[chimmie]

Hi all, I have a dwarf hamster who broke her right hind leg about a week ago. She’s coming to 2years of age. Anyway, I brought her to a vet on the same day she brought her leg. And the vet x-rayed it and bought that it had been broken in two parts.

She broke it by falling off the table. I think she didn't land properly. When I picked her up, I found that she had kept her right hind leg inside and not applying any weight to it at all. I went to the vet and the vet told me there's nothing much she can do. Because hamster's legs are too small. And all I can do is to just see how things goes along. Whether there is any infection a not. If she's not caring for her leg the vet suggested amputation.

Anyway, it's been a week and from what I’ve observed, my hamster is doing fine! So I decided to bring it to the vet again for a review. And when I went to the vet, my hamster looked worst than ever! ): and the vet said that she may have been biting her leg which may then lead to infection. So my vet suggested either amputation or to put her down. And I can’t bear to put her down! And not only that, hamsters don’t really make it out of surgery! So either way the outcome is not to my liking!

But I decided to bring her home as I wasn't ready to let her go. But I’ve been going to this website where I can ask a vet questions. So I’ve been getting external help. And from what I’ve gathered, the bones will form back but the leg won’t be as good as it used to be. But I don’t really know how to aid my hamster's leg.

So please please please someone out there, please guide me on how to do so. She’s actually behaving normally. She’s eating, running and drinking still. But the only setback is that she is getting pee on herself making her broken leg covered in pee.

I’m really worried about her. So please do help me! ):

 

[RodentzRule]

IMO you should have her leg amputated if she is peeing on it and stuff, she will probably get a bad infection and end up being put down anyway, since she is old she may not make it out of surgery. Having her pts or letting her have the surgery (she would be under anasthetic so it wouldnt be painful for her) would be far less painful for her . Anyhow, I respect your decision and since you say she is running normally, I would put her in a smaller cage and remove any wheels or pipes. Provide plenty of bedding and keep her food and water close, if she doesnt move much it will give her leg time to heal. Good luck!

 

[chimmie]

she's not exactly peeing on herself. its something that she cant really control now. because the injury is at her hind so it makes her lose control over her bladder. so she maybe peeing while she sleeps. thus, getting pee on herself. i've bought small animal wipes to help her clean. hopefully it'll work.

oh no! i didnt noe i have to keep her in a small cage! :S i thought that since she cant really run on her wheel, she'll need bigger space so that she can remaind healthy by moving about more! oh no! am i very wrong? i also thought that since she's really totally not using that injured leg at all. not even when she climbs her tube that its fine to keep the tube in. am i wrong? :S

and i've just started giving her bread soaked in milk. hoping that the calcium will aid in her bone formation.

 

[RodentzRule]

I wouldnt say you are 'very wrong', I can see where you were coming from but she really shouldnt be moving alot because she isnt giving the bone a chance to heal and risking making it worse. If she isnt using the pipes atall its ok for you to leave them, and as long as you keep the leg clean while its healing she should be fine. The bread/milk thing helps her bones to heal but dont feed her on just that, make sure her regular food is available too as if she has a completely different she may get dihhoreah and that isnt something you need right now Good luck, you're doing a good job so far!

 

[chimmie]

oh! thanks! shall not feed her too much bread and milk! anyway, she does climb her pipe. when i remove it she'll get 'angry' that she cant climb up so she starts to bite her cage. but she uses 3 legs to climb only. and i'm like really scare to clean her leg. afraid that i'll make it even worst! :S

 

[Jennicat]

Was she given any pain medication? Small animals like hamsters and gerbils will often self mutilate when they are in pain. If her leg hurts, she may be chewing at it attempting to get to the source of the pain.

I had a syrian with a broken leg, and we confined her to a smaller cage for 3 weeks after an x-ray and she was on metacam for pain twice daily for 2 weeks.

 

[chimmie]

My hamster's not biting at her leg or anything. thankfully. i went to the vet and they gave me meloxicam. which is sort of used as a pain-killer. but its only for a week. so after a week from when she first broke her leg, i went back and the vet suggested amputation or putting her down. i think its because she was sleeping in her food bowl and accidently pee inside and i think there was this seed that is red in colour and the colour sort of came out when wet causing her leg to look red. and the vet said that she's been biting herself. thus, the suggestion. but i didnt want to do so because i've not notice that before. is that metacam thing good? can i get it at any pets shop or only from a vet. i've also been advised to get some cream that will ease her pain. anyway, did your hammie leg heal? because my whole family thinks its hopeless! ):

 

[Jennicat]

Metacam is the brand name of meloxicam (sort of like Advil is a brand name of ibuprofen), so you're doing the right thing, but maybe she needs more of it if the break if severe? Metacam (meloxicam) is only available from a vet because it's a prescription pain killer.

If she's going nuts and climbing the walls, she may not be letting the bone remain still enough to knit -- would it be possible to switch her over to a tank temporarily?

My hammy's leg did heal up, but it did take 2-3 weeks of enforced resting. I kept her in a tank and gave her pain medication twice a day. I took out her wheel and didn't let her have anything she could climb up to make her rest more. Amputation is often recommended for smaller animals, however, if the break is more severe, and our hammy had a very minor break. A vet skilled in surgery on small animals should not have a major issue on a healthy hamster. We've had abscesses and other surgeries done on the little guys and they came through swimmingly.

 

[chimmie]

ooo! your hammie leg healed! there's hope for mine! haha. i didnt know metacam and meloxicam are the same thing. haha. the vet only gave me for a week and to be fed to her once a day. so now she's out of it. and i don't want to go back to that vet anytime soon because she wants me to put my poor hammie down! because the thing is that my baby is old. she's almost 2yrs. so the chances of her making through surgery are very very slim. and i dont want to risk it. i rather take the slower way. keep her in a tank?! then how to i give her water? there's no place to hook it too. i recently moved her to a bigger cage because that cage its deeper which means she wont get a chance to climb the rails and bite them. guess i'll try and make a small compartment out on that cage. i took her wheel out too!

 

[Jennicat]

With ours, we used a bottle holder similar to this:

http://www.petco.com/product/105628/PETCO-Chew-Guard-and-Bottle-Holder.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

The bottle sits inside of it and it hangs over the edge of the aquarium.

 

[chimmie]

oh. okay thanks! oh and did your hammie leg healed up properly?! or did it healed up crooked? because my vet said that if it does healed up. the leg wont be same again. and that it'll be almost something like what it is now. so how did your hammie healed up?

 

[Jennicat]

My hamster's leg healed up straight, but I don't think her fracture was very severe. It does really depend on where and how severely it's broken as to how it heals.

I'd also bet that your hamsters is taking longer to heal up because she's older and senior animals and people don't heal as fast as younger animals and people.

 

[chimmie]

not only that, she broke her leg at two parts. a lower and a upper part of her leg. the vet said it'll heal up crooked! and i cant keep my hammie in a small area. it agitates her! she'll start to scartching the sides then she'll keep on falling down. so i've returned her to her cage and she immediately went to sleep! think i'll leave her where she is. so she can rest more.

 

[RodentzRule]

Well if she was moving to much in the smaller space then I guess the bigger cage is better but supply lots of bedding and keep the food/water close so she doesnt have to move to much. Can I just add, to any guests reading this thread looking for advice on an injured hamster, take it to the vet and do not try to bandage it up, ive read of to many hamsters with legs that were just even cut and the owners tried to bandage them up, and the leg would drop of because they cut off circulation to. They are just to small to bandage, it doesnt help, all it does is make the hamster uncomfortable and risks the leg. Sorry, this was not directed at chimmie, I just read on another forum that someone did this because they thought it would save time and money, it the vet cant do it, you shouldnt try.

 

[Jennicat]

Good luck with your hammie, but climbing all over the large cage like you've mentioned is not going to help her broken leg heal, even if she seems to only be using 3 legs.

 

[chimmie]

nono. i think you read wrongly! hahaha. when i place her in a large cage she just find her spot and sleep. but when i place her in a smaller cage, she climbs about trying to get out. so i think a larger cage would be better for her because she gets more rest. hahaha. anyway, i've just bought some cream to ease her pain and to stop her from biting her leg if she does. and i also gotten milk for small animals. because the milk that we humans drink are not suitable for them. different level of nutrients. so yup! thanks for the advises and hopefully everything turns out just fine!

 

[cutekitty215]

aww i hope ur hammy gets better cause it would be a shame if it didnt =]]

 

[chimmie]

YAY! thanks! she's doing much better now. i saw her using her injured leg to scratch herself abit. not much though but there's some movement. so guess its not that painful anymore. now i'm trying to 'disturb' her more often in the day so that she wont wake up super hyper in the night and walk around. i realised that when i wake up her at around 12am+ she slps through the night allowing her leg to heal up better i guess. but she's getting thinner and thinner. abit worried about that though. anyway help in how to fatten her? my friend say that as hamsters get older and when they're going to die they get super duper skinny. howhowhow to fatten her?! she's eating normally though.

 

[chimmie]

To those who offered me advice: Thanks alot for the advices, however unfortunatly she passed away this morning. so i wasnt able to see the results of your advices. thanks for the help anyway. Appreciated it alot.

 

[petsavenue]

Hello friend,

Wish you all the best your hamster, get well soon don't worry about hamster.