Hamster is 2.5 and looks really rank.... advice? Please read me...?

Question

My hamster is 2.5 years old and is looking rather manky. She's balding, has crusty bits under her arms (nice) and seems to be pottering rather athritically round her cage.

I've just cleaned her out and she's deteriorated quite a bit since last week. She sleeps constantly and only gets up to eat and drink. She really struggles to get up to the second level so I've taken the shelf out and moved her bed and food to the floor. She's all hunched up and can't bend her front legs.

It doesn't look like she's been cleaning herself very well either.

I don't want to end her life cos she does seem to like a little old hunched up lady hobbling about her cage but neither do I want her to suffer.

I'm off on holiday tomorrow and have her booked in to be boarded at the local pet shop but I'm wondering if the kindest thing would be just to take her to the vets tomorrow and have her put down.

Does anyone know how much it would cost for her to be put to sleep and cremated?

Advice please?

Answer 1

Sorry to hear about your hamster, I also have a 2.5 year old hammy.

It is probably best to take her to the vet and take advice from them.  My little one is also rather balding and sticks to the ground floor, but other than being a bit uncoordinated at times he seems fine.  I will be taking him for a check up this week.

Although she is showing signs of old age, she may not be suffering as such.  The one thing I would be concerned about is the crusting as she may have developed a skin problem.

As for putting her down, I doubt that it would cost much for a small hamster.

Good luck.

Answer 2

i had a 2and a half year old hamster he died on the 18th june it cost £35 to have him cremated  at orchard vets it would have cost £80 at black and partners

Answer 3

I just had a 2 year old hamster die...last night to be exact...He started doing the same thing about a week ago..so I did exactly what you did about moving stuff down to the first floor and closing off the tube and stuff...I had to start hand-feeding him mushy stuff cuz he couldn't/wouldn't eat seeds, and giving him water thru a medicine dropper.  He lasted about a week.   We had a little hamster funeral at 4 am...

Here in my town, a local vet does the euthanization for free..I don't know about cremation, because we have a large backyard that we bury the pets in...

Yeah, if you don't want to see her suffer then I'd have her put down...it about killed me to watch Whiskers go through that.  I cried everytime I had to hold him and feed him.

Good luck and I'm sorry to hear about your elderly hamster...HUGS TO BOTH OF YOU!