Suddenly sick hamster

Question
My daughter's hamster was fine yesterday and today it was shacking and seems to be breathing heavy. The hamster is all puffy and it's eyes are almost closed shut. It seems disoriented and is stumbling around it's cage. My oldest daughter's hamster was acting the same way and it eventually died. I hate to see the hamster so miserable and hope someone can tell me what to do.

Answer
hi wendy,
get your hamster to the vets as soon as you can! it sounds very ill. you can usually get an appointment the same day. obviously it might be monday when you get the appointment now as generally vets are closed over the weekend unless yours has an emergancy contact number. if your hamster is not registered with a vet then it can be registered the same day they check it.
if your hamster is over the age of 2 then it may be that it is dying of old age, however a hamster younger than this is obviously very ill.
its awful to see any creature suffering as you feel so helpless when you don't know whats wrong.
please take it to the vets, they can give courses of antibiotics amd do urine samples for hamsters now, they're very good. its worth finding a good hamster vet as they generally take more time with them.

good luck with your daughter's furry little friend, let me know what happens.
thanks for your question, jewel