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How Long Do Hamsters Live?

This is often one of the big questions one asks when considering buying a hamster, and the answer is, not long! A typical hamster life lasts for about three years, some only two, others lasting up to four or five. If your hamster dies earlier than expected, this can often because of poor care (like a bad diet, constant dirt in cage, no excercise or attention) but sometimes a hammy was just made to pop their cloggs early! Some loved and well-cared-for hamsters die before their time, apparently for no reason. Although this isn’t the case for many, if your hamster dies prematurely, this fact is important to remember. It is not always our fault! However if you consider getting another hamster, make sure you look back over how you cared for your pet and see if you’ve made any errors you could avoid in the future.

Anyway, premature death is the more depressing side to learning about the lifespan of a hamster. Some people feel they couldn’t get any small animal because they’d die too early, and not living more than 3 years seems too hard for them to cope with. But if you overlook the impending death, you’ll see that those 2, 3, or 4 years could be really fun. Why focus on death when you can on life?

Getting over a death is hard, even if it is that of a hamster! It took me a week to be able to think about my hamster, Pip, without crying. It’s different for everyone, some may be over it in an hour, others may still be crying in a months time, but it doesn’t matter. This is another reason why hamsters are great pets for kids. They teach children about death and life. And the kid doesn’t even know they’re learning!

If you’ve taken really good care of your hammy, and given them lots of love and attention, then you will be very sad when they’re gone. But that’s why it’s important to give your hamster the best life it could have, so that when they do go, you’ll be happy that they had fun!  Yes the time is short, but use it wisely, and have 2 or 3 glorious years with a family pet.