Baby hamster’s unexpected passing?

[Birdsarenotreal]

My little Murphy unfortunately passed away the other day, on Christmas. I only got him in October. He wasn’t even finished growing. He never even got the chance to grow into his insanely big ears. It was obviously not expected that he’d pass away. I hadn’t seen him much the couple nights before but I simply chalked that up to me being out a lot. He was still eating his food and I gave him a walnut (the day before) which he moved to a burrow. Nothing abnormal was in his burrows. He was just in like a seized up position, not a normal hamster sleeping position. Not really sure what caused him to die so early. I know the only sure way to know is from a necropsy, which I’m not able to get done at the moment. Just looking for some closure whether it was something that was my fault or not.
I will be looking to get another hamster relatively soon but don’t want to make a mistake and have it pass away early on as well.

[hamsworth]

You've had a few hamsters already, so I don't think anything you did caused this. I think it's just that most hamsters aren't bred well and they're also tiny animals. They can come down with illnesses and die really quickly.

I've only had a very young hamster (~3 weeks old) once. Every other hamster I've had has been at least 3 months to 12 months when I got them. Maybe very young hamsters need to be fed very differently?... but I don't think so. I've read that younger hamsters need more protein, but I don't think their diets need to be drastically different than older hamsters. I can't think of why Murphy would have passed away.

I had a hamster pass away a week after I got him. He had little seizures and then one big seizure. The vet didn't even know why. I felt so awful.

Please don't feel that you did anything wrong. It sounds like they were just ill and hiding their illness or had experienced a rare seizure or heart attack.

[Birdsarenotreal]

Okay, thank you.

I doubt it was his diet because he was growing like a weed. The little man was like 60 grams when I got him and he reached like 100 within very little time. He had a protein rich diet and occasionally mealworms as treats so I think his protein was fine.

I do want to go get another hamster, but just trying to make sure my care is fine before I do.

[hamsworth]

My only suggestion is to think about anything differently you did with him than you did with your other hamsters. Different bedding or different food or a different setup? Things like that.

Rest in peace, little Murphy. I'm sorry for your loss.

[Birdsarenotreal]

My only suggestion is to think about anything differently you did with him than you did with your other hamsters. Different bedding or different food or a different setup? Things like that.

Rest in peace, little Murphy. I'm sorry for your loss.

Basically everything was the same. Same cage as my ham who lived 3.5 years. Kaytee clean and cozy bedding, same food (mazuri and Higgins mix because there’s nothing better in my location)
Might have just been something genetically wrong with him. He did like to shred his toys though. Like chew toys would be DESTROYED in days.

[Birdsarenotreal]

Got a new hamster today. Female hybrid dwarf. No name yet. My boyfriend and I went out this evening and got her. She’s pretty darn cute. Sleeping now even though it’s nighttime though. Maybe just nervous.

[hamsworth]

Aww

Yeah, give her space. Maybe she's tired from being brought to a new place.

[Kikya]

My little Murphy unfortunately passed away the other day, on Christmas. I only got him in October. He wasn’t even finished growing. He never even got the chance to grow into his insanely big ears. It was obviously not expected that he’d pass away. I hadn’t seen him much the couple nights before but I simply chalked that up to me being out a lot. He was still eating his food and I gave him a walnut (the day before) which he moved to a burrow. Nothing abnormal was in his burrows. He was just in like a seized up position, not a normal hamster sleeping position. Not really sure what caused him to die so early. I know the only sure way to know is from a necropsy, which I’m not able to get done at the moment. Just looking for some closure whether it was something that was my fault or not.
I will be looking to get another hamster relatively soon but don’t want to make a mistake and have it pass away early on as well.

I'm sorry I'm just seeing this post. 60g seemed very small for a Syrian even a young one. It's possible, he had a genetic issue that you weren't aware of. I doubt it was your fault but I would clean everything very thoroughly with hot soapy water just in case, he had an illness. Nothing you could have done would make him seize up like that.

Do you know how old he was when you got him?

[Birdsarenotreal]

My little Murphy unfortunately passed away the other day, on Christmas. I only got him in October. He wasn’t even finished growing. He never even got the chance to grow into his insanely big ears. It was obviously not expected that he’d pass away. I hadn’t seen him much the couple nights before but I simply chalked that up to me being out a lot. He was still eating his food and I gave him a walnut (the day before) which he moved to a burrow. Nothing abnormal was in his burrows. He was just in like a seized up position, not a normal hamster sleeping position. Not really sure what caused him to die so early. I know the only sure way to know is from a necropsy, which I’m not able to get done at the moment. Just looking for some closure whether it was something that was my fault or not.
I will be looking to get another hamster relatively soon but don’t want to make a mistake and have it pass away early on as well.

I'm sorry I'm just seeing this post. 60g seemed very small for a Syrian even a young one. It's possible, he had a genetic issue that you weren't aware of. I doubt it was your fault but I would clean everything very thoroughly with hot soapy water just in case, he had an illness. Nothing you could have done would make him seize up like that.

Do you know how old he was when you got him?

I don’t know exactly how old, just that he was rather young. He had the hugest ears that he only grew into a little bit before he passed