whats the average life span of a hamster?

Question

ive had a dwarf hamster for a year now. love him to death and hes perfectly healthy but im so scared he could die any time now. im VERY attatched. just wanted to know whats the average life span of a dwarf hamser....

...poor thing even looks old...

Answer 1

The average life span of a dwarf hamster is two years, though there are a great many of them that surpass this.

This next part is a bit off topic/question but as an experienced breeder, part of your question indicated a "red flag" to me.

I'm a bit concerned by a contradiction in your question. You've said that your dwarf is healthy but that he already looks old. A healthy one year old hamster will not look old. I suspect that your hamster may have diabetes. Diabetes is a very prevalent problem in Campbells Russian Dwarves and Winter White Russian Dwarves. It has been documented by a member of a hamster club that at one of the national pet store chains 30-50% of their dwarves already have early onset diabetes BEFORE going to their new homes. These are young animals and already they have diabetes. There is no way to account for the hamsters that develop late onset diabetes after they go to their new homes.

A diabetic dwarf will have all or some of the following symptoms:

1. Increased thirst, drinking excessively
2. Peeing excessively, strong smelly urine with either a sweetish smell or a acetone (nail polish remover) smell.
3. Sudden weight loss or weight gain
4. Tiredness (sleeping more than usual) or excessive exercise or a combination of both at the extremes
5. Irritability (only in some), unusual biting when the ham did not bite before
6. Increased hunger

If you think you have a diabetic hamster, I encourage you to join the Yahoo! Group called Honey Hams. It's a group solely dedicated to diabetic hamsters. In the files section of the group are some files that tell you how you can test for diabetes and things you can do to modify the hamsters diet to help control the diabetes. Here's the link for the group:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/honeyhams/

Testing for diabetes is easy and you can purchase the testing strips at any pharmacy. Please visit the Honey Hams site for the exact kind of testing strips you should purchase.

Having diabetes will cause your hamster to age more rapidly and shorten his life span. I strongly encourage you to test your little friend and make dietary changes if he tests positive.

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

A dwarf hamster only lives between 1 1/2 -2 years, few have lived longer. All mine that passed were in the 1 1/2-2 years range.

Answer 3

I've read that the average life span is 800 days. Sounds like yours would be about halfway home!!

Answer 4

The life span of a hamster is 2 years. I've loved all of mine that I've had too.

Answer 5

3-5 years

Answer 6

a dwarf hamsters Average Lifespan: 2-3 year(s) just keep on loving him and enjoy the time you have together!!

here is a web link that has a fewfacts about these cuddly little guys
http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/choosing-a-dwarf-hamster/page1.aspx
hope this helps you :-)

Answer 7

Aww that's so cute dwarfs are sooooooooo cute, I want one so bad lol anyway. Um I'd say about two years sadly enough :(, maybe think about getting a guinea pig (they live alot longer.) I know how you feel about the whole attatched thing god I was devestated when my first guinea pig died :(. Give you're hammie a kiss for me ^_^.

Answer 8

The average lifespan for hamsters are about 2-3 years.

Answer 9

probably 2-3-4 years. My friends hamster was 5 years old when he passed.So you little hammy might live longer than you expected.

Answer 10

3-5 years....but it depends on how healthy they are and how well you took care of them...

most of my hamsters lived to be 5 and a few almost 6 years....