wakes right up and comes over to smell me, but she took longer to wake up.  Did paws kill sammy? Or did sammy die first?  Like I said I check on them frequently, this happened pretty fast, sammy had not been dead long.  Is this normal hamster behavior?  Paws was the hamster that was less dominant, not agressive at all.  It was sammy that I always kept an eye on.  She would always be more prone to bite and steal food.  They had plenty of food in their cage, and I frequently give them equal proportions of snacks.  Paws has always been my favorite and the more sociable one of the two.  But now I am so disturbed by what happened, I can't bring myself to interact with her.  And I am kind of afraid to hold her because of this strange incident.  I will be honest, this has been a horifying experience.  I really have gotten attached to my hamsters.  As of yesterday they were healthy and happy and slept and ate next to each other.  And then tonight I opened the cage and it was like something off of a horror movie.  I just keep thinking of how my little sammy could have died and been in pain when this was happening to her, and if I could have checked on her a little earlier I would have known something was wrong and seperated them.  Is there anywhere I can take the other hamster paws?  I want to do the humane thing, but I think I am throwing in the towel.  I told my husband that this is it, another pet will not enter this house again.  I feel somehow responsible and I never want something like this to happen again.  I appreciate your help, thanks

Answer
Hello, I am so sorry for your lost but I must say please don't throw in the towel. Hamsters are generally cannibals by nature and that is something I've seen a lot of working at the store. It's a normal behavior thing especially when dominance becomes a part of the situation. I can not tell you for certain whether or not Paws killed Sammy or Sammy died from something internal. I wouldn't give up on Paws though, he doesn't know he has done anything wrong by eating his friend. He thought he was recycling the body.If you truly want to give him away, you can take him to a humane society and they will try to adopt him out. I'd call first to make sure they take in small animals. It's not your fault that this happaned it's hamster nature for them to eat each other. Even if you had checked in on them earlier you still couldn't forcast what would happen a few minutes later or the next day. I know you must be afraid to hold her because of this and you're pretty upset that one of your babies died, but it's not your fault. Generally dwarf hamsters are social and sometimes quarrel with each other. In working with dwarf hamsters I think have maybe seen one or two incidents of where they ate each other, generally the bigger ones do it for dominance. Since Sammy was generally more aggressive then Paws I would really like to conclude that Sammy probably died before Paws got to him and Paws being a hamster decided he should get rid of the body the only way he knew how. Don't be upset about what Paws did it's just something natural. Paws will be happy being by himself and I wouldn't give up on animals. They bring a lot of joy into your life. If you never want something like that to happen in your house I strongly suggest to just have one pet by themself from now on so you won't go through this again. My hamster choobles is an albino winter hamster and choobles says to not give up on Paws. You are a great pet parent to worry so much about your pets, that is something you don't see in a lot of pet parents. I've seen many people buy small animals and not treat them well at all and when they die they don't ever wonder what they did wrong at all. So you have been the best pet parent that you can be you show love and caring towards them and you worry about their safety and well being. In my personal opinion Paws would be best staying with you. even if you are afraid to hold Paws again you don't have to hold him. I rarely hold choobles now because he gets nippy with me and bites but he is happy and healthy in his huge cage and sleeps most of the day. I let him out in his ball and rolls around in that freely and happily. I am here for you if you need to talk to me some more. Good luck with your decision on Paws.