When a hamster is passing

RainbowBrite

RainbowBrite

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I hope it is okay to ask this on here and I will not upset anybody. I was just wondering when a hamster seems to be ending their days, is there a reason most people do not take them to the vet to pass peacefully?

When I had guinea pigs and it was clear they were going to pass, they were always taken to the vets to end any pain. I hope it is not insensitive to ask this but I was just wondering why this is not done with hamsters. I will be in this horrible position one day and I would like to be prepared.
 
It does sometimes, but it very much depends on the situation as it can vary so much. If a hamster is clearly in pain and suffering it's the kindest thing to do. Sometimes they are just gradually slowing down but still eating, drinking, or even using their wheel a little bit, even if sleeping a lot more, and not seeming to be suffering. Sometimes they can come round after seeming to go downhill and carry on fine again.

The general thing is to treat anything like infection or give pain relief, but if they still have quality of life, to let them carry on. Some will just pass in their sleep one day. Others will hang on and clearly need to be helped on their way.
 
Thank you for explaining. I was confused about people who know their hamster is passing but it is carrying on for days and they do not go to the vet. I wondered why.
 
I think it very much depends on the circumstances, but sometimes maybe people do wait a bit too long wondering if the hamster will pass. Other times they decide to go to the vet the next day and the hamster passes before they get there. It's something owners have to use their own judgement on and sometimes a hamster will give a sign that they're ready to go and you just know. Hamsters do tend to carry on with their routines even when clearly in the last phase of life. They don't give up easily.

Sometimes it's just a case of needing pain relief if they are not ill as such but just starting to get things failing - ie old age.
 
Maz said:
I think it very much depends on the circumstances, but sometimes maybe people do wait a bit too long wondering if the hamster will pass. Other times they decide to go to the vet the next day and the hamster passes before they get there. It's something owners have to use their own judgement on and sometimes a hamster will give a sign that they're ready to go and you just know. Hamsters do tend to carry on with their routines even when clearly in the last phase of life. They don't give up easily.
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Thank you. I appreciate you giving me your opinion.
 
If it's clear a hamster is in pain or suffering then it's the thing to do - take them to the vets to help them on their way. If there is no treatment or pain relief available.
 
I think many owners have wished we could have hamster palliative care, but Metacam sometimes isn't enough.
 
It can be a very difficult decision, whether to let them pass away naturally at home, or to take them to the vet.

People often feel that if the hamster doesn't appear to be suffering, it's better to keep them in their familiar environment if possible. I would agree with that if it's only been a few hours and there are no signs of pain.

But unfortunately they do sometimes linger, and isn't always possible to be sure how much they are suffering (especially considering that pain is not the only form of suffering - hunger, thirst etc are too). Certainly if a hamster seems to have been dying for more than a day or so, and they're not able to eat or drink much, it's probably time to take them to the vet in my opinion.

As to why people don't, often it's just that people want to do what's best and feel bad about disturbing the hamster. It's easy to underestimate how they might be suffering, especially if they're semi-conscious. Often it's also because they think it's only going to be a matter of minutes or a couple of hours anyway, and then it just stretches out.
 
I think one thing you might be thinking about is when a hamster is clearly in the dying phase, and that's a difficult one because it's a balance between causing them distress by moving them and taking them to the vets, or letting them pass in their nest. The difficult bit is when they don't pass when you think they will.
 
Daisy said:
It can be a very difficult decision, whether to let them pass away naturally at home, or to take them to the vet.

People often feel that if the hamster doesn't appear to be suffering, it's better to keep them in their familiar environment if possible. I would agree with that if it's only been a few hours and there are no signs of pain.

But unfortunately they do sometimes linger, and isn't always possible to be sure how much they are suffering (especially considering that pain is not the only form of suffering - hunger, thirst etc are too). Certainly if a hamster seems to have been dying for more than a day or so, and they're not able to eat or drink much, it's probably time to take them to the vet in my opinion.

As to why people don't, often it's just that people want to do what's best and feel bad about disturbing the hamster. It's easy to underestimate how they might be suffering, especially if they're semi-conscious. Often it's also because they think it's only going to be a matter of minutes or a couple of hours anyway, and then it just stretches out.
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Thank you. That explains a lot.
 
You hear stories also of a hamster seems to be hanging on because they have such a bond with an owner. And people giving them permission to go and they go.
 
I don't want to go into personal experiences too much, but with our first hamster, when he was going downhill I'd get him out to snuggle him in my fleece top so he was close to me and had some comfort. And each time I thought he was about to go he would suddenly come round and start eating and running around again and wanting to interact. It can be very up and down.
 
With guinea pigs, presumably they have different known conditions as well? For example with hamsters, if they have a tumour or cancer, you kind of know it's going to mean they'll need to be pts at some point even though they might not have any signs of illness initially. With heart problems, they just keep going until they fail usually. With some hamsters it's just "old age" when organs start to gradually fail. But they can be quite comfortable on metacam.

So basically if you can keep them comfortable, you do. And if you can't then they need to go to the vets.
 
Maz said:
With guinea pigs, presumably they have different known conditions as well? For example with hamsters, if they have a tumour or cancer, you kind of know it's going to mean they'll need to be pts at some point even though they might not have any signs of illness initially. With heart problems, they just keep going until they fail usually. With some hamsters it's just "old age" when organs start to gradually fail. But they can be quite comfortable on metacam.

So basically if you can keep them comfortable, you do. And if you can't then they need to go to the vets.
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When I had piggies they all got ill suddenly and needed rushing to the vets. It was awful.
 
It can be a difficult decision as taking them to the vet can be very stressful for them & if possible it is better for them to just go to sleep in their own nest but that isn’t always possible.
I think it’s probably something that gets a bit easier with experience, it becomes easier to tell if they’re suffering or will just pass peacefully, also easier if you have a close bond with your hamster & can understand their behaviour.
They can linger for a long time & it’s not always easy to know how long that might go on but I would agree that if they’re no longer eating & drinking & it has gone on for more than say 24 hours then it’s time to consider taking them to the vet.
All that is presuming any signs of pain or illness have been dealt with before they reach that stage, if they do appear to be in pain or things like having a lot of difficulty breathing for example then it’s best to help them on their way.
 
elusive said:
It can be a difficult decision as taking them to the vet can be very stressful for them & if possible it is better for them to just go to sleep in their own nest but that isn’t always possible.
I think it’s probably something that gets a bit easier with experience, it becomes easier to tell if they’re suffering or will just pass peacefully, also easier if you have a close bond with your hamster & can understand their behaviour.
They can linger for a long time & it’s not always easy to know how long that might go on but I would agree that if they’re no longer eating & drinking & it has gone on for more than say 24 hours then it’s time to consider taking them to the vet.
All that is presuming any signs of pain or illness have been dealt with before they reach that stage, if they do appear to be in pain or things like having a lot of difficulty breathing for example then it’s best to help them on their way.
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Thank you for sharing your opinion.
 
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