Urgent: weak back legs

EnerHam · 06-18-2016, 06:46 AM

I don't know the hamster's sex, but I'm going to refer to him as a he for this. I don't like calling animals 'it'.

I adopted a runt today, a week earlier than planned, and he is only around 2 inches long and maybe an inch wide. His back legs are extremely weak, to the point where he alternates between walking somewhat normally to dragging the back half of his body.

The main problem he's facing so far is falling onto his back and being unable to right himself due to the weakness. I have to gently turn him onto his side so he can wriggle onto his belly again. I've had to stick him on flat tissues instead of bedding because uneven ground had him on his back in seconds (he's digging through the tissues and ruining my efforts to keep it flat as I type this

).

He also cannot hold food in his front paws while he eats because his back legs cannot support its weight.

That being said, he is perky, surprisingly fast and friendly. He's also eating well despite not being able to pick the food up. He can't use a water bottle so he has cucumber at the moment. I gave hm a little porridge earlier and he seemed to enjoy it.

The urgency of this involves around night time. Is there anything I can do to help him stay on his feet? I'm going to be getting up in the night to check him periodically just in case he is laying on his back again, but is there anything I can do to minimise the likelihood of this happening? I'm really worried about him.

CMB · 06-18-2016, 06:53 AM

Can you put things in the cage he can push against or grip to help him get the right way up again.

It may be a good idea to make his living space smaller so he doesn't have to move around much. As he gets stronger increase the space he has.

Rodent Fan · 06-18-2016, 07:11 AM

Maybe instead of tissues, which can be made uneven, you could try him on a layer of fleece? He might find that easier to grip onto too?

EnerHam · 06-18-2016, 08:10 AM

Thanks to both of you. He's currently in a small bin cage as opposed to the zoozone 2 I purchased, and he's getting around that space reasonably well. I don't see a way from to push himself back onto his front with or without objects nearby, unfortunately. He sort of wiggles around for a bit and then gives up.

Fleece sounds like a great idea until I factor in the fact he's chewing everything in sight. Not sure if he'd be able to, but if he managed to bit off a piece of it and ingest it would it be harmful? I'll do a little more research into that and figure out if I have any my pigs haven't used. Thanks for the idea.

I ordered one of those chill 'n' chew mats from viovet. Maybe I'll try him with that whenever my order decides to get here...

Happy Hamsters · 06-18-2016, 08:16 AM

As many say, take him to a vet...
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Better to be safe than sorry.
Though for the time being, try to give him a smaller cage so that it's easier to move around.

Pebbles82 · 06-18-2016, 12:55 PM

The chill n chew mat sounds like a good idea. I've also used the hemp mats (but the Hugro ones are the only ones I'd use - another brand was terrible). They are quite big and intended for sick hamsters I think. They're supposed to be safe to chew. I find they do shed a bit after a while though, so maybe one of those with a couple of chill n chew mats on top might do.

I get the 40cm by 100cm one. You can cut it up as well. The only thing is I guess, is if it started to shed he could get his back legs caught up.

Nests & Nesting Materials at zooplus: Hemp Floor for Small Animals

Or a couple of chill n chew mats on top of the Fitch and if you compress the Fitch really well first.

It does sound like he needs everything on one level and nothing to climb on too much I guess. He might enjoy some tunnels. He sounds like a sweet little ham

You could try one of those bird water feeders for water - that might be safer than a bowl and you could have it low down. He should be able to eat hamster mix from a bowl without his front paws, but it means he won't be able to pouch it.

It sounds like he needs some kind of little aid really! Like those special wheelchairs they have in the disabled olympics.

Have you tried a normal depth of substrate? He might be able to push off in it easier and it would be nice and soft if he rolled over - it'd also be something to dig in.

There's a bit about Runt care on here

Hamster runts

This kind of water feeder maybe? If you could fix it to the side of the bin cage so it was stable and the water bit at floor level.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Clu...d+water+feeder

EnerHam · 06-19-2016, 03:02 AM

Last night went better than I expected. He didn't fall onto his back at all and seems to be using his back legs a little more. He's made a large nest out of the tissues, ate loads and licked some porridge off of my finger.

Thanks a lot for the water bottle link. I'll need to have a look at how high the lip on the part they drink out of is to make sure he can reach it, but I might be able to DIY it if he can't.

I was looking at those hemp mats a while ago and forgot about them! I've got a few things order off of zooplus soon, so I'll definitely look into that. Thank you. Substrate is definitely out at the moment. He looks like he's constantly tripping over it regardless of how thickly or thinly I add it. I use finacard, so that may be the issue. I'll look into fitch.

He can't eat out of a bowl. I tried the shallowest one I had and he kept on wobbling over when he came to leaning into it to grab the food. His mouth is so small I had to crush up some of the food to make sure he could get his teeth around it. He's now got a little plate instead.

Thanks for the runt care link. Just like most of the links I found it seems to apply more to very young runts. This guy is almost 2 months old.

souffle · 06-19-2016, 03:39 AM

If he is 2 months and still that small Enerham there may be some developmental abnormalities with the little one and he may always have some special needs and require very special care like you seem to be giving. Dwarf hamster food may be a better bet as the bits are nice and small for his size?
I think it is a case of working out what is best for his individual needs and adapting as you go. Hoping he continues to thrive.

EnerHam · 06-19-2016, 03:48 AM

I had a feeling that might be the case before I got him. That's okay, we'll work it out as we go. I just realised he's a Rex as well. I thought it was a little funny his coat was so different to his siblings'. Thanks Souffle.

Pebbles82 · 06-19-2016, 05:36 AM

It sounds like quite a challenge but I am sure you will work out what he can manage and what works with him. A plate sounds like a good idea. Our hamster likes eating off a plate sometimes because he can just walk onto it and sit on it. I think the water solution sounds quite pressing really. Could you feed him water from a syringe for now or something? I can't quite imagine how he couldn't use a water bottle if sitting down. Although I could see he could topple over if leaning forwards to use the bird feeder thing.

Do you have some photos of him? I'm having second thoughts about the hemp mat - it might go chavelled where he pulls himself along and he could get caught in it. It might be ok if it's under a couple of chill and chew mats (to give some squashiness and cushioning).

I think Fitch would be better than Finacard actually. It's nice and soft, but it also compresses down really well. You could maybe try a trial bag (1kg). It's not as economical as the larger bags, but you wouldn't want to be stuck with 10kg of it if it doesn't work out!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fitch-Pet-B...keywords=Fitch