Death of our Mr. Fluffy

Question
We are very upset.

My daughter found her hamster, "Mr. Fluffy" dead in his cage this evening.  Both her and I took very good care of him and he was never ill.  He was almost 2 1/2 years old and we have no idea how old he was when we brought him home from the petstore. He did not show any signs of being ill when we had him out of his cage last night other than his "sticky eye" which we took care of with natural tears eye drops.  

My daughter said she heard him moving around in his cage after school today but we found him about 4 hours later on his back and very stiff.  My daughter is very upset and wondering why his was not warm, and "cuddly."  Was it just his time? Could he have died so suddenly and turned so "stiff" during that time or do you think he died earler in the day?  As said before, he was not ill.  We buried him in our rose garden....a place where my 8 year old said he would be happy.

I guess not a real question, just wanting to talk.  

Thankyou from a grieving mom and daughter.

Answer
Hi Melanie,

    So sorry to hear about Mr. Fluffy. I can tell you and your Daughter took great care of him, given his age.
    Yes, it was probably just his time. Going suddenly, like he did and showing no signs of being ill, leads me to think that it was probably a heart attack or a stroke (which is usually quick, so I don't think he was in any pain and is common in older hamsters). In my experience, they do get stiff fairly quickly. I had one a year ago, he was 2 and on his way to passing, as I held him, he was cool and already getting stiff.
    I think your Daughter picked the perfect place and I'm sure he will be happy there.

Thank you for writing and again so sorry for your loss.