Saying goodbye to your favorite pet animal is not that much easy. This article provides a detailed guide about the health hazards and precautions for handling a dead hamster.
How to Get Rid of Dead Hamster? You can get rid of a dead hamster by wrapping his body in a plastic sheet and burying it in your garden. You can also call a dead animal removal service to get rid of the dead hamster.
You must keep in mind that it is not a good idea to bury the dead body of your pet animal in your yard. You should know the proper way to dispose of the dead body of your pet. It is an important matter to consider and discuss your well-being and also for the health of others.
There are many precautions to be taken to bury your dead hamster because it can be harmful to your health.
How to Get Rid of Dead Hamster?
The laws allow you to bury your hamster in your garden. But if you can’t own a house and live on rent, you are not allowed to bury it in your yard. Also, you cannot bury your pet in your friend’s garden.
You are also not allowed to bury that pet in the park. When you are burying your pet, keep that in mind that there should be no nearby water supply.
When someone’s pet has passed away, it is emotionally difficult to tell him/her that he/she cannot bury its pet animal in their yard. If your pet had chemo sessions or controlled drugs euthanized it, then you cannot bury the dead hamster in your garden.
If your hamster died at a veterinary doctor’s clinic and they are not letting you take your pet’s dead body for burial. Then ask them to give you a written reason why they do not allow you to carry the dead body home.
How to confirm that my hamster is dead or not?
When you move the hamster, it may feel like an air gasp, but unluckily it will not let it back to you or life. It is the air that is escaping from the lungs of their pet. Dead hamsters can also pass gas or some bodily fluids after their death.
A dead hamster may also twitch for some minutes, and it may seem like the hamster is not dead, but it is a usual nerve spasm. All these conditions sway the pet owner to believe that their little munchkin is not dead.
As you love your pet and you are not ready to believe that it is gone. All the above-mentioned conditions can confuse you more. So here the question is, how can you make sure your hamster is no more? If you are unsure about the death of your pet, try to listen or feel the heartbeat. This will help you to interpret if your pet is passed away or not.
It is usually hard to check the heartbeat, and it needs some time. Place your thumb and forefinger on the chest of hamsters over the elbows.
Apply some pressure; the pressure must be as much as when you try to stop your pet when he is running away. After a little time, you will start feeling the heartbeat of your hamster.
If you are still doubtful, bring your hamster to the veterinary doctor and allow him to check his heartbeat. When a pet usually dies, it shivers for some minutes; it is heart-wrenching as it seems like your pet is not dead. But actually, it is a normal nerve contraction.
Where should I store my hamster until I can bury him?
After the death of your pet, if you are not instantly going to bury it. The best way to store the dead body of your little companion is to keep it in a cool, dry place.
Keep it at a temperature as low as you can. Preferably the dead body should be kept at 4 degrees Celsius. Or you can keep the body below this temperature or even at 0 degrees Celsius.
If you keep the dead body at 0 degrees, you can store the dead body for an almost infinite time. You have some days to make up your mind for the best burial options if you store it at 4 degrees Celsius.
How should I go about burying my hamster?
It is best to bury your pet various feet deep down. Before burial, wrap the dead body with some biodegradable compounds like cardboard or newspaper. Wrap the dead body, dig a deep hole, and place the dead body of your pet in that hole.
Now refill the hole with excavated soil. And after burial, place something bulky on it. This can be a big concrete slab or a heavy plant pot. This will prevent foxes and other animals from digging the hole.
Disinfect the cage and furnishings
After the death of your little hamster, you can utilize the cage and also its furnishings. But before reusing them, first, make sure to disinfect the cage and its furnishings. You can disinfect them by dipping them in chlorine water for some minutes or by exposing the cage to the sun for about two to three days.
Furthermore, you can disinfect the cage and its accessories by washing them in a solution of 9 parts water and 1 part bleach. Now wash it with seventy percent solution of alcohol.
By washing it with alcohol, your cage will be neutralized, and it will be safe from the corrosion effect of bleach. Put all the used things in a bag of plastic. Wear gloves and mask while disposing of them.
Handling dead hamster
After your hamster is dead, don’t touch the dead body. If you want to touch them, then first wear gloves. You can also use a spade to pick up the dead body and pack it in a plastic bag. If you have a garden in your home, disposing of little animals’ dead bodies like hamsters is quite easy.
Contact local regulatory authorities so they will give you the basic information about burial. Bury your hamster at least three to four feet deep.
Check for the presence of water supplies; if there is any nearby water supply, then don’t bury your hamster at that place. Also, don’t bury your hamster in an area that is vulnerable to flooding.
Different burial methods
After confirming that your dear pet is dead, you need to be prepared for the burial process.
Burial at cremation or home
You have two options: One is to bury the dead body at home, and the second option is cremation. Many owners of hamsters want to keep their little companions with themselves. They prefer to bury their pet in their house’s garden, or they use a little pan to bury them.
You can wrap the dead hamster in a cloth or a homemade coffin box that can also be used for this purpose. You can prepare that coffin box at home with the help of some pieces of cardboard.
Don’t ever bury the dead body of your hamster in a plastic bag because it can slow down the decaying process of a dead body.
Bury a dead hamster deep in the soil
Bury the dead body of the hamster as deep as you can. Also, pave the refilled hole with stones and hard rocks so that the place is not disturbed by birds and animals.
You can also put a bush, a plant, or a stone to mark the place of your hamster’s burial.
If you have buried the hamster in your house’s garden and you have to move to another place, it is always hard to leave them behind. In this case, the pot method is more helpful.
You can follow the same method but rather burying it in your garden. Alternatively, you can bury the dead hamster in a pot.
You can ask the veterinary doctor to organize a cremation for the dead hamster. The dead body of your hamster is collected by crematorium direct from the clinic.
The ashes of your hamsters will be given back to you in a wooden box. Your pet’s name is also written on a plate of brass. You can bury these ashes or sprinkle them. You can also keep that wooden casket as a memory of your little friend.
Non-Burial Methods to get rid of a dead hamster
Hamsters are small animals, and when they are dead, it is not always necessary to bury them in soil. You can also use the non-burial method if you are in a hurry. Discussed below are some non-burial methods.
Trash disposal
You can put the dead hamster’s body in a plastic bag and then seal it. Put that plastic bag in the garbage bag for trash collection. If the authorities are late to collect your trash, then you should place that packet into the freezer till the pickup time.
Dead animal removal service
Every city has an online service to report the removal of dead animals. The authorities will reach the spot, and they will remove the dead body from your place. Contact the sanitation department so they will come and remove the dead hamster.
Funeral ceremony of hamster
In this part, I have explained different methods to perform a funeral ceremony for your pet hamster:
Prepare for the burial: If you want to arrange your beloved hamster’s funeral ceremony, you need to make a few arrangements.
Your hamster’s last ceremony will go smoothly if you make proper arrangements. And you can say a final goodbye to your little companion in a decent way. For a funeral ceremony, you need to do the following preparations:
- A container of cardboard, paper, a plastic container.
- Buy flowers and some candles.
- Shovel to excavate the grave for the pet.
- A marker to mark the spot of your hamster’s grave.
Bury the hamster: When you have collected all the things and found a suitable place to bury the hamster. Dig a deep hole about three to four feet deep. Put your hamster carefully in the container.
Place that container in the excavated hole. Put some stones on the container. After placing stones on the top of the container, fill the hole properly with soil. Cover the grave with something heavy so that birds and other animals don’t try to disturb it.
Place: After you have done with the burial of your lovely pet, you want to mark the grave where you have exactly buried it. Just mark the grave with a marker.
The grave marker can be anything simple, like a stone that can be placed on the grave. You can also draw, paint, carve or engrave whatever you want on your little friend’s grave. Then finalize the ceremony with a decent goodbye.
