My little girl just lost her 2nd hamster

[smaug]

My daughters 2nd hamster has fallen ill like the last one.It appears paralized and cool to the touch.After much research [I wish I done more last time]I found that it is very likely paralisisn due to hibernation.Our house is on the cool side [thx energy crunch] and it turns out that the hamsters need much warmer.We have been in the process of warming the poor thing up and its touch and go as we speak,it is in the process of shaking terribly at the moment but at least it is moving now.Just a little bit ago it convulsed and its heart seem to stop but it came back shortly after.I feel so sick that the last one could have been saved but I thought it was just naturally dying of something else.My wife just said now that she thinks its heart just stopped again.I gotta go,I feel horrible for my little girl,she is so hopefull that a miracle will happen.I hope she is right.
Update:I wrote this last night and it didnt get posted because just after I finished it,the little fella gave up the ghost.My wife tried very hard to save it by warming it up next to her body but in the end the stress was more then it could stand.Another lessen learned the hard way.

[Sharkman]

I just read that in your blog. Sorry to hear that. I hope she is okay.

[smaug]

We just buried it tonight,she is doing fine,just teary.I got to figure out a way to safely keep another one.Apparently they have to have at least a 75 deg temp all the time.My house never gets better then 70 this time of year with 65 being the normal.

[Gemini]

I'm so sorry to hear that Smaug.
I don't keep hamsters or have a cold weather problem - but could you do like a reptile set up with a heat lamp? Or a little warm box? Maybe you could set up a home on a heating block or something they use in lizard/turtle tanks. Like a heated log or something.
I'm so sorry. Buy your daughter a pressie to help her get over it!!! :19:

[Nobodynotime]

I agree a heating pad under their cage running constantly and a UV/heat bulb during the day might help. Im sorry about your loss, that stuff is though at a young age.

I also learned a lesson when I was very young about hamsters. The pet store my parents had bought them from did not properly sex the two dwarf hamsters they sold my parents when I was about 6. One morning I woke with the cage a bloody mess next to my bed; the mother had given birth, killed and partially ate her young. Needless to say I was quite tramatized, but the good out ways the bad, I remember the fun I had building lego forts for them more than I do that incident. I wouldn't give up though, I still think hampsters are great for kids. Again I'm sorry, tough loss

[Northernguy]

An aquarium will hold more heat than a cage.With the right lighting and maybe a reptile warming rock for the bottom at night.
I am so sorry to hear about your daughter losing another one.Nice try to keep it going and a tough lesson learned I'm sure.
I hope she will be ok.I am sure burying it gave her some closure on it.Its important for kids and really helps.

[gm72]

Very sorry to hear of this. You must be so upset, no doubt. Goes to show that all pets: fish, cats, dogs, etc., need a little research.

We have to be careful as well as our house gets cold while we are out. We use a reptile heat lamp on a timer in one corner of their hutch. That way they can hang out on the upper deck where it is quite warm or go to the lower part where it is cool. Has been working great so far.

[invadertoast]

So sorry to hear, it's always hard to lose a pet :( I hope your daughter is doing okay. If you're gonna try again would try a heating pad with a rheostat, electric reptile rocks are notorious for over-heating. Or you could try a rat...

I had two hamsters growing up, I lost one close to Christmas and my sisters went out to get me a replacement for Christmas morning. Their friend was working at the pet store and reccommended a rat instead. She was incredible, super smart - she learned her name and could be let loose in the house and outdoors with no worries of running away. She would even get out of her cage at night and sleep at the foot of my bed (pretty much the coolest thing ever when you're 7 years old!) We ended up buying her a female companion who was pregnant and had 14 babies... I ended up with 21 rats all together growing up and they are great! Very easy to care for and a little more hardy than hamsters... if you don't mind long tails!

[Nobodynotime]

Maybe try a rabbit? They are hardy little creatures, quite soft and cuddly too. You can have them run around the house and they are easy too clean up after unless they are sick, usually a household vacuum does the trick. We had one that would chase you around the house back in the day.

[Wild Turkey]

Sorry to hear about your and the little ones loss smaug. Id say try a rat out instead, they are much hardier, still cute, and the males are much calmer and like people a lot more than hamsters. Much better pets IMO, if you can get over the nuts/tails

[Brookfish]

Poor wee girl, sorry she lost her hamster.

[Lady Hobbs]

Don't knock yourself out over this because there's a chance it could be something else and nothing that you did at all.

But yes, they do need to be warmer and perhaps a wood box with a light bulb inside and a plexaglass cover would do it for you in the winter months.
You'd almost have to have a hole drilled in the side so only the light bulb is inside the box or they'd naw on the wiring. You could whip that up in a heartbeat.

[smaug]

I would actually love for her to get a rat,but her mother will have none of that.I used to have a rat years ago and it was a awesome little pet,very smart and friendly.I think we will acually hold off the rest of the winter to get a replacement.You know,we used to have gerbils and they were not a problem in our chilly house but they werent as friendly.
Alaina is doing fine and is quite over it now,shes a trooper.Thank you all for your ideas and well wishes.

[Northernguy]

Thats great news smaug! Your daughter sounds like a trooper.:thumb:
LOL I can see your wifes point,I have never been a fan either.
You should have seen the one I had to get rid of last summer under my shed.Musta been 16" plus the tail.about 16lbs.:18: Huge and had a real ugly mouth.
I'll stick to dogs fish and kids.:19:

[smaug]

Thats great news smaug! Your daughter sounds like a trooper.:thumb:
LOL I can see your wifes point,I have never been a fan either.
You should have seen the one I had to get rid of last summer under my shed.Musta been 16" plus the tail.about 16lbs. Huge and had a real ugly mouth.
I'll stick to dogs fish and kids.
16#,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:c2: I think you must have caught a groundhog.Either that or you were smoking something bEHIND that shed:14:

[Northernguy]

16#,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:c2: I think you must have caught a groundhog.Either that or you were smoking something bEHIND that shed:14:
Well It was a rat but don't tell anyone what I was doing,OK!
I am so sorry I didn't take a pic,It was a rat but up here everything seems to get big.The start of its tail was thicker than my thumb and I don't have small hands! lol
I had to poison it.It was dangerous and was starting a family.We started getting garbage at our dump from another town and they began to infest the town.Its under control now thank god.I poured a bucket of engine coolant through a hole in the floor.This was in the winter too.I found it two days later.

[Nobodynotime]

That sounds like a possum to me

[Wild Turkey]

Yea thats an opossum ng ;) rats only get thats big in NY sewers lol

We are talking about "fancy rats" hold on.....link.....

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=33253

scroll down

[Nobodynotime]

God I hate possums... ugliest creature in North America and equally nasty, had to kill one with a gulf club when it cornered my black lab... probably bout the same size

[Wild Turkey]

My father told me he put 7 22' longs in one before it stopped moving, a few in the head. Thats a pretty tough little animal. (It was out during the day) He lives on the opposite side of the bay from me, just across the bridge.

[Northernguy]

The town was infested with them last year.
It was a rat! LOL A great big mother! Hell my neighbor and I freaked out at the size of it.

[Nobodynotime]

My father told me he put 7 22' longs in one before it stopped moving, a few in the head. Thats a pretty tough little animal. (It was out during the day) He lives on the opposite side of the bay from me, just across the bridge.

Yeah vermin are tough...I had a similar experience with a rabid raccoon, I couldn't believe how much punishment it took!

[Northernguy]

Can anyone say 12 guage!:hmm3grin2orange:

[BigMac]

Sorry to hear about your daughters Hamster. Glad to hear she is over it.

Too bad your wife wont have the rat. They really do make great pets! I had several over the years that only came out of their open cages when called... would come when called and were potty trained ( sorta).

I HATE hamsters. I would make cannon ammo out of them if it were legal.

[gm72]

I HATE hamsters.

Why is that? Just curious.

[Wild Turkey]

I hate them as well. lol

Reason: They are way too hyper and no personality usually. Put them on the floor and then run behind the couch never to be seen again. If i didnt have dogs i could let my rats wander the house freely, they can even be trainied to go back to the cage to poop like a cat.
Take it out, when it poops on the floor put it back for a while. Eventually if you do it enough the rat takes out the middle man in order to gain free reign over the house. Quite smart.

[smaug]

Hate hamsters!? Holy crap people whats to hate.The ones we had were very friendly and were full of personality.Cannon ammo:c11:Dumbest thing Ive heard so far. Geez,give me a break,its good my little girl doesnt check this thread out.

[Wild Turkey]

"hate" is a strong word i guess i severely dislike their qualities as a pet lol. And potatoes make better ammo, im glad im skimmed that post before.

[smaug]

"hate" is a strong word i guess i severely dislike their qualities as a pet lol. And potatoes make better ammo, im glad im skimmed that post before.
Ive heard of potato cannons,,,,,,,,,,,,,but a hamster cannon:14:

[Wild Turkey]

Ive heard of potato cannons,,,,,,,,,,,,,but a hamster cannon:14:

ive actually heard of kids doing that with potato guns before. :c11:

[smaug]

ive actually heard of kids doing that with potato guns before. :c11:
If I ever caught a kid doing something like that he would look funny with a potato gun tail,or adult.