red claws

Question
hi, i noticed lately that my dwarf hamster is making some unusual sounds, sort of like squeeking, mixed with wheezing, well in any case, an unusual sound, i had a previous hamster that had the same thing, so i went to the vet's. she said it probably because she was experiencing some discomfort. my second one has the same thing but some of her claws are red... are these symptons related in any way? do you know what it is and what i should do?? help!

Answer
When you took her to the vet, did he/she say anything about any sort of respiratory infection?  Those are usually characterized by wheezing and lethargy.  I've heard of the red claws thing before and if the tail starts to turn red it may be a blood infection or blood clots and the extremities turn red due to poor circulation.  I'm pretty sure there's nothing you can do at home for her so she probably needs to go back to the vet.  Is the vet you took her to experienced in exotic pets?  If not, you may not get much help; see if you can find someone else but if you can't some treatment is better than none.

Good luck and let me know if there's anything else I can help with,
~Lauren