Sick hamster, advice please

[SecondhandRose]

Our Molly is only just over 1 year old, her eyes are pretty closed (have been bathing them with hot salt water). She is really wobbly on her legs and has no energy. She is falling from side to side when she walks.

She has poo round her bum but it isn't wet. We have just given her half a grape that she has eaten as a book suggested she may be constipated.

Her ears are down and she looks terrible.

Is the prognosis as bad as I think it is? HELP!

Is her tummy hard?

Don't know she has gone back to bed, do you think she is constipated? She has had half a grape so that should help and to re-hydrate her.

She was sold to us at the pet shop as 18 weeks old but she is a very big girl and I wonder if in fact she was much older so she is 2 years old not just over one and she is just old but it has all happened so quickly, it's really sad.

Hate to say it, but it doesn't look good.

Anyone had any experience of a dying hamster and does this sound like it?

Time for Last Rites I think

when my hamster got like that he died.
he had poo stuck round his rear because he was just too old and stiff to get round there and do anything about it. and he didnt eat either. he just went to sleep and that was it.
i would prepare the children for the worst. although she should have another year in her really. but, she may have been older than you thought when you bought her- petshops are good at that.

What's her bedding made of? If it's cotton wool or a cheap fluffy bedding, she could have swallowed it & got an impacted bowel.

She was in a bad way this morning, lying flat out in her cage, not in bed.

She is drinking if I help her and I tried to get her to take some ice cream this morning too just to get some sugar in her.

She has gone to the vets with DH and DD, I couldn't face going.

I did look at her teeth and they do seem very long but oh dear I've just had a call to be told they are at the wrong vets, have been given wrong info on phone this morning. Marvellous.

Sounds as if Hamster may not come back from Vet.
Unfortunately not all hamsters live to be 2 years. They grow very quickly as babies so by about 3/4 months they are adult size. Pet shop could have been truthful (although maybe not).

2 years is an average I think. I've had 10 over the years - we had one for 3.5 years, one for 3 days so just over a year is not unusual

Well, the vet said she was massively dehydrated and he admitted her to his hammy hospital. She has had a drip and hammy antibiotics and she is 500% better than this morning. She is biting the bars again but is still very wobbly when she walks.

She is being kept in overnight as she still hasn't eaten so they are cautiously optimistic. Will update you tomorrow. The bill is currently £36, hope it doesn't get into triple figures.

oh dear, vet phoned last night, she has died. Bum. Have to tell DD after school, have warned her this morning so hopefully she won't be too bad. Can't tell her now or she won't be able to go to school.

aaw. thats a shame. how old is she?
i remember being quite fickle when i was little and if youve not had enough of hamsters, maybe you could get her another one?
she sholdnt be too upset then.

oh, what a shame.

We got our first hamster a month ago and I've grown quite fond of it - they're such cute creatures. Am dreading ours going for the big wheel in the sky.

We buried her in the garden, just DD (age 8) and me. Was a bit tearful all round must admit. We'll get another one after Christmas we have agreed as we are away over Christmas and the "cage needs to get rid of the germs that Molly might have had" (good enough excuse I think).

poor hamster. mine died a few months ago. he was old for a hamster. was very