Poorly hamster?

[libby0783]

Hi everyone,

I wanted some advice on my little hammy who hasn't been herself for about a week now. Shes coming up to being 2 years old and is usually very active, although last week I noticed she was staying in bed much more than usual and not coming out so much.

When I did get her out I noticed she was dragging one of her feet behind her. I took her to the vet who said it could be a break and gave me some metacam to give to her twice daily. I've no idea how it could have happened, although maybe she had a fall in her cage?! The vet recommended I go to see a small pet specialist, although I was waiting to see the effect of the metacam, and not sure whether going to another vets will just cause her more stress.

Her leg now seems a lot better and she's not dragging it, although it still isn't quite right, but she seems very sleepy (not opening her eyes much) and not too interested to come out of bed, she's not cleaning herself properly and I'm just a bit worried about her as she's not herself.

What do you think?

Thank you,

Libby

[mylittlefluffyhamster]

have you noticed her squeaking when she walks because one of my past hammies was hurt some how and for a couple of weeks he wouldn't wake up and It worried me for the 3 weeks he was asleep t turns out he was healing his foot and then after that I gave him extra food because he had lost a little weight! He died at the good old age of 5!
hope all is well xx

[Wanna Hamster]

She's just showing some common signs of aging! Many hamsters become less active as they grow to over 2 years old. I'd recommend keeping a very simple and basic cage layout that she can easily get around in and that there is no chance she could furthermore injure her already damaged leg.

[cypher]

Your ham is a good age now so I agree it's most likely she's showing the signs of old age, also being winter, especially being older, she may be less active due to it being colder.
If you can rearrange her cage so she can get to everything easily without having to struggle to reach anything.
If the vet wasn't certain the leg was a break she may be showing signs of becoming a bit arthritic as she ages but I would keep a close eye on that leg & her ability to do normal things just in case there is a problem she'll need more help with.