was he dead?

Question
thankyou for all your past answers to my questions, My old hamster died last yeaR, at least we THINK he did. He had some sort of wet tail and was bleeding. He became very ill and weak. One morning when i came downstairs he was stiff and cold in his cage. I put him in a box ready to bury him that evening. I left him in my room next to my radiator. when i came home that day he was still in the same position yet he wasnt stiff he was floppy. I picked him up and as i tipped him back his mouth opened and it looked like he had taken a breath. His body then curled up even more. Every 5 minutes or so it looked like he took a breath. He was still floppy yet his ribs and back was stiff. WAS HE DEAD? in the end i was convinced to bury him. The next day i had been thinking about it so much incase he was still alive i dug him up. but the box was empty. He could of been dug up by a cat or was alive and escaped? thankyou

Answer
Hi Aly,

It's more difficult to tell if hamsters are dead because you can't feel a pulse.  However, to be on the safe side, carefully monitor your hamster for about 12-24 hours, even if you think it's dead.  I'm really not sure what happened with your hamster last year.  Perhaps, as you said, a cat or dog dug him up.

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

Kelly