My hamster :[ I feel awful.

Hey everyone, sorry if this is a bit of a read.

Last night, me and my little sister noticed that Apricot (hamster) was very weak, and he had sores all over his body. This obviously worried me a LOT, and it was horrible to see him in that state. But, my mum and sisters thought that he had just managed to cut himself on something plastic he was chewing on, and that the cuts had got infected somehow. I removed the plastic.
He was two years old, so I put the weakness down to old age.

So I figured a bath with special antiseptic hamster shampoo might sort the cuts out.

This morning I managed to get a good look at his body while he was asleep in his bedding, laying on his back. He had patches of black and pink skin, which the hair had fallen out from. This, combined with his sores, upset me so much, I realised that this was more serious than what I thought.

So, off to the vets I went.

He didn't have infected cuts, he had cancer. There was nothing they could do, and I decided to have him put to sleep. I just feel terrible, the little fella had been there during my GCSE exams, GCSE results, starting sixth form, different hair disasters... a good two years of my life.

I'm going to miss him so much :[
Apparently I did the right thing by letting him be put down, I just feel like I failed somehow because he got skin cancer in the first place :/

Just needed to get it off my chest, sorry about the depressing thread.

Jess xx

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Reply 1

.pushing.charlotte.

you didn't fail him.
but these sores didn't appear overnight - and from the sounds of it he was in quite a state when you finally realised.
this is why people should do daily health checks on their pets.
so sad.

Reply 2

mackemforever

You should have used a shovel, it would have been quicker and saved you the cost at the vets.

Reply 3

Rimipie

my first hamster died because he had severe diarrhea and lost alot of fluid, i bought him antibiotics from the vet and everything but he still died, i'm still pissed to this day

i bought a second hamster (whos still alive) but i dont love her nowhere near as much as i loved the first one, shes a psycho bitch and bites me when i try to hold her so i dont anymore

I MISS MY OTHER HAMSTER :frown:

Reply 4

IGX_RSV2

Shoulda poked him to death

Reply 5

bighairedmike

Hey. Try not to beat yourself up too much. You did the right thing. It happens in pets that size, It really is quite common. I used to have 2 pet mice. One of them got a tumour on its back and one had one on it's neck. The one that got one on it's neck stopped eating because of it and got really really weak. You could hear it having problems breathing which was terrible. And the one that had the tumour on its back just carried on with it, but you could tell it wasn't normal.

I had to go to the vets and get them put down too. It was horrible and I felt like you do, but don't worry.

Remember, it's not your fault he got it, and just remember he'f not suffering any more. =]

Take care,
Mike. x

Reply 6

Jelkin

To be honest, when pets that size get ill it's VERY difficult to treat them. Don't blame yourself.

Reply 7

kwm91

>RazorImages<

Not to be harsh but you're 18 and it's a hamster...not a human.

These things happen, suck it up and get on with it.

Reply 8

somethingbeautiful

You did the right thing. Similar thing happened to my dog last year - I'd had him for 15 years and couldn't see him suffer any more. It'd be cruel to let them die in pain on their own. I can't believe how heartless some posters on here can be. Anyway, hope you feel better soon :hugs:

Reply 9

Double Agent

2 years is good going for a hamster, unfortunatly tumours are something they are quite prone to, you did the right thing.

Reply 10

fidelity_blue

I'm so sorry you lost your hamster.
Please ignore the horrendous posters who are being rude and offensive.
I have a dog and a kitten, and if I ever had to put one of them down I would be devastated.
But with animals this small, once they're ill - there's really not much that can be done. So you did the right thing in ending his pain. Even though you miss him.
Plus, he was 2 years old, that's good going for a hamster, so, honestly, you didn't fail him - I know it doesn't make you feel much better right now, but you did all you could.
You'll start to feel better I promise :smile:

Reply 11

tinktinktinkerbell

kwm91

Not to be harsh but you're 18 and it's a hamster...not a human.

These things happen, suck it up and get on with it.

im 28 and i cried when all my hams died

1) age has **** all to do with it
2) the hamster was a pet, pets mean a lot to some people

yeah 2 years is good for a hamster and you did not fail him, you did the right thing

Reply 12

moomin_love

This reminds me of when we had to have my rabbit (who was my first ever pet) put down a few years back. That was the second time I've ever seen my dad cry :s-smilie:

I've only seen him cry twice in my life.

Don't worry, you'll be fine though. Get a replacement one. Actually, animals are usually happier in pairs, so get a replacement couple! Obviously, leave it for a while. Maybe try getting a different animal if you feel like replacing it would be worse?

Reply 13

Broderss

We had 2 Gerbils who both lived for 4 years until the one got cancer and the other became dehydrated because he wouldn't drink. The stupid ****. But anyway, things like this happen but you have to think of all the fun and time you spent with your pet yet be mature enough to understand death happens and not to think too much about it. You did the right thing putting him down before the cancer got worse enough to cause any real pain for him.

:jumphug:

Reply 14

Who2004uk

Op, you're a good person. Positive Karma will come your way.

moomin_love

This reminds me of when we had to have my rabbit (who was my first ever pet) put down a few years back. That was the second time I've ever seen my dad cry :s-smilie:

syrian hamsters cant live in pairs

Reply 17

>RazorImages<

moomin_love

This reminds me of when we had to have my rabbit (who was my first ever pet) put down a few years back. That was the second time I've ever seen my dad cry :s-smilie:

I would love to give another animal a nice life, that's how I took on Apricot, as my previous hamster had just died. But, I'm 18 now, and I'm not at home as much as I was when I was 16.
Not only that, but I'm having a gap year and I wouldn't be at home to look after him/her. My sisters always shifted the hamster duties onto me, I'm not convinced that they would look after it properly if I was away.
I've got around a year and a half until I'm going to be off to Uni, so maybe another hamster would be ideal, I'd love a black furred one :] Apricot was yoghurt coloured, hense the name :smile:

But I admittedly hadn't thought of taking on a new pet until your post, I'll talk about it with my parents.

Jess xx

Reply 18

tinktinktinkerbell

syrian hamsters cant live in pairs

to whoever poss repped me for this post, leave your name so i can return the favour :biggrin:

Reply 19

Spinnerette

My chinchilla had to be put down three years ago. I never got over it he was my baby.

It gets easier to deal with in time though. Nights that I would cry myself to sleep thinking I wasn't good enough for him.