Does this need a TW? How long did your hamster live?

[Myhamsterwasspecial]

Oh my! I’m reading another thread in which hamsters over 18months are considered elderly. I had no idea hamsters had such short lifespans…

I had mine in the 80s for at least 5 or 6 years. I was cleaning the hamster cage into my teens.

Are they less robust now?

He wasn’t a fancy hamster - quite large with reddish brown fur with a white underbelly - and he just lived on and on.

My sister got a really very pretty little cream one some time after me and I shall confess to being quite jealous of hers as mine looked rather ordinary. But we were devastated when it died at 2. We thought must have been a bit weak and sickly dying so young because of it was considered “fancy”.

Mine was lively right to the end. He just didn’t wake up one morning in his little nest. Dear little thing he was.

Was mine unusual? How long did yours stay on their little hamster wheels?

Someone was replacing your hamster.

Yup.

Yours sounds more like a little Guinea pig if it lived that long!

I remember hamsters living 4-5 years in the 90s. Unfortunately they are so badly bred these days that 1.5-2 years is now more normal.

Having said that, I've had a few in recent years make it to 3.

Ours was 2 when we had to have him pts . That was 30 years ago.

I forgot to say, when we got him, I was told by the lady in the pet shop that was the average life span of a hamster. He was active and healthy, then suddenly disappeared into his nest for a few days and came out with a massive tumour on his neck, the poor little chap. We took him straight to the vet who said he had done pretty well to get to 2.

Our first was nearly 4 years, was a Syrian hamster, and after that on average 2. Stopped and went on to rabbits and guinea pigs when we moved as loads of outdoor space and a massive heated out house for them in winter.

18m, I also remember how quickly she she aged over last six months. She had big cage and was super healthy but compared to first six months there was a big diff

Dwarf lasted 4 years
Syrian- rescue we think 2 years
Currently have 2 Syrians both age 1

My current hamster is almost 3. He's a small grey one. I didn't think he would live this long especially having lived for 2 weeks in the back of a car when we moved house, and routinely terrorised by our dogs (one of whom seems to think the hamster is a tiny puppy) and manhandled by our 3 children and their various friends. He's a hardy little soul, always pops out to say hello (and look for treats) and whilst he certainly seems slower these days, he looks good for his age!

One of ours lasted over 3 years. He was a great hamster!
Others were around the 2 year mark.
I know a lot of people don’t rate them but I think they are fab little pets for kids.

We've had several. They all lived 1-2 years. I thought that was normal for a hamster. Gerbils live a lot longer.

I had my first in the mid 80s and he lasted 2.5 years. Others since have lasted between 2 and 2.5 years except my last one who lasted 18 months but she escaped and was found 4 months later in a box of washing powder. Went on to live another 6months after that but had a life of high adventure.

I think they are great pets - dd has one now that we all adore.

Well that never occurred to me @off !

I don’t think either of my parents would have bothered to that to spare my feelings if he just died or was sick.

But now that you mention it, I do wonder if one of them did something careless or unfortunate (we did have cats at the same time) and was guilted into obtaining a doppelgänger…

Definitely not a Guinea pig @Sugarplumfury

I think they must've… I could believe 4 maybe, depending on the species, but not 5–6.

The short lifespans is one of the reasons I don't keep rats any more — it's just too sad to keep losing these big personalities after such a short time.

Had one that lasted 2.5 yrs. Another was very energetic in his youth, but sadly suddenly became elderly and died at about 2 yrs old.

I've had several dwarf hamsters, one lived about 6 months, a few about 1.5 - 2 years and I had one that lived almost 3 years
A family member had one that lived about 4.5 years

I read in a hamster care book that male golden hamsters typically live around 3 years, females a little less. None of mine survived quite that long despite being well cared for, and "school hamsters" never seemed to last a full academic year.

Ive heard of hamsters living to be 5.......... its not common but not unheard of.

Ours had a sad demise at only 18 months.

We had one who lived until 3 1/2 until she suddenly became deaf and blind and had to be put to sleep.

My DS had a hammy that lasted 5yrs. We were all stunned! Mine only managed two and a half years. Even the vet was lost for words - 100% the same hamster.

My DC had hamsters that usually lived to 3/4 years, I thought that was average.

It's quite common that people think their childhood pets lived till much longer than they did.

One option is parents replacing but often it's just misremembering

Theres lots of pets my whole family would swear lived completely different time frames and remember well. However my accurate teen diary tells a different story

If for example you remember you had it from year 6 till year 8 it could have died at anywhere from 15 months to 36 months, depending on how you count it. People often get their ages wrong when they got pets. People forever recall outrageously long lived pets simply because they've added a year somewhere, thought they were 8 when it died but were actually 7 turning 8, or if they were 8 they were just 8.

My first three hamsters (80s and 90s) lived 3-4 years. My last one only lived 2-3.

sounds like he was very much loved, and I bet he had a great life. I think that was unusual even then. We had lots of hamsters at that time, 2 years was normal, some lived a bit longer