1yr old Hamster Health Problem Need Help

Patrick · 09-17-2015, 09:11 PM

Hello everyone,

Last morning I found out my hamster strangled with some kind of string from his cotton bedding where he sleeps in. I have no clue how it went around his neck, and how come that long string was in his bedding which was bought new from the petstore. His head and eyes where big, I was able to remove the string from around his neck which was really tight. After a couple of hours, he came back to normal, started to eat, drink and climbing inside of his cage. When I found out a big thing out of his mouth which red/white and looks like his tongue. See pictures for reference. Will it go away? What can I do? Besides that everything is back to normal. Thanks in advance!

Patrick · 09-18-2015, 09:45 AM

See picture for reference

Vectis Hamstery · 09-18-2015, 10:06 AM

Welcome to the forum, Patrick. It sounds like your hamster's had an awful time. I would recommend taking your hamster to a vet to have their professional opinion as it's not possible or wise to diagnose over the internet and the hamster needs to be seen in person.

souffle · 09-18-2015, 10:23 AM

It looks like the strangling has caused a pouch to prolapse or possibly the tongue is damaged - you need to see a vet with him and they can hopefully replace the pouch or examine him anyway. Make sure you report this awful stuff to the pet shop, supplier and manufacturer with the pics. There are lots of examples of horrible injuries caused by it and the sooner it is off the shelves the better.

Patrick · 09-18-2015, 07:06 PM

Thanks everybody for your answers, I had him checked out, its is tongue, unfortunately there's not much to do, he mentionned that a side of his head is paralyzed, and his eye has gone all white which shows that he cant see from one eye. He's able to eat and drink. We'll see how it will go in the future days.

Thin Lizzy · 09-18-2015, 09:08 PM

Oh Patrick, that's awful, what an awful fright you must've got and for your ham also.
All you do is take each day as it comes, it's good that he's eating and drinking.
Have you a photo of the stuff that did this to him? You mentioned string from the cotton bedding.
Is it the wool type stuff?

Patrick · 09-18-2015, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thin Lizzy

Oh Patrick, that's awful, what an awful fright you must've got and for your ham also.
All you do is take each day as it comes, it's good that he's eating and drinking.
Have you a photo of the stuff that did this to him? You mentioned string from the cotton bedding.
Is it the wool type stuff?

Hello Thin Lizzy, I just added a picture of the fluff bedding where he sleeps in, its from that brand, it looked like a really sturdy string that got around his neck somehow, I cleaned up his cage 3 days before so it really was into his fluff. He spent the night with it around his neck as I found out very early in the morning, I had alot of problems trying to get it off his neck since it was so much tight up. He's still full of energy now, but it will get worse in the following days and weeks, He cannot drink from his bottle anymore and I have to feed him by hand. Best hamster I ever had

so please either stay away from that product or watch carefully inside the fluff for any type of strings! It cost my hamster's life

Thin Lizzy · 09-18-2015, 09:41 PM

That looks like another type of fluffy bedding,
Have you phoned/emailed the place where you got it from?
I would let them know and if you can leave a message on their website to warn off others then do it.
What happened to your little ham is terrible.
I use toilet paper for my ham's bedding. I have used that wool stuff in the past but was warned about it being a danger.
The worse thing is on the package it says it's safe when it clearly isn't.

racinghamster · 09-19-2015, 01:56 AM

This is terrible, I`m so sorry you have had to find your little friend like this and now has issues as a result. Can he use his tongue? I imagine he will have to have a shallow ceramic dish of water now if he can drink somehow. First thing I would do is get a report from the vet you saw and e mail this company and demand they remove it from the marketplace. Show them proof of what their product had done and don`t let them fob you off with talk of they havn`t had any other complaints. A hamster has factual injuries as a result of this product. If it was a child, the product would be removed from sale.

If you have an MP ( member of parliament) contact their office to also highlight this as they may be able to influence change. They may or may not be interested, but you can say you have contacted your MP regarding their product. Also contact the store selling it.

It had obviously cut off the blood supply and caused some paralysis. I hope he recovers somewhat. Use ripped up plain white toilet paper as nesting or Supreme Cosi n Dri, the same makers of Carefresh. Both are safe and cosy and won`t cause any problems. x

Shannonmcn · 09-19-2015, 06:31 AM

I looked up the makers of the fluff, it's 100% cotton fibres. I'm so so sorry this happened to your little ham Patrick, it's making me feel ill just thinking about it. Can't imagine how you must have felt seeing your little buddy in such distress. I hope the little guy has at least some quality of life. He's just the latest victim of a product that is known to be harmful and deadly but for some reason pet shops just won't stop selling it, it's disgusting.

I agree with the others, if you can bring yourself to take pictures and maybe a vet report back to the store you bought it or send an email to the company it might make a tiny difference in getting this awful awful stuff off the shelves.