Nibbles the Ninja šŸ¹ šŸ„·

I am so so sorry. This is very sad for you. Syrians are usually healthy, but some do get something when young and it's usually a genetic issue they were born with. Nibbles is playing free over the Rainbow Bridge now. You must miss him very much. Big hugs.
 
Thank you, yes we had a lot of tears yesterday, my kids woke numerous times in the night crying too. Very traumatic way to loose a hamster šŸ’” I was hysterical when I got back to the vets begging them to help him as I was holding him down, trying to keep him calm and stop him aggressively rolling, causing further harm to his poor face.

Is there a name for the genetic condition? Iā€™d like to read up on it. Feeling guilty that I didnā€™t pick up on it sooner. The kids would like to get another hamster, however Iā€™m apprehensive as I canā€™t bear witnessing this again šŸ˜–
 
This is very sad news. Poor boy and so sad and difficult for his carers. The cause might have been an aggressive brain tumour but only an X-ray could confirm it and there just wasn't time. Please stay with us and talk about it. The Blue Cross offers a number of counselling options as well for people who have experienced the loss of their pet https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss
They have a chat service, a Facebook group. There is telephone counselling if you live in the UK. I thought I would mention their service in case it could be of help.
It is very difficult seeing an animal suffer, but seeing your own pet in pain and distress is terribly difficult as the bond is so strong. It is so sad. He was so beautiful.
 
The genetic issues are caused by breeding hamsters who are related, having the same ancestors. This could increase the chances of things like cancer occurring as both parents have the same genetic fault that makes cancer more possible. The health issue could occur earlier in life as well. Unfortunately if is difficult to know much about commercially bred pets as often breeders don't disclose much information to anyone. How to avoid in-bred genetics is a tricky question.
 
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find an ethical breeder who breeds a few litters from carefully chosen parents. There is a list of breeders on the forum. There may be awaiting list for hamster pups, but you should get a healthy hamster and the breeder will provide life long support. This is very different to hamsters bred for pet shops in rodent "mills" who may breed healthy hamsters, or may not. It is very difficult to know whether a hamster from a pet shop has good genetics of not. My hamster, Socks, is from P@H and seems to be OK, although he has hair thinning. He is about 18 months and is still active and doing well. Rescues do vet their hamsters carefully and also provide life long support and advice. It is a difficult decision to make.
 
I was told not to buy from P@H because of the mass breeding and multiple health conditions, so we chose a recommended local independent pet shop however that didnā€™t make any difference šŸ˜– I canā€™t seem to be able to find any local breeders on Google and the thread on here seems a few years old
 
The pet shop states: Please note we are a pet shop with our own store bred animals where possible. we also source our critters from small scale breeders and hobbyists.
 
It's a pity because you obviously tried to find a pet from a good breeder and were responsible about buying a pet.
 
It's difficult. The kids don't want the wonderful experience of having a pet to end, but on your part, you are wisely cautious. And you all need a bit of time. I hope you can find a happy healthy pet again ā¤ļø
 
Socks Mum said:
Here are some possibilities https://www.trendingbreeds.com/hamster-breeders-in-the-uk/
But give yourself time ā¤ļø
Click to expand...
Most, if not all of those, are National Hamster Council Breeders. You can also find them on the National Hamster Council website.

Sadly a genetic issue can affect any hamster. While it is rare with ethically bred hamsters, it can still happen that one in a litter is born with a genetic defect. Similar to with humans. Sometimes there is no reason why someone is born with something - no history.

I agree it sounded like a brain issue. I am so sorry and I agree with Socks Mum about the Blue Cross pet bereavement service. They are wonderful. I used them by email once after the loss of our first hamster.

It is always a worry when this has happened, thinking it may happen again. Personally I think getting a hamster from a rescue is a good option :-) My theory is, if they are well and survived to end up in a rescue then they are healthy.

The vast majority of Syrian hamsters stay extremely healthy right through to old age. Rarely one might die young and that's usually a heart defect. A brain defect is perfectly possible as well or it could have been a weak blood vessel that burst. It is very rare and you have been so unlucky.

Obviously it might be better not to use the same pet store again and I would also tell them what has happened.

Keep talking. I am so sorry for your children having had this. He was a beautiful boy, but he is free from suffering now - it is just so unfair on you that his life was so short.

Which region are you in? I can check out NHC breeders and rescues in your area.
 
I just saw you're in Hertfordshire from your other post in the breeder section. I linked the breeders, but I'd also suggest checking out India's Hamster rescue in London. Rescue Hamsters are vet and health checked and the rescue will know about their personalities and habits :-) They sometimes have whole litters for adoption. Although I wouldn't recommend getting a robo or dwarf hamster if you have children - a Syrian would be better. And they seem to have a lot of robos at the moment!

I believe they will travel part way to meet you.

www.facebook.com

Indias Hamster Rescue UK | Chislehurst

Indias Hamster Rescue UK, Mottingham and Chislehurst North. 1,218 likes Ā· 133 talking about this. A small, self funded, hamster only rescue. Based in the South of England. Rescuing over 250 hamsters!
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

Most hamsters in rescues will have come from Pets at Home originally, and we wouldn't criticise anyone who decided to get a hamster from Pets at Home, particularly after the upsetting experience you've had - if you wanted to take the children to choose one. Which can be an experience in itself.
 
Iā€™ve checked with the pet shop we got Nibbles from and they only use local breeders, we were just very unlucky. I know others who have purchased from them with no problem and they have incredible reviews.

They have a new litter of Syrianā€™s coming is today that should be ready by the weekend (after quarantine and handling) so I think we will probably go chose from them with the kids. They have been emptying and disinfecting the cage ready for a new arrival and that seems to have ready cheered them up ā¤ļø
 
Aw that sounds good. Disinfecting everything is really important before getting another hamster. Especially if there might have been infection or other disease - which is unknown.

I usually use beaphar for cage disinfecting. Any cage contents will need disinfecting as well. Ceramic things are easy to do but wood items would need baking. And things like bendy stick bridges are better just thrown and replaced as they are hard to disinfect. And obviously new bedding!

I would also think about your cage and cage set up as well. It's quite a tall cage isn't it? If so it needs setting up so there's no chance of injury - eg if a hamster climbs to the top and monkey bars across the roof (which they can do when you're asleep at night).

Maybe this is the time to think about a different cage?
 
We changed the cage setup following your recommendation so that the top level wasnā€™t so high and we filled the bottom level deep with Kaytee bedding so itā€™s much safer. We also bought loads of hidey places and a larger wheel. We love this cage with the glass bottom as the kids can watch the hamster burrowing and making tunnels ā˜ŗļø
 
We used this to clean everything: https://www.petsathome.com/product/johnsons-clean-n-safe-disinfectant-for-small-animals-500ml/12812P

We sprayed all the lager wooden items and have thrown away the smaller things.

Iā€™ve got some spare applewood sticks and sea grass woven items ready to go.

What are your opinion on these items to make the cage interesting:

- http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/share...qeBw_8&localcountry=GB&url_from=GM71040849945


- http://api-shein.shein.com/h5/share...fe5E_8&localcountry=GB&url_from=GM71040849945
 
Yes Johnsons is fine as well :-) I don't know much about Shein as a site. Moss and forage are nice to have but there are other places sell such things and then you're guaranteed good quality. Some moss may be too damp and some forage can be poor quality and have spikey bits.

I like this site for hamster items :-)

www.hamsterswelove.co.uk

SHOP | Hamsters We Love

www.hamsterswelove.co.uk www.hamsterswelove.co.uk
 
Can I make some suggestions about cage set up if you're using the same cage :-) After many years of setting up cages, I've found ways to make them safer if they're a bit on the tall side. You're limited by the glass base size as to how much bedding can be put in, so another way to avoid fall risks from a height is if you fix both the shelves to the roof at roof level. This effectively means you've blocked off the roof so it can't be accessed for monkey barring. I have often done this with an older hamster as well, when their platforms need removing but they still like the overhead cover of a platform.

The shelves at different levels, as they were before, along with the height, mean a hamster falling from the roof could land on a hard ladder on the way down or bounce off the edge of a shelf and hurt themselves. We just don't see what they get up to at night!

So my suggestion for setting up your cage would be to fix both the black shelves right up against the roof, and not use them as shelves.

You could get a nice multiroom house with a flat roof that makes an alternative platform and encourages normal behaviours - nesting and hoarding in different rooms. And maybe another platform as well. I know that means buying extra things - but you could actually just make a shoebox house rather than buy one. You cut the base out of a shoebox and keep the lid as a lift off roof and cut a hole in the side of the box for a door. They really like a nice large house that's dark inside.

You can get all kinds of nice platforms now and as you have the lovely glass square base, they would fit well. Hamsters are ground dwellers really and like digging and foraging and they are very bad with heights. They are not natural climbers. They will climb, but they're not good at getting down again and don't see well and they tend to just drop. They can climb bars right to the roof and monkey bar across the roof and drop the full height of the cage.

If he can't get to the roof then the rest of the set up is safe for the hamster :)
 
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