Trying to figure out why my Chinese Hamster Died

Question
Hi there.  I'm very upset because my Chinese Dwarf Hamster just died.  He was only 9 mths old.  I'm not really sure what happened.  This past weekend, he was very hyper, trying to climb on things to get out of the cage (it is a glass fishtank cage).  I didn't think this was abnormal, because he had done this before.  He had water and food.  I clean his cage every other week, and this was no different.  I have been inspecting the cage and there does not seem to be any indication of sickness.  His body also looked normal.  I found him on his side.. legs stretched out like he had fallen over sideways.  If you have any idea as to what could have caused this, please let me know.  It makes it very hard not knowing what happened.  Thank you so much for your time.

Answer
Hi Kristen,

I'm very sorry :(  It sounds like your hamster may have suffered a stroke.  Strokes are most common among older hamsters; however, they can occur in younger hamsters.  There are no warning signs, and death isn't always the result - some hamsters recover, though they may have brain damage.

There is also the possibility that he may have fallen (since he climbed a lot) and suffered brain damage from the fall.

Once again, I'm very sorry for your loss :(

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kelly