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Small pets

I had my hamster put to sleep

28 replies

RainBearr · 29/05/2015 13:22

(As I state on all my threads/posts. I'm only 16 and not a parent. I'm in the middle of my GCSEs currently and I find the support threads helpful)
Yesterday at around 5:50pm I had my beautiful syrian put to sleep. She wasn't right for a week or so and had been on Baytril for a suspected bladder infection. She was a fighter and I thought she'd make it. But she lost so much weight and after a revision session at school I came home to find she'd had a prolapse of around 2 inches. She was covered in blood and weak but she was still walking, although not much. She livened up on the way to the vets (not her usual as they couldn't fit her in for hours). I found her at around 2 and she was like this until I left the house with her at 5:20pm. She came to her name and was climbing the stairs until last week. Her record was 9.48 seconds for 12 stairs- She was fast when she wanted to be.
I nearly lost her last year to a uterine infection but Baytril and gently warmed ,but diluted, milk helped to pull her through (and the fact that I'd over-indulged her at Christmas and he'd started getting podgy).
She was such a princess and the first hamster that was 'mine'. I lost one in 2013 to a tumour after having him only a few weeks (he was an adoption though) and that hurt but nothing like this.
My friends seem to think it's nothing because I still have a Russian dwarf, 2 Peruvian × abyssinian guineas and a dog (plus a family dog but the rest are 'mine'). She was 2.5 and I loved her dearly yet I forgot to tell her on the way to end her life. I just kept kissing her but I forgot to say I loved her. I've lost many pets before (due to illness and old age. I haven't mistreated them) but this is different and I deeply regret spending less time with her in her final weeks due to revision.
I loved her. I watched her die. But the vet didn't give her gas before the injection and that's the standard practice for hamsters [As far as I am aware] (aspiring vet) as the needle can't got straight into the blood stream, instead it goes into the heart or stomach. It hurts them without gas. I put her through pain in her final moments. She went so quickly, it usually takes a few minutes. She didn't fight it at all and the vet said she was ready but it all feels so wrong. I knew it had to be done but I can't stop thinking about it whilst I'm sat alone at home 'revising' (Nothing is going in and my history/worst subject exam is on Monday)

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Gileswithachainsaw · 29/05/2015 13:30

Look, you didn't put her through pain, you made a choice hi felt was best and from sound if it I agree completely with your choice. you trusted a vet to do their job and it sounds like s/he didn't do it quite as expected. FYI I had to put down hamsters before when I worked at a vets and yes I gassed them first so unless I stand corrected then I think.that the vet was wrong not to.

but that wasn't your fault. you did your bit as a good owner and had her treated and when there was nothing more that could be done you made the choice to end her suffering. you were a good owner. and I'm. Sorry about your little hamster Flowers

It's not your fault

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MagentaVitus · 29/05/2015 13:31

I'm so sorry - you obviously loved her very much Flowers

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MagentaVitus · 29/05/2015 13:33

You'll make an excellent vet I'm sure. Based on the love that is seeping through your post I'd be very happy to trust you with my beloved animals.

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 13:36

I forgot to add that I thought she was too weak to try surgery. The vet offered it but she had lost so much weight. I love my pets dearly but she was so special. I buried her in the garden. When I bought her in early 2013 I had wanted a buff one and they were all buff except one. The lady asked which I wanted and "the black one please" came out of my mouth which not only surprised my family but me aswell!
She had a bit of a sore nose in this pic (bar chewing. which she soon stopped after I introduced her to homemade honey treats (occasionally))
She was a beautiful tri with lemon spotting. The vet said she was so beautiful and unusual

I had my hamster put to sleep
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Gileswithachainsaw · 29/05/2015 13:40

She's beautiful Flowers

you sound like you know alot about your hamsters. and fwiw I don't have a medical degree but I do think your decision to not have the surgery was the right one.

sweet dreams rainhamster

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 13:40

Thank you for your replies everyone, it means a lot. Also when I said buff in my previous post I meant a pale eared cream (Some people call them buff buy it was making me think of a weight lifting hamster Grin)

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:02

Sorry for the double message but here are some more photos (she looks like a tortoiseshell and white banded here but she definitely had lemon spotting visible in different lighting).
You can see her markings better. I miss her so much. In the first photo she was running around the floor and my mum said her name and she stood up looking for who'D spoken to her. She was special, my other pets don't come to their names (including the dog half of the time Grin)

I had my hamster put to sleep
I had my hamster put to sleep
I had my hamster put to sleep
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Gileswithachainsaw · 29/05/2015 14:04

What was her name Smile

she's definitely got the "I look innocent but I'm a bugger" look Grin

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expatinscotland · 29/05/2015 14:08

Aw. I'm sorry. She's gorgeous. We have a black and white female Syrian, Frances, whom we care for a lot.

(((()))))

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:09

Her name was Pepper, Princess Pepper (because one of my friends said he'd never take me seriously if I called her princess. So I added it to her name especially for him)
We've also got a Boris Johnson the long haired guinea pig and prince Harry the crazy haired guinea pig. My Russian dwarf is Wesley, the name popped into my head for some reason and I later (weeks later) realised I had just come out of history and the leader of an extremist group was Wesley someone. That was embarrassing when I realised

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Gileswithachainsaw · 29/05/2015 14:10

Grin @ Wesley the hamster

I had a hamster called pepper too when I was younger.



She was bonkers.

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expatinscotland · 29/05/2015 14:12

Aw, RIP, Pepper. Sweet hammy.

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loveareadingthanks · 29/05/2015 14:16

Ah, she looks lovely and very alert and happy in your photos.

I'm sorry for your loss. You obviously love her very much and took brilliant care of her, right up to the end. It's not your fault the vet did it without the gas. I'm sure there was a reason for it, to do it as quickly as possible to end her pain?

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:17

Thank you everyone.
I've put some photos on my wall next to my lovely adopted dwarf, Marvin, whom was mentioned in my first post.
I think after my exams I may go down the adoption route again and get another syrian who's been overlooked due to being older. They will never be Pepper but she's given me a lot of love for syrians and I feel that when the time is right I can offer a home to another

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:18

That should say next to the photos of Marvin. Just above my current dwarf's cage.

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ginmakesitallok · 29/05/2015 14:23

She was beautiful. Dd1 has a wee brown banded Syrian. I say dd but we all know she's mine really! You obviously cared very much for your wee friend, she was lucky to have you. Take care x

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Gileswithachainsaw · 29/05/2015 14:28

You sound lovely taking in all these little creatures. It is hard taking on pets when you know they may not be around for long due to age or neglect or whatever. These little critters are such characters, and I'm. Sure in their own little ways they thanked you for taking care of them and loving them.

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:30

Thank you. Hopefully the vet did just want to do it quickly and it wasn't a mistake.She did go very quickly.
I loved her so much and it all feels wrong without her cage there

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Justusemyname · 29/05/2015 14:33

I had to have my Syrian put to sleep after he broke his leg. He was from the adoption centre and he caught his leg in a toy I'd bought him for Christmas . The guilt was immense. He'd just started being braver after being scared of everything even though we'd had him a while.
RIP Princess Pepper.

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TheFairyCaravan · 29/05/2015 14:36

I'm sorry for your lossFlowers. She's very beautiful. Her markings are very unusual. You did very well to get her to 2.5, you must have looked after her very, very well.

We've got a beige and white hamster called Neville. He's mine actually! Every evening he comes upstairs and gets into my bed with me, I say to him "kiss" and he come up and rubs his nose against mine, then goes down under the covers and snuggles down for a little nap. He lies on his side like a sleeping dog!

We did have a grey and white one called Rupert who liked to sleep on my shoulder!

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:37

I had Pepper from 9 weeks but both my dogs and 2 of my previous hamsters were adoption. Hopefully I will be going to university in 2 years so an older one may be better. Marvin was an adoption because he was biting everyone, the staff wouldn't even hold him. I held him and he didn't bite me. When I got him home I found a lump from then on it was a blur. He was at the vets for longer than he was at home for the 2 and a half months I owned him. They told me he wasn't in pain but sometimes I think his aggression was probably due to pain. He still moved around a lot and drank/ate so seemed mostly fine. They thought it was benign but maybe it wasn't. But since they weren't handling him they might never have discovered it

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RainBearr · 29/05/2015 14:39

It's lovely hearing everyone's stories about their hamsters. They've got such big personalities!
Sorry about your hamster too, Just

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RattieofCatan · 30/05/2015 21:57

She was gorgeous, RIP Princess Pepper Flowers People don't get the connection you can have to such a small animal, it's rats in our house rather than hamsters, but I'm sure we feel the same about our ratties that you do about your hamsters.

Try not to feel bad about the injection, you didn't know that would be how they did it.

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FernieB · 31/05/2015 07:16

So sorry about Pepper - she was beautiful. You did everything you could and definitely gave her a wonderful life. I'm not a hamster owner (2 guinea pigs and a rabbit) but I wouldn't have opted for surgery either. You made the brave decision and did the right thing for Pepper.

Good luck in your exam tomorrow. I'm sure you probably know more of it than you think you do.

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Branleuse · 31/05/2015 07:24

She was beautiful Rain. You did the only thing you could have done. She had a lovely life, better than most hamsters. You should be proud. It takes a strong mature person to put their animals interests first and know when the time is right,even when it hurts you.
I think a little private ceremony might be nice to mark the passing.

Whenever we get a pet, theyre nearly always going to go before us, and its heartbreaking. You totally did the right thing. I hope you can put aside some good time today to revise and get that exam in her honour x

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