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How long hamsters live depends on a variety of factors.
The first factor is genetics. Some hamsters simply have longer life expectancies than others. For example, Roborovski hamsters tend to live longer than the other hamster species.
The second factor is vulnerability to predators. Many hamsters in the wild die an early death because they become a fulfilling meal for an owl, hawk, or other raptor. In captivity, as long as cats are kept away from a pet, this is illegally to happen.
The third factor is trauma. How long hamsters live in captivity can be seriously reduced if they are subjected to traumatic events. These include being dropped; being stepped on; being crushed by furniture, either because it moves and crushes them or because someone sits on top of a cushion under which they are hiding; being electrocuted if they chew through the cords of common household items, such as lamps; being drowned when put into the washing machine with the dirty clothes in which they were hiding; dying of exposure if left outside; or dying due to overheating if their cages are exposed to direct sunlight or other sources of heat (if these descriptions are making you cringe, then use that as a guide as to how to proceed the next time that your hamster escapes).
A third factor is disease. How long hamsters live depends on their not contracting a deadly disease. Hamsters, by nature, are rather healthy animals. They are susceptible to several diseases, and some of these are deadly. Of the more common diseases, probably the worst disease that hamsters can get is called wet tail. It is called this because it describes the appearance of a hamster with this disease. The hamster gets a terrible case of diarrhea and the feces end up being smeared all over the anal area.
Wet tail has two causes. The first is due to a bacterium called Lawsonian intracellularis . The bacteria invade the cells of the ileum, causing them to become inflamed, which is a condition called enteritis. If the intestines do not work, then food is not digested, and instead is passed as dirrhea. The hamster gets no nutrients and dies.
A second cause of wet tail is a bacterium called Clostridium difficile. This is a one-celled organism that is typically present in all healthy intestines – even in those of humans. (In fact, Clostridium difficile is more of a problem for humans than it is for hamsters!). In healthy intestines, only about 3% of the bacteria population is composed of Clostridium difficile . When a hamster (or human) is given antibiotics, then all of the bacteria die, not just the healthy ones. Clostridium difficile , however, can form spores that are imperfect to the antibiotics. With no competition in the intestine from other bacteria, Clostridium difficile will multiply rapidly. Then they will release toxins that cause pain, bloating, and diarrhea. It can also cause a severe infection in the colon.
If a hamster avoids all of these causes of death (and others), and dies naturally of old age, then it can live from 18 months to up to 3 years.
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Source by Matthew A. Boreau
