# Hamster death **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593 "2017-02-11T21:40:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sconetea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@sconetea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sconetea)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/1 "2017-02-11T21:40:08Z")
I saw my hamster around midday on Thursday just peaking his head out of his house to get a drink of water. Friday night I found him in his cage lying on his back with his legs up in the air. I knew he was dead but I’ve never seen or heard about a hamster dying like that. I picked him up in a towel so i could bury him and he was kind of soft, as in not stiff. I was just wondering if anyone knows how he could have died? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/2 "2017-02-11T21:42:24Z")
Is it too late for an autopsy? Or was he cremated? ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/3 "2017-02-11T21:44:30Z")
Old age for a hamster is maybe two years. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/4 "2017-02-11T23:05:21Z")
Unless we call in HCSI, this requires speculation, so let’s move it to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/5 "2017-02-11T23:51:44Z")
Sorry about your hamster. One thing to note is that rigor mortis is a temporary condition. It appears a few hours after death, but then disappears a day or two later and the body becomes limp again. I’ve seen this happen many times with my pet rats. So if you found your hamster limp, it may have either just died in the previous hour or so on Friday, or it may have died soon after you saw him on Thursday and already passed through the rigor mortis stage. As to exactly how he died, I doubt anyone could tell you that without more information. Just the fact that he was on his back doesn’t really tell us much. He may have had a spasm before he died, or may have just died in an unbalanced position and rolled onto his back. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/6 "2017-02-12T15:49:54Z")
I had several hamsters as a kid, and they all pretty much died the same way. I’d walk in one day and they would be lifeless, out of the blue. I had more indication that my (aged) guinea pig didn’t have long left when she stopped actually eating vegetables I’d give her, instead just chewing them up and leaving them in bits. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamster-death/779593/7 "2017-02-12T16:51:54Z")
[Maybe he was depressed.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfh1PaSRq3k)