----- Original Message -----

From: Kath
To: info@hammysworld.com
Sent: Monday 12:30 AM

Hi:
I am not asking you to try and diagnose what was wrong with my hamster but any insight you can offer would be most welcome as why he should die so young. I have a dwarf hamster for about 3 months now. About 3 week ago I came home from an evening out I went to his cage to say good night as i do every evening to make sure he is alright and has everything. I find him in the corner shivering though it was not cold as my flat is always warm. I picked him up but he seem very slow and not responsive So I wrap him up and got my boyfreind to warm some milk and put in a little honey i gave it to him and stayed with him for and hour. He stoped shivering and seem to be more himself after this so i put him back and went to bed. When I got up the following moring he seemed fine and more like himself and normall sleeping in his little box, I tap on his cage and called him, he got up and he came to me. Then 2 days ago I came home late from work and he is lay on the bottom of his cage his eyes closed and breathing very slowly I took him out and wrapped him up again but he stopped breathing and died about 2 hours later.

Thank you
Kathleen Jameson

info@hammysworld.com wrote

Hi Kath.
Sorry to hear of your sad loss. Sounds very much to me as though your Dwarf hamster was diabetic. Many of the Dwarf hamsters are predisposed to this disease. A hamster suspected of having diabetes can show a range of signs. The one you describe is typically one of them. The fact he stopped shivering shortly after giving him a sweet drink strongly suggests this was the case. Symptoms of diabetes in a Dwarf hamster are very similar to those in humans.
If blood sugar levels drop too low hypoglycaemia (or hypo) the hamster may experience shaking or shivering, this is sometimes referred to as trembling. If a hypo is left untreated blood sugar level will continue to fall starving the rest of the body of glucose and energy leading to more serious problems and eventually possible coma.
The cause of diabetes mellitus is complex and can involve both genetic and environmental factors. Environmental factors relate to diseases that are not transmitted genetically. Because so many of theses animals develop this disease at around 3-6 month old suggests this is a genetically inherited disease in this species.

----- Original Message -----
From: Kath
To: info@hammysworld.com

Thank you for your fast reply i did not know that such a thing existed in these little creatures. I only think now that maybe if i had contacted you the first i saw the problem it may have been different now.
Thank you once again.
Kath.

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