Hamster question -- Teddy's not doing well (page 2)

cruzanheart

Here's a photo of Teddy in his prime, getting to know Moose:

Elsewhere

Awwww... too cute.

Reminds me of this news article:

GoingGoingGone

Elsewhere - that article is hysterical!!!

Well, Teddy died today. After the symptoms I described above, he did get wet tail. I do think he had cancer, though, and the wet tail was just the tail end (pardon the pun) of his problems. Poor little guy lingered a lot longer than we thought he would, and even last night he was feebly gnawing on a carrot. He took to his bed (a large red plastic strawberry with a hole to crawl into) a few days ago and just didn't come out. I shoved medicine into him with an eye dropper (which he took, but not happily).

Today he came out of his strawberry and sat at one end of the cage, all hunched up and breathing intermittently. Even though I'd cleaned the cage a couple of days ago, there was a strong odor, so we put the cage outside on the back porch. It was a warm day but there was a breeze and an awning over the table, so he wasn't in direct sunlight. We went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" after lunch and when we got back home at 4:30 Teddy was dead.

We just wrapped the whole cage in two garbage bags and gave him a dignified funeral in the trash can. We thought about burying him but the back yard means Moose would dig him up, and burial in the front yard might attract the local coyotes, of which we still have quite a few.

He was a sweet little hamster and I'm glad we had him for as long as we did.

Nina

talesin

Cruzan,

My friend's little buddy died of wet-tail just 2 weeks ago. He was sick for over a week, but there is nothing you can do. She only had him for 2 months, and they had just bonded. She was very sad, they all have their own sweet little ways, and are great companions. I'm sorry you lost the little one, but glad he didn't suffer too long.

RIP, Teddy.

tal

cruzanheart

Thanks, talesin. And I'm sorry to hear about your friend's hamster. Wet tail is a very common problem among hamsters, apparently. It can be stress related or caught from other hamsters. Make sure your friend gets rid of the cage and everything in it and buys all new stuff if he/she is going to get another hamster. The bacteria can linger.

Yeah, I never thought I'd get that attached to a hamster! I'm just an old softie.

Nina

talesin

Oh, thanks, I will make sure to tell her. She's gonna wait a while till she gets a new little friend, it took a lot out of her, nursing him for a week or so. Yes, it's too common. They told her at the vet's (she called, couldn't afford to take him in) that a lot of young ones die from it, brought on from the stress of first being taken from their mother, moved to the pet store, then taken from siblings, in such a short period of time. Poor little things!

I know what you mean. When I was housesitting for Kwin and H2H, they had a cat and 4 gerbils. Well, I have never been around rodents much, though I do like them, and these little dickens's just were too cute. The boys were much bolder, and would get all excited when I fed them and took them out of their cages for a bit of handling/cuddling. heheh, I'm looking forward to house-sitting again next week! They have 2 more cats now, and I'm taking my little Blue with me as well (to visit with her sister). It will be quite a menagerie!

Off-topic, but I had a question I wanted to ask you. There was an ad on the radio yesterday --- we now can buy the real thing ---> imported CRUZAN RUM here in Nova Scotia!!! (one more reason to retire here ) Of course, I immediately thought of you and Chris when I heard the ad! I am gonna try it, and hoping it's DARK (well, duh, it would be dark, right?), cause that's the kind of rum I like. Here's what I was wondering, it's kinda silly, but I am ever curious ... the announcer was pronouncing it like "cruise - Anne", but I always said in my head "cruisan", you know, like cruisin' in the car. Which is the correct pronunciation? And how do I drink it; ie, on the rocks, with citrus, or what do you recommend?

tal

BrendaCloutier

Awe ((( Nina ))) I'm sorry for your family's loss. Lossing a pet (even a rodent) is heartbreaking!

Hugs and love

Brenda

cruzanheart

COOL!!! Cruzan Rum is the BEST (eat your heart out, Bacardi). "Cruzan" is pronounced like "crucian" (an alternate spelling for a resident of St. Croix), a soft zh sound. There are all sorts of things you can do with the rum: white rum mixed with muddled mint leaves, simple syrup or sugar cane juice, lime juice and club soda make a mojito (very refreshing on a hot day). Dark rum and pineapple juice, or orange juice, or passion fruit juice taste delicious. Rum and Coke is a classic drink, but too sweet for me. The flavored rums (mango, coconut, raspberry, vanilla) taste great on the rocks.

Look on the Cruzan Rum website and they have all sorts of drink ideas.

Enjoy!

Nina

cruzanheart

Thanks, Brenda.

Hugs,
Nina

Hamster question -- Teddy's not doing well

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