A man has experienced a terrifying moment after almost dying when his pet hamster clamped down on his hand and would not let go.

Nathan Halliday, 34, from Kirkby, Merseyside, sat down peacefully with Mochi, his Syrian hamster, when she suddenly attacked him and left him for dead.

He then experienced a anaphylactic shock and moments after she bit him Nathan’s body swelled up, he couldn’t breathe and was covered in hives.

His partner Rebecca Kidd struggled to get Mochi off him but once she did she thought the worst was about to happen so called 999.

Mochi had been looking frail for the last few days before this incident and once she was taken off Nathan she took her last two breaths and died.

In the ambulance Nathan was on death’s door and was given two shots of adrenaline, an antihistamine and put on oxygen.

…

‘One of the paramedics asked me if I was Freddie Starr.

‘Mochi is now in a fancy cracker box in the garden – I don’t blame her.

‘We rescue hamsters from people who otherwise wouldn’t want them and I’d never say no to another one.’

  • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
    9·
    1 day ago

    He then experienced an anaphylactic shock and moments after she bit him Nathan’s body swelled up, he couldn’t breathe and was covered in hives.

    It’s an anaphylactic shock.

    Do journalists not proof-read any more.

  • workerONE@lemmy.world
    161·
    1 day ago

    So the hamster was dying and decided to attack him and then died right after the attack? Or maybe when the hamster wouldn’t let go they beat it to death and then told everyone the story about a sick hamster

    • celeste@kbin.earth
      6·
      1 day ago

      I don’t think it’d take much. When I got a gecko and looked up tips, they warned that your natural flail reaction to being bitten could badly injure or kill them. We’re just way bigger!

    • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 day ago

      I mean to be fair that would probably be my reaction to. Hamsters have pretty strong jaws and sharp teeth so I wouldn’t have had much patience either.

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    2 days ago

    Sad to hear Mochi didn’t make it, but glad the dad is okay. I did not know someone could be allergic to a hamster bite… and I did not know hamsters would bite.

    • Mr_Blott
      19·
      1 day ago

      This is from The Metro

      Pretty much guaranteed to be made up for clicks

      Edit - yep, a quick search only brings up racist, shit-stirring hateful shitrag tabloids

    • Nougat@fedia.io
      17·
      2 days ago

      I seem to recall that hamsters are bastards. Not to the level of gerbils, but close.