How To Comfort A Dying Hamster ?[How to say Good bye]

How To Comfort A Dying Hamster?

It’s heartbreaking to realise that your days with your best friend are coming to an end. You want to make the best decision for your hamster, but it can be difficult to know when to say goodbye. That is why this article is useful.

It is never easy to lose a beloved pet. Sometimes letting go is the best way to express your love. Holding on to your sick or injured dog may be less humane than putting him down.

Most pet owners will know how wonderful owning an animal can be; they will understand companionship and how beautiful bonds can be formed between animals and humans.

As hamsters have a shorter lifespan than humans and all hamster owners have or will experience loss at some point. When that dreaded moment arrives, all we can do is make them feel safe and loved.

I was gifted a hamster named ‘Buff a few years ago on my Birthday by my loving partner

Buff won our hearts with his gentle and friendly demeanour, big spirit, and cuddly affections; he quickly became a member of our family.

Life with Buff was full of joy, love, and some adventures from then on. Until he was three and half years old.

One day, I noticed he was eating & drinking less, looking poorly, and wasn’t moving as much. I tried enticing him with treats, peanut butter being his favourite, but nothing worked.

I took him to the vet, but we were told he was old and that we should prepare for the inevitable.

But how do we go about doing so? All we knew about Buff was that he was active and resilient. We had no idea Buff was so frail.

Nonetheless, we knew he needed us, so we set out on a journey to make him happy.

I’ve listed Six methods for keeping your hamster comfortable as he or she approaches the bright white light!

6 Ways To Make Your Dying hamster more comfortable and less anxious

As death approaches, your role is to be present, comfort, and reassure your beloved furry friend with soothing words and actions that can help them maintain their comfort.

How do you console a dying hamster?

Make sure that your home is clean, calm and Quite
Keep them warm and at a comfortable temp
Keep them Hydrated
Give them Loads of Attention
Provide them with a comfortable bed to sleep in, as well as fresh water and their favourite foods, if they are able to eat them.
Only give pain relievers if the vet has prescribed them.

Make sure that your house is clean, calm, and quiet.

As your beloved pet nears the end of his or her life, he or she will need to sleep more to conserve what little energy they may have.

To keep them comfortable while they sleep, provide them with a space that is clean, dark, and free of noise, draughts, and/or dampness.

If you have two or three hamsters in the same cage, isolate the sick one into his own cage to avoid stress from other animals and activity and to reduce the risk of disease transmission to cage mates.

Even when they are sick, hamsters are known to exercise. Remove any wheels, tubes, or climbing toys they may have in their cage to keep them from injuring themselves or using up their reserve energy.

Keep Them And Their Room At A Comfortable Temperature

A hamster’s ability to regulate its body temperature may deteriorate as they age or if they become ill.

If they become too cold, they may enter a state of hibernation, which can result in hypothermia. If they become too hot, they may suffer from heat stress or heat stroke, which can result in a painful death.

To keep your hamster warm, do the following:

Maintain a temperature range of 69 °F to 72 °F (20 °C to 22 °C) in the room where they are warm. It is critical that the room temperature never falls below 60 °F (15 °C), or they will go into hibernation.

Fill their cage with plain, unscented torn toilet paper. This will not only provide them with a comfortable place to sleep, but it will also keep them warm.

A heat lamp may be useful in keeping their home warm.

However, make sure the cage is large enough for them to escape the heat if necessary. In addition, keep a small hamster house inside the cage to allow your hamster to get away from the light.

If you choose this option, keep a thermometer in the cage to allow you to control the temperature. Your hamster may suffer from heat stress or heat stroke if the temperature rises above 77 °F (25 °C) for an extended period of time.

Fill a sock or fleece pouch halfway with flax seeds or rice grains. Microwave the sock/pouch along with a cup of water (next to the pouch to prevent the pad from burning). In small increments, heat the pad.

Before putting it in your hamster’s cage, make sure you test it on yourself because it can get very hot and burn them.

The heat will be retained by the pad for approximately one hour. Do not leave this pad substitute in their cage for them to chew on. Remove it once it has cooled and repeat the process if necessary.

Wrap a small towel around your hamster and place him/her against your body. This is a wonderful way to spend time with your dying hamster.

To keep your hamster cool, do the following:

As previously stated, hamsters can suffer from heatstroke if they become overheated. To keep your dying hamster comfortable, keep the temperature in its cage below 72 °F (22 °C).

Avoid exposing your hamster to direct sunlight through a window. Instead, choose a shaded and well-ventilated area of your home.

Instead of a glass tank, consider putting your hamster in a wire cage. This will help to keep their space well-ventilated, lowering the risk of a sudden rise in his/her temperature.

Keep your Hamster Hydrated well

Hamsters require approximately 10ml (2 teaspoons) of water per 100g of body weight.

So, if your hamster weighs 200g, he or she needs to drink about 20ml (4 teaspoons) of water per day.

Please do not give a dehydrated hamster straight water; this will only dilute the already-depleted amount of minerals, salts, and sugars in your hamster’s body, exacerbating the situation.

Also, make sure you don’t force the entire contents of the syringe into your hamster’s mouth at once, or you risk forcing fluid into his lungs, which could be fatal.

To see if your hamster is dehydrated, do the following:

Examine your hamster’s eyes. They are probably dehydrated if they are droopy, sunken, dry, dull, and/or listless.

If your hamster’s tongue has swollen, he or she is severely dehydrated and should be taken to the vet right away.

Pinch the scruff of your hamster’s neck gently. Everything is fine if the skin quickly snaps back into its normal position.

Your hamster is dehydrated if the skin retains its shape or moves slowly back to its normal position.

Check the level of water in your hamster’s bottle or bowl. If it hasn’t changed much since you last filled it, your hamster hasn’t been drinking and may be dehydrated.

Your hamster may be dehydrated if you notice less or no urine/wet patches in their cage, or if the urine has a very dark tinge to it and has a strong odour.

If your hamster is having difficulty breathing, he or she may be dehydrated.

To keep your dying hamster from becoming dehydrated, do the following:

Provide them with foods that are high in moisture, such as watermelon, cucumber, or apples.

Make sure the apple is peeled and the watermelon and cucumber seeds are removed. Limit yourself to very small amounts of this. It can cause diarrhoea if consumed in large quantities.

Place a dollop of peanut butter on the drinking tube and a ball (if possible) of the bottle to entice your hamster to drink water.

Your hamster will get a mouthful of water as he or she leaks his or her tasty treat.

If your pet isn’t interested in the peanut butter, take the bottle out of the cage, pick him up, and try to “nurse” them by gently pressing the bottle into their mouth. If you notice any signs of distress, please halt this process immediately.

If all of the above fails and your hamster goes 24 hours without drinking, contact your veterinarian right away.
If your vet is nearby, try the following suggestion until you can get to your vet. Always follow your veterinarian’s instructions.

Fill your hamster’s mouth with drops of water mixed with a pinch of salt and sugar, or an electrolyte-enhanced fluid-like Pedialyte, using a clean eye dropper or a 10ml syringe.

Note: If your hamster becomes moderately to severely dehydrated, take them to your veterinarian straight away. They may need to be hospitalized and given intravenous (IV) fluids.

They need a Loads Of Attention and your company.

Even though hamsters are naturally solitary creatures, they can become attached to their human companions.

Your company may provide them with comfort and security as death approaches.

Unless, of course, that was my experience. Puffy wanted to be with us a lot more in his final days. He just wanted to nap on our laps.

If this is the case, stay close to them while reading their cues.

If you try to handle your hamster and they try to escape or bite you, this is its way of telling you that they need some alone time to conserve the little energy they have.

Furthermore, depending on the condition of the illness, they may be in pain and your hands, although unknowingly or unwanted, may be hurting them.

How Can You Tell A Hamster Is Dying?

Hamsters are often hardy pets, but because they are so small, an injury, stress, illness, or even old age can quickly deteriorate their health.

Keep a close eye on your hamster if it is 2 or 3 years old, has had a fall or any other type of accident that could injure them, is ill or stressed.

If you notice one or more of the symptoms listed below, take them to the vet as soon as possible. If it’s an illness, an early diagnosis could save your pet’s life!

Among the warning signs to look for are as below:

A ruffled or unkempt coat caused by failing to groom itself.
Sneezing, wheezing, and/or discharge from the nose or eyes.
Hair loss (often a sign of parasites or allergies), and
Not moving out of its house to be clean.
Appetite and thirst loss
A shift in their behaviour or a decrease in their activity.
Wetness in the tail
Diarrhea

What Causes A Hamster To Die Suddenly?

These little creatures are popular among families with young children due to their short lifespan, small size, and relative ease of care.

However, hamsters are not as easy to care for as people may believe, and a variety of problems can arise if they are not properly cared for, potentially resulting in death.

Here are some of the things that can cause your hamster to die unexpectedly:

Stress

Hamsters are extremely sensitive to it. They dislike change and are easily agitated.

A hamster exposed to stress for an extended period of time, such as an extremely dirty cage, too much or rough handling, or sudden temperature changes, among other things, can cause major health issues, and some can even be fatal.

Diseases

Animals bred for pet stores are frequently mistreated and housed in deplorable and overcrowded conditions. This causes stress in hamsters, which can lead to the transmission of diseases such as the wet tail, pneumonia, and others.

It is best not to get your hamster from a pet store. Because hamsters are at the bottom of the food chain, they are very good at hiding any physical problems they may be having; this is their survival mechanism.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia in hamsters is uncommon, but when it does occur, it can be extremely contagious.

It happens when the hamster is exposed to bacterial or viral infections, as well as environmental stresses like a dirty cage, sudden low temperatures, droughts, and so on…

If your hamster has pneumonia, you may notice the following symptoms:

Fever, a dull coat, a loss of appetite, and subsequent weight loss, Constant sneezing and/or coughing, Respiratory distress, and/or Mucus discharge from the nose and eyes.

Wet Tail (Stress-Related Disease)

Wet tail is a stress-related disease. It occurs when stress allows the normal gut flora (Campylobacter bacteria) to overpopulate your hamster’s bowels, resulting in diarrhoea.

Antibiotics are frequently used to treat it, but even with treatment, your little furry friend can die within 48 to 72 hours.

Observe the following symptoms:

Walking with a hunched back,
Folded ears, and/or
Unusual temper (biting or nipping)
noxious odour
Diarrhea
Appetite loss,
Oversleeping

Dirty Cage

Hamsters are hygienic little creatures. Most of them have a clear separation between where they sleep and where they go to the toilet.

However, if your little furry friend’s cage is rarely cleaned, he or she will be unable to distinguish between the sleeping quarters and the toilet.

This will cause a great deal of stress in your hamster, potentially leading to the development of stress-induced diseases such as a wet tail.

Chemicals left over from cleaning the cage

A hamster cage, as well as all of its toys, bowls, and bottles, should be cleaned at least once a week, if not twice, depending on how frequently your hamster urinates.

What you use to clean your hamster’s cage, on the other hand, has the potential to be lethal.

The Hamster’s den should be cleaned with nontoxic soap and warm water. If disinfectants and/or bleach are left in the cage, they can be harmful.

After cleaning the cage, rinse it thoroughly with clean water before allowing it to dry and refilling it with your hamster’s belongings to avoid any harm to your little friend.

Heatstroke

Hamsters do not respond well to extreme temperature changes.

If a hamster is exposed to temperatures above 72 °F (22 °C), he or she can suffer from heatstroke, which can be fatal.

In cars or near a window that receives direct sunlight, danger zones exist.

If you notice your hamster dribbling, sluggishly moving, or lying flat on the cage floor. If your hamster’s body is limp and/or trembles when touched, he or she is most likely suffering from heatstroke.

If you notice any of the above signs, act quickly.

The first step is to move your hamster to a cooler location.
Then, either place them on a damp towel or lightly spray them with cool water.

Vapours/Fumes

One of the advantages of keeping a hamster as a pet is that they and their belongings are small enough to be placed anywhere out of the way.

However, many owners are unaware that these hamsters have a highly developed olfactory system.

As a result, fumes from a boiler or heater can be lethal to a hamster.

Remembering Your Hamster

There are numerous ways to remember your hamster:

Make an obituary
Organise a memorial service
Make a photo journal.
Construct a memorial garden.

This is an excellent way to create a haven of peace, seclusion, and tranquillity in which to reflect on the wonderful memories your furry friend has left you.

Grieving For A Pet

Losing a pet is difficult for everyone, but the grieving process differs for each member of the family.

Some people have a more difficult time grieving than others. Some people are always sad, while others experience sadness in waves. There is no correct or incorrect way to grieve.

It is natural to feel sad and lonely after losing a pet. Ignoring this emotional pain usually makes it worse.

If you are going through a difficult time, make time for yourself, don’t let others tell you when it is time to “move on,” or how you should be feeling, and chat with your loved ones.

How to Say Goodbye

Ensure that all family members have the opportunity to say their final goodbyes.

Many books for children can help explain the process of death and grief.

Some people will give their hamster a treat on their last day as a way of saying goodbye. This could be a spoonful of peanut butter or some broccoli.

Their happiness is our comfort, and our happiness is their comfort.

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