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[absurdities]

Hey, everyone. :) I hope you don't mind the questions- I'm a longtime reader (lurker?) of this community, and I know you all are really well-informed...

Comments

[deweythehammy]

I think she's just old. She's getting ready to move on to the Rainbow Bridge ):

My old dwarf, Nancy, who only had one eye, went blind in her other eye and then started biting really badly. A few weeks later [on xmas day] she passed on.
Don't worry about Pollen, just leave her in peace.

[absurdities]

Thank you so much for your kind response...I really appreciate it. :)

[daedalsobriquet]

im sorry to say it sounds like she is just winding down due to old age, but at 2 and a half years shes had a good long hammy life and it sounds like youve taken very good care of her.

i had to put down two hammies, one with a tumor, and one with cushings, towards the end because it looked like they were in pain. they had the same symptoms of stumbling around, not eating, or doing much at all and it got to the point where i realized their quality of life was not good. they might not have been in pain per se, but they certainly were not living happy lil lives anymore and i knew it was for the best.

i would just try to give pollen as much love as you can and hopefully she will drift off in her sleep peacefully. think of this as a chance to say goodbye to her, you know?

if you see that she seems to be in pain or she worsens then i would suggest a vet visit for a second opinion. good luck!

[deweythehammy]

what is cushings?

[daedalsobriquet]

http://www.hamstercentral.com/wiki/Cushings_Disease_in_Syrian_Hamsters

she had lost a lot of fur and was almost bald on her lower half. she slowed down and stopped playing on her wheel and just slept all the time.
i took her to the vet several times to find out if the hair loss was mites or just old age but the vet said it looked like cushings and at the end i had her put down cuz she looked like she was suffering and not having a happy lil hammy life anymore. it was really hard to see her personality change so drastically.

[absurdities]

Thank you so much for responding :)

I'm so sorry to hear about your losses...I had to put one hamster down due to a tumor, I know how difficult and heart-wrenching that decision is even though you know you're being merciful. Wow, I didn't know that hamsters were prone to cushings...sigh, poor hammie.

Pollen did wind up passing away the morning after I wrote this post, and your comments really did help...thinking of this as a chance to say goodbye, I mean. Somehow seeing it in print made it hit home, and made me grateful I had the chance.

Thank you ♥

[zombieroadtrip]

I'm going to agree with the others, it sounds like normal aging/getting ready to pass. It is possible she could have had a stroke recently (which a lot of hams get as they grow old), which could explain why she slowed down much more suddenly.

The bite she gave your mother sounds like a product of aging too. They can feel themselves getting weak and defenseless, and sometimes they panic and become more defensive than usual. Definitely don't take it as a sign she doesn't like you anymore or anything like that, she's just trying to figure out what's going on with her body.

[absurdities]

Definitely don't take it as a sign she doesn't like you anymore or anything like that, she's just trying to figure out what's going on with her body.

Thanks for saying that :) It seems like such a foolish response to have- I mean, to think, "What, she doesn't love me anymore?" or something to that effect, but I'll admit it crossed my mind a couple of times before I told myself how illogical it was.

It never even occurred to me that she might have had a stroke...I did some research after I wrote this post initially and it seemed like that might have happened. Sigh, poor hammies.