A hamster owner has claimed her hamster was killed by a Pets at Home miniature see-saw after she got stuck inside.
Carla Pilgrim, 28, purchased the device for her one-year-old hamster Dotty from Pets at Home’s branch in Sudbury, Suffolk, six months ago.
But after spending the day with her partner she returned to find her beloved pet had died, with her head wedged between the upside-down seesaw and its pivoting mechanism.
Carla Pilgrim’s pet hamster was found dead in her cage with her head stuck inside the seesaw
Pictured is the seesaw Dotty used and has subsequently been removed from the shelves
Ms Pilgrim believes Dotty choked to death after getting her head trapped in the gap, and said there was a significant indentation on her neck.
But Pets at Home claim that the seesaw is only 80grams and could not be responsible for the pet’s death.
Ms Pilgrim said: ‘Me and the other half had been out most of the day and we had just sat down with dinner.
‘I just thought it was not like her to not be moving around – she does sleep a lot like they all do – but I really hadn’t seen her move [since I got back in].
‘I went and took the top part of the cage off and she was lay there with the woodchips covering her.
‘I knew then that she was dead.
‘It wasn’t until I blew the wood shavings off and saw how she was lay that I noticed she had got her head trapped.
Ms Pilgrim said when she found Dotty she was ‘heartbroken’, adding: ‘I couldn’t believe it. I just kept crying’
‘The seesaw was upside down and the part she would normally walk up was on the floor and the rest was sticking up.
‘When I looked at her I realised she must have got herself trapped in between the two parts.
‘I was heartbroken, I couldn’t believe it. I just kept crying.
‘There was a clear indentation on the back of her neck where the seesaw had been pressing on her, which is obviously from where she had been trapped.
‘It must have been very tight to make this mark and for her not to get out, so it must have stopped her from breathing.
‘I just couldn’t understand how a product that has been sold and deemed safe for animals could kill my hamster.’
Ms Pilgrim was unsure how long Dotty had been dead for, but believes it had been hours.
After alerting Pets at Home, Ms Pilgrim says she was contacted by the Sudbury branch where she had bought the hamster toy and the store promised to remove the item from their shelves while they investigated.
She said: ‘I did go to check and they have been removed.
‘I recently sold some guinea pig and hamster toys to a gentleman, including the same model seesaw. I phoned him and advised him to chuck it.
‘That’s what I would say to anyone with the seesaw – just chuck it away. It is better to be safe than sorry.
‘I have eight guinea pigs, two hamsters and a Staffordshire bull terrier, I love them all.
‘They are part of my family, and I also have a diploma in animal care.
‘I’d only had Dotty for about six months, I had adopted her from someone else to give her a better life.
After alerting Pets at Home, Ms Pilgrim says she was contacted by the Sudbury branch where she had bought the hamster toy and the store promised to remove the item from their shelves while they investigated
‘I like to remember that Dotty was a very happy animal and that before she died she had lots of fun running in her hamster’s wheel.’
A spokesperson for Pets at Home said: ‘We were really sorry to learn that Carla felt our small wooden see-saw may have trapped the head of her hamster..
‘Although this is the first complaint we have received relating to this extremely popular product, we took the precaution of removing all stock from sale while we investigated thoroughly.
‘The seesaw is designed specifically for small animals.
‘It is extremely light, weighing only 80 grams and the pivot has no openings that could trap a hamster.
‘As pet lovers ourselves we understand how distressing the loss of a much loved pet can be, however, having investigated Carla’s complaint thoroughly, we do not believe that the seesaw was responsible for the sad loss of Dotty.’