Yesterday I bought two dwarf hamsters from Petland (I know, I know, some people think they are a bad store, but petsmart and other places were way expensive, and I liked being able to choose my own hamsters by seeing which was the friendliest. ). Anyways, they're both males (we're pretty sure ...) and their names are Carl and Leroy. Unfortunately, today when I left for church, leroy was running on his wheel as usual and Carl was eating, but when I came back home about an hour later, Leroy was on his side with his legs sticking straight out, as if he had fallen over suddenly. He was dead. Carl is fine though.
I cant figure out what killed him. I had only had him for less than a full 24hrs! I dont think he choked, the food we fed them was meant for baby dwarf hamsters, and theres no pieces to choke on, as well as the bedding. The bedding we use is these big pellets that are kind of cylinder shaped. Like these: http://www.mjfwoodenergy.co.uk/images/pellets_on_white_background.jpg
And they had plenty of food and water, as well as some hay. Im mainly just worried about Carl, especially if its something Ive been giving them.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I get to go back tomorrow to get another for free since mine died so suddenly. When I picked Leroy up, he wasnt wet at all, so I dont think it was wet tail.
However, he did squeak a lot in his sleep, he was smaller than carl, and didnt eat or drink much, whereas, I only saw Carl eat or drink, and he would lick my fingers a lot, while carl didnt .. Could he of just been sick? I just wanna make sure so I can prevent Carl from dying too!
I didnt have them long enough to know their normal behavior, so I cant give any info on that.
Oh, im so sorry for your loss. I lost my gerbil this past winter and am still grieving ... well, im suspecting that it was a defective hamster because of the store's own problems. Maybe the dwarf hamster really wasnt a baby after all. when i bought my gerbil, i thought he was a baby, but after he died, i went to the pet store for my brothers guinea pig and saw smaller gerbils! they say they are babies, but turns out mine was 1 1/2 years old! I dont think you are doing any thing wrong, hun. hope this helps
