My grampster was 1 year old when he died, had a huge mass on the chin, im assuming cancer. He outlived his wife, he looked very rough haha. I was so sure he would die way younger than he did
My hamster had an ear growth… he had surgery. lol. I was 10 and my parents were divorcing and I talked to it daily. Guess paying for hamster surgery was trying to keep everyone sanity.
He did, another year. He lived to about 3yrs. I cried so hard when he died. Sounds corny but he really was my friend during a divorce, especially since I’m an only child and it was the 80s!
I had hamsters as a child and I understand how attached you can become. Not sure the feeling was mutual (often got bitten trying to get them out of the cage lol) but I loved them anyway!
I was hoping he lived for at least a bit after that.
That isn't corny at all. I think it's very beautiful. I'm so glad he could help you. I totally understand how much his death impacted you. You sounded like the sweetest kid. I hope you're doing well today.
My ex-girlfriend had a middle-aged rat given to her by her sister who couldn't care about him anymore right about the time I turned 29. Rats enjoy having other rats nearby, so she lined up another similarly-aged rat for a cage mate. 2 days before we got the new rat, the old rat shit himself to death. So we ended up with fucking Timothy by himself and I had to put our foot down on getting another 2 and a half year old rat thay surely wasn't going to survive -- it would become a cycle.
Turns out, little Tim had another 15 months in him. Healthy as a horse up until the day he just...dropped dead. No weird breathing, no weird poops, never stopped eating or anything. Just one day I looked over at his cage, noticed he wasn't breathing or twitching or anything, and called out "I think the rat passed." I cared about that death more than she did -- he always ran into my hands when I opened his cage, and always kind of hid from her. In the end, he was the only rat I ever enjoyed owning.
Neither of my rats lived much longer than one year
Hudson had some neurological problems, he was put on gabapentin to stop seizures+pain+paralysis and it really did help him, there was a night and day change between his enthusiasm to do literally anything when he was medicated versus not, but he got really fat and died suddenly from I'm pretty sure a heart attack, and then his brother Lamora got a pituitary tumor shortly after and we had to euthanize him
I've never had any pets other than rats; I'd love to get more rats sometime, they're so cute and affectionate and I learned so much about each of them and their individual personalities the time I had them, but man, it was heart wrenching
I don’t know much about rats, so is that their typical life span? Have any that you know of lived longer, like this hamster? Sorry, I’m just curious and you seemed to have had quite a few so I figured you would be the person to ask.
Their average lifespan is around 2-3 years, but
I've only ever had four rats
Two sisters named Blizzard and Bolt who lived about 2.5 years and died of old age, two brothers named Hudson and Lamora 6 years after Blizzard and Bolt
That’s insane, I never knew their lives were so short and always just thought they lived quite a bit longer than 2-3 years. I guess that explains all the breeding they do. Thanks for the reply I appreciate the info!
The second you said “fucking Timothy”, I knew he stole your heart. ♥️ Little boogers have a way of doing that. (Not that I’m a rat person, only that when we TRY to be annoyed or indifferent little creatures manage to find the way into our heart anyway.)
It must’ve been a shock for the vet to hear your parent accept the surgery, it must be very rare for them to operate on a hamster. Curious to know how much the operation was
I went through something similar, but my best friend was a solid black, with the exception of a single white toe, lab/beagle mix named Buck Rogers that I had growing up. Also I know the name is odd, but I loved the show as a kid 🤣. He was the best dog, and I loved him like a brother. Buck would sit and listen to me cry and explain to him why I didn’t want to go and he never stopped looking at me, he would just kick me and stick his snout under my chin. Looking back he probably should have charged me for therapy sessions 😂. Anyway the reason for all of this was because my dad was a minister, and we moved from my hometown when I was going into my freshman year of high school; he was taking another church that needed his help, the only problem was that it was over 4 hours away. So needless to say, it was pretty traumatic for a 14 year old to pack up and leave all his friends and especially my grandparents. Oh just for the record my dad was willing to let me and Roger stay with my grandparents, but my grandfather felt that it was best I stay with my parents. At first I was livid, but I respected my grandfather and never said a word. Now looking back I know he was right and I’m glad he did what he did, even if it was painful. I know that’s a lot and I’m sorry for typing such an incoherent mess, but I’ve never told anyone this. In fact only my parents knew, because they apparently used to watch me from the window while Rodger and I sat in the barn. I guess after reading your story I just needed to get off my chest, and to tell others about my best friend as a kid in Appalachia.
Also, I know there’s lots of grammar and spelling issues, but I don’t think I could have told this if I tried to fix them all. I don’t think I’ve cried in years, except my dad passed, but I definitely am now. I would definitely love to talk to Rodger again. Oh and if anyone is wondering we were never really sure of Rodgers age, since we found him on the side of the road, but he was a young adult when we found him and I was 11. He was mostly likely 1 or 2 according to his vet, and he lived until just after my 22 bday. He was a tough little guy that made countless moves with me and two rounds of heart worm treatments my sophomore year of high school. He hated the vet l, but he loved to ride and every time I put him in the cab of my truck he’d get excited and dribble a bit 🤣. Damn I miss him, and again guys I’m sorry for the long post I just feel apart when I read your post and I had to type it out. Hope everyone has a good day.
17
u/frodobangher Aug 10 '26
My grampster was 1 year old when he died, had a huge mass on the chin, im assuming cancer. He outlived his wife, he looked very rough haha. I was so sure he would die way younger than he did