Death of our hamster medical question

[GermaineFaithFaye]

Our hamster passed away on 11 25 11. We assumed he died of old age. However, after taking photos of him before we buried him. I noticed that his private part was partially black. He did not appear to have wet tail. As a matter of fact he looked pretty good for a 2 year, 5 mo and 4 day hamster. His hair was so soft, no patches, teeth in good condition. No bumps or lumps. But his private part was black in the picture. So, if you have any idea what that could have been. Perhaps, just decomposition? But, he only died minutes before we took the picture. We had a feeling he was dying and called our local vet. The vet said to give him a little of the steroid that we had left over from his May 27 2011 visit after our hamster was diagnosed with vertigo. But, I guess it was too late. Because after we gave him the dose he left us. My daughter said that he was on his back and looked like he was having a spasm, this was before we called the vet or before administered the meds. So, I wondered if he was getting ready to go? But, my daughter encouraged him to get up and we gave him fresh water and tried to pet him but he seemed highly agitated so, we just monitored him. His cage was in the living room and he must have left us while we were talking. After just a little bit my daughter checked him again and she could not wake him. I thought he might have been hibernating but, after one night and day of him not moving, and my daughter repeating to me that he was really gone, we buried him. But, like I mentioned before we took his picture and that showed up, his private male part outside skin area was black in the back but not the front. So, again, and sorry for this lengthy explanation, but I am feeling rather guilty because I should have noticed earlier and rushed him to the vet. Hope to hear from you. Germaine

[patches12345]

my hamster died of something known as wet tail . she actually just died 2 minutes ago "sniff "sniff . I loved her very much. she was a loving gentle sleepy little cutie.she was a teddy bear hamster , long haired , super fluffy!my grandma and i took care of her while she was sick and she lived for about 4 weeks after getting wettail . i noticed she was having a spasm before she died .she was opening and closing her mouth and shaking slightly. i named her patches . she wouldnt drink or eat for a while and ,i had been coming home and i took her out to give her her medicine for wet tail and 5 minutes later the sweet thing died in my arms the fluff ball .it almost seemed like she was wiating to see my face before she died ."sniff"i love you my sweet patches my baby , i love you,tear :(

[GermaineFaithFaye]

Thanks, and, I did call the vet she said the color was most likely caused by necrosis--cancer. It was just shocking for me, and my kids. Never knew that such a little fella could have such an impact on me. The Vet said they go pretty quick when they develop something like that, and he was getting older. I estimated that he was about 72 years old when he left us. We have had other hamsters but they either escaped or they died fairly quickly. He was the first to be born in our home, and when he did escape, he allowed us to catch him. He was always just walking around the house--he never disappeared like the others did, laughs! What a unique little guy. It is like he knew he was safest with us. He will be missed...

[dougiefresh2010]

Well i did take a little research on google and the only thing that i found is that it was most likely testicular cancer so that may have been what caused his death you know but the only way to know would be to take it to a vet and have them check and you would know for sure.