Whats the difference between death and ... something else?

[MissJeliza]

I've been thinking a lot about when Jeliza Died.

I had found her in her nest after not seeing her out and about for a couple of days,
She was pretty old, 2.5 and she had been showing signs of aging for a good 6 months, hair thinning, slowing down, body thinning ect.

But when i found her in her nest the first indication something was wrong was that she didn't come nosing about when I was moving all the bedding to get to her,
Then I found her still curled up in her nest.
Took the nest out and held her but she was stiff in her curled up ball.

Straight away I was crying that she was dead and I flt so bad because I loved her obviously.

But when I buried her in the back of my mind I was thinking....
'What if she's not actually dead and ive just buried her alive or while she is hibernating? '

Obviously I try not to think like that, she was stiff.

But it still nags at me

How do you tell if they've died or if they are just hibernating or something else??

[souffle]

At her age and with her showing signs of declining before she passed you can be quite sure she had passed over MJ.
Rigor Mortis sets in when they have passed and the body becomes cold and stiff. Sometimes they lose fluids from nose or vents. After a while the body will soften again.
Hamsters seldom 'hibernate' or go in to torpor at normal room temperatures and if it is fine for you it is fine for them. Definitely not in an English summer temperature. Cold hamsters will usually show tiny whisker twitches and the body does not feel 'stiff'. There is still an element of softness to it.
If you look at the nail beds in a hamster who has died they normally show a black colour where the blood has clotted there. This does not happen in cold hamsters who still have a heartbeat.
Try and not dwell on it and know in your heart that she had passed over and in the comfort of her own nest after a long and happy life.

[Thin Lizzy]

I agree with souffle, Jeliza passed away in her nest and in comfort. She was a great age and hams do lose weight when they get older. Your gave your little girl unconditional love & care and she'll be forever in your heart xx

[Pebbles82]

It is a perfectly natural worry xxx But as the others say, if she had gone stiff she had passed over. She is at the rainbow bridge now, free from pain.