Kilobyte’s Death

My two hamsters, Gigabyte and Kilobyte, have been becoming less active and eating less due to old age.  However, as February ended, Kilobyte didn’t eat much, and I found him breathing rapidly Saturday night, February 26, 2011.  I thought he had pneumonia, because that was the cause of Sugar and Spice’s shortness of breath a few years ago.

Since veterinary offices were closed on the weekends, I was planning to call the vet Monday morning, and see if I could take Kilobyte in.  However, a few hours after I noticed the rapid breathing, I found him lying still.  Kilobyte passed away on February 27, 2011.  So instead of an appointment with the vet before work, I bought a new male hamster after work.

I then recalled that years ago, Lasmin was also breathing very quickly the few minutes before her death.  Why didn’t I notice anything strange the week before Kilobyte’s death?

I’m also worried for Gigabyte and the new hamster.  Gigabyte is pretty old, and sleeps most of the time, but I just can’t see anything strange.  After having bad luck with new hamsters several times in the past, I’m also afraid of having to take this new long-haired cream-banded hamster back due to illness and death.