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babyboos
09-26-2005, 12:53 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/timmy.jpg



Timmy our little disabled hamster born 11th August and still tiny. Our three week old babies are the same size...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/Picture068.jpg



Spoke to some of the breeders at the Edinburgh Show - we took Timmy along - and they don't think it is a genetic fault more something that happened in the womb or birth canal.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/Picture067.jpg

pophammy
09-26-2005, 12:58 PM
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! So cute, his tail is just like our Runtys' was. Go for it, Timmy! As long as he is enjoying life just keep trundling along! Maybe he'll get to be 3 like his great-uncle Runty!

SnuggleHam
09-26-2005, 01:18 PM
Aww hes very cute! I'm glad he's doing well! I love his coloration too!

babyboos
09-26-2005, 01:27 PM
Aw I do hope so was Runty very small or did he eventually achieve full size? From your pictures he doesn't look especially small. He has managed to master a large bore plastic seesaw tube toy now and races up and down it - he certainly is fast. One major concern is he will NOT drink from a water bottle. Bats is away and squeeks very loudly if we try to offer the spout to him. So he lives on fruit for moisture. Strawberries and grapes (we have to open the grape for him for some reason he wont bite into it) are his favourites so far. When he gets an itchy bit he gets so frustrated because his back leg just wont coordinate properly and reach the spot. He lives next to Jules' (the other-half) computer so he is on hand to give him a scratch when necessary and really I reckon he spends more time out his tub enclosure than in :roll: Jules' is very proud of his wee guy and spends ages encouraging him to excercise and build up his upper body strength.

pophammy
09-26-2005, 02:24 PM
Runty was very small at first. All the others were double his size at 3 weeks and his eyes opened much later too. I would say he was about 6-7months before he reached normal size though he did get there in the end and weighed about 130g for most of his adult life. Now here is a really strange coincidence Babyboos...Runty would NEVER use a water bottle. I don't know if he did not feel balanced to stand or what but we opted for a bowl, one of the little pottery ones which he lapped out of. You have to change the water maybe twice a day if they kick sawdust but he managed fine on that. Can Timmy move the back foot or does it drag? It must be frustrating for the little guy. Can Emma suggest anything? If it just drags he may do better without it as I have heard hams who have lost a limb do fine as do dogs and cats. I don't know. I love him anyway. I guess he needs a flat tank type cage. I think that Runtys disability was because he was squashed in utero and sort of twisted. Maybe thats what happened to Timmy. Was it a big litter. Runtys was 10 and all the others were fine.

babyboos
09-26-2005, 03:29 PM
He is in a big storage tub - we did go to the big pet store to see if we could see anything suitable for him but a large duna is about the best option. He seems to use one of the back legs (even though it is at the wrong angle slightly) and the other (really bent) just drags but he does seem able to flex the toes on this leg sometimes. He was in a very small litter and on 15/08 ( he was born 11/08 ) there were only 4 pinkies (2 red eyed, 2 black eyed). On 30/08 I went to remove the babies and 2 had been eaten leaving a Black Eyed Cream Longhaired girl and Timmy.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/Picture011.jpg

The girl grew nicely and went to her new home on Saturday. Their mum went to a lovely girl and her younger brother last week. You can actually see her in the show pictures on the Sale Table in the Habitrail set up. Rachel entered her in the Pet Hamster Class and got third place.

I have a water feeder like you get for birds I may set that up in his tub and see how he reacts. He has a bit of Red Pepper and Victoria Plum tonight. He certainly eats like a trouper, and poops like one too :roll:

Emma
09-27-2005, 06:06 AM
I was going to suggest one of those bird water drinkers - more difficult to drown in than a bowl.



So he just drags one leg? I think the main worry is whether he has sensation in the leg or not. If he doesn't then he might be likely to injure himself. I don't think i'd amputate prophylactically though, not in a tiddler hamster, but it's something to be aware of, make sure there's as few things in his environment that he can hurt himself on as possible, and if he does start to injure the leg then consider it.



He's a cutie :) good to hear that he copes well and is fine otherwise.

babyboos
09-27-2005, 10:29 AM
My main worry is that he doesn't rub his delicate "man" area as he does drag his lower body across the floor - there is no clearance :? So we have to make sure he stays on the rug during out time. You can move the leg and he will flex the toes on the very sticky out foot so I think he has sensation in it.

pophammy
10-12-2005, 11:27 AM
How is little Timmy these days Babyboos? We would love to follow his progress

babyboos
10-12-2005, 01:22 PM
He has started to grow a little still small but more like a 6 week old than a 3. He still refuses to drink straight water preferring his melon cubes.

pophammy
10-14-2005, 06:20 AM
Ahhh,he's a spoilt little lad then, indulging on melon cubes every day! Glad to here that he's grown. Keep up the good work, Babyboos!

babyboos
10-14-2005, 08:25 AM
He is such a contented wee soul, I wish there was something more we could do for him. I sometimes feel we are being selfish keeping him to ourselves, he is so full of character I know someone would find him a great pet. I do feel a lot happier that he has got to this stage and is quite rapid though not as dextrous as a normal Syrian. He seems to have no trouble with bowel movements and no attitude problems at all. Quite pleased to just sit and be stroked before having a bit of a waddle around the carpet.

souffle
11-03-2005, 03:36 PM
How is the little lad doing Babyboos? Hey and did Sheffield go well. We were away.

babyboos
11-03-2005, 03:39 PM
He is doing great loves having his tummy tickled - when Jules does it you should see Timmy's face he wiggles his little hands like he is clapping, and gives his face a good wash - it looks a bit like he is wiping the tears from his eyes :oops: even though he is just washing.

souffle
11-03-2005, 03:43 PM
Aw, I'm so glad, sometimes the little disabled ones who seem to have drawn the short straw are the most rewarding and loveliest of all...like our Runty

babyboos
11-05-2005, 03:20 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0491.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0494.jpg



Little Timmy was having a great time tonight playing in his toilet roll tube - not happy with chewing it half to death and bashing it against the walls of his tub he has now decided it will be a laugh to roll inside it from one side of the tub to the other... so we had a good laugh and roll around on the floor ourselves and let him have a romp around the rug which he seemed to love and got quite grumpy when we tried to put him back... stroppy teenager hamster



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0484.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0490.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0488.jpg



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/babyboos/HPIM0487.jpg

souffle
11-05-2005, 03:31 PM
Timmy you are amazing considering how you are coping with your disability. Long may you continue to manage and great work babyboos and jules for helping him

babyboos
11-05-2005, 03:34 PM
do his legs look like Runty's?

souffle
11-05-2005, 03:48 PM
No Babyboos, Runty's legs were pretty normal and he could walk normally , it was his spine which came down about midway then curved back a bit like a J so his tail was right over his back facing his ears. Towards the end of his life he did start to drag his legs behind sometimes. His pom poms were pulled up and in sort of and I doubt he would have been fertile as they would be too warm! We would never have mated him anyway but he still liked the ladies-old charmer!

babyboos
11-05-2005, 03:58 PM
I wish Timmy's legs were better he clearly enjoys motion but there is no way he could work a wheel :cry:

souffle
11-05-2005, 04:04 PM
I do too babyboos. I think though that if he has never known anything else he will not know any different so he will make the best of what he has. Runty never complained or seemed to get grumpy or frustrated so I don't think he ever had any pain. It was just him and he accepted it. You just want them to have the best life can offer..like kids but sometimes if they have a fault, and everyone has something, whether it's hidden inside or on show outside you just love them the same and accept it.

babyboos
11-05-2005, 04:24 PM
Yes but I think he does get frustrated sometimes, he is such a fiesty wee thing, and his legs do seem to annoy him sometimes, but he soldiers on to get to his goal. He is definitely a male I don't know if he is ever going to be sexually mature... not that he will ever be a daddy but he certainly isn't overly long haired so I wonder if he has lower levels of testosterone than a normal male and it has anything to do with him acting more like a stroppy teenager than a laid back male...