A hamster returned from the 'dead' just minutes before it was about to be buried.

Hamster returns from the 'dead' moments before being buried

Hamster returns from the 'dead' moments before being buried

Lisa Goodman was about to give her furry friend Fudge the send off it deserved after she and her daughter Lillie woke up in the morning to find the animal cold and stiff - a common sign that it was dead - but the pair couldn't believe their eyes when the sweet creature opened its eyes and wriggled back onto its feet just moments before it was about to be plunged underground in a cardboard box.

Lisa, from Oxfordshire, then took to her Facebook account to warn other people to double check their hamster is dead before they bury it in the garden as it turned out Fudge was actually hibernating after the temperature dropped in her home.

She wrote: ''I wanted to post this and share the warning as it isn't something that a lot of people are aware of. Fudge is my daughter Lillie's hamster so I was just praying that he would wake up. I didn't want to have to tell her he had died.

''Fudge was cold and from what I know that is the reason they go into this hibernation-like state. Hamsters are originally from warmer climates so need to be kept at a warm temperature. I didn't know about it until a couple of years ago when I thought one of my hamsters had died but while I was saying my last goodbyes it started to show signs of life again as it had started to warm up. I can't believe how many people are actually commenting on the post. I think I have caused a bit of a panic, but that wasn't the intention. Some people have been commenting and remembering their pet hamsters they have buried in the past and wondering if they buried them while they were still alive. I'm sure the people who have buried hamsters in the past have buried dead hamsters and not live ones as there are still small signs of life in the hibernating ones.

''There were even some comments from people that had put their hamsters in the bin and were panicking that they could have escaped or been taken off to the rubbish tip. ''I have had a few people reach out to me and tell me that I'm wrong and making people panic over something that isn't true. I don't claim to be an expert I'm just speaking as an animal lover from my own personal experiences. It's good that we are making people aware that they just need to be a bit more careful with their hamsters and double check they are actually dead. I just wanted to raise awareness as I had spoken to so many pet owners who didn't know this happened.''