Handicapped Hamster

[Mulky]

Okay so this is my first post on here, so i have some questions about hamsters and the particular situation I'm in. This might be long because I'm going through my complete situation so theres a full understanding. Also I'm sorry if this is on the wrong part of the forum, once again its my first time posting and it took me a half hour to figure out how to even write this post. Im going to start by stating my situation and introducing my hamster. My hamster's name is Koda, he's a black male fancy hamster whom i got at Petco on September 5, 2015, so he's 2 years old now and he's my everything. About 4 weeks ago Koda escaped his cage (which at the time was a 20 gallon tank connected to two other cages by tubes) and we assume that he took a fall which left him paralyzed from the waist down. I rushed him to the vet, who said that he had received spinal damage. She told me that he was not in any pain, but he would not be worth the surgery and to put him down. I decided that if he wasn't in any pain I would keep him alive. Anyways, i reduced his cage down to only the 20 gallon tank so he wouldn't get stuck in the tubes, and after a full week of sleeping Koda was up and dragging himself, bright eyes, clean fur, lots of energy, and a huge appetite, just no back legs. Soon after that when i picked him up his back legs began to twitch (if you want to see a video of his back leg movements, I have it posted on my instagram that is dedicated to him, @Hamsters0). Even to this day they will twitch at random, and he can move his tail as well. Though Koda can't run on his wheel i take him out for an hour sometimes 2 hours of exercise (which is just him dragging himself around in a room under my supervision). So now to the big questions - Does anyone know if there are any wheel chairs for him, things that would keep his back legs off the ground (like the ones they have for dogs & cats)? Or if not maybe ideas on how to build one? And if there was anything I could feed him that might help build up some more strength? He eats Hazel Hamster food followed with small treats that i have in the house so it changes depending on the day (beets, carrots, lettuce, banana, apple, even spoonfuls of homemade soup because he LOVES soup broth Lol). If anyone has any advise to give or opinions id appreciate that so much, i don't have anyone who can relate to any of this or anyone who knows enough about hamsters to help me.

[CMB]

Sorry to hear about your hamsters accident and injury. I haven't seen any wheel chairs for hamsters unfortunately.

He may be better of without something to aid him. He is getting around ok. He may get sore from dragging his back end/legs. If he gets sore. Then having him put to sleep may be the best, so he doesn't have to be in pain anymore.

You may be able to make something to assist him but he may not like using it. Have you looked at the wheel chairs for dogs etc? You would need to make something similar but on a much smaller scale.

A mini skateboard type of aid may work.

[cypher]

I really wouldn't recommend trying to make or use something to help your ham get around, he is by far better off just managing in his own way, I think if you tried to do that it would be likely to do more harm than good.
If he's lost the use of his legs then I don't think anything you feed him is going to make any difference tbh, he's on a good enough diet, the main thing to increase strength would e protein but his age if anything you should cut back a little on protein to avoid stressing the kidneys & potential health problems related to that.
I think all you can do is make sure everything he needs in his cage is easily accessible for him & keep a close eye out for any sore areas where he's dragging himself.
If that does happen you will need to take him back to the vet.

[Ruth Edwards]

Hammies use their back legs for scratching and grooming, don't they? Is there something that can help him with that?

[AprilPearl]

I have been through an almost identical situation and wanted to share my experience. A few years ago, we rescued a hamster called Scamp. At the time we took him in, Scamp was about 3 years old, but when he was very young he had suffering a fall while with his previous owners. As with Koda, this left Scamp unable to use both back legs. And, just as with Koda, after a week or so of recuperation and sleep, he had begun to drag himself around. Scamp was a very happy hamster who lived his life to the full and did not seem bothered by the fact he could not use his back legs (though perhaps this was because he could not use them for the majority of his life and was therefore used to it). When we had him, we took him out for free roaming every day, same as our other hamsters, and he truly enjoyed the experience just as much as a healthy hamster. He eventually died at the age of 3 and a half months old (of old age - nothing to do with his injury), having lived about 3 years of his life without the use of his back legs. So, as you can see, Koda can still live a long and very happy life. From your description, he seems to be taking his handicap with the same attitude that Scamp did and I am therefore very glad that you did not have him put down. So long as he continues to eat, drink, move around and is not in pain then he wants to live and is clearly doing so happily.

With Scamp, we did not use any sort of hamster wheelchair or mobility device and truthfully, I don't think it would be such a good idea. I'm not sure that a hamster could get the hang of using one and it may distress him if he can't get off. Koda will be used to dragging himself around and although I know it might not look like fun to you, if he's anything like Scamp then he will be used to it.

As you have done, restricting his space and also getting rid of any levels/anything he could fall off and hurt himself on is a good idea and really the only thing that I would do.

As for food, we fed Scamp Harry Hamster Muesli, same as all our other hams. His injury certainly didn't impede his eating! If you want to give him a little extra energy, you could perhaps try feeding a little porridge made with rolled oats, baby food (I believe there is a list of safe ones somewhere on the forum if you search for it) or wet cat food (but only a safe one such as applaws). Don't overdo it on the protein though as he is getting on and older hamsters don't need as much as younger ones.

Obviously, keep an eye on him. If he gets anything stuck around his rear end remove it for him etc, but that's just common sense.

[Princess Pixie]

Can I just say, I think it's absolutely wonderful how much you love your little fur baby and your post actually brought tears to my eyes.
I don't have any advice that's not already been said, I just wanted to say what a lovely hamster owner you are. ❤️

[Mulky]

Thank you so much, this gave me a lot of hope when I've seen so many posts of people just putting their hamsters down because they don't feel as if they are worth the time and effort to fix them. Ive met a handicapped hamster before, but their injuries seemed different. Kodas back legs are just limp, but the last handicapped hamster i had met his back legs were stiff and not able to be moved. Were Scamps back legs like this too? And how did he go about cleaning himself? Koda tends to get messy and I don't want to start giving him baths weekly as that could make situations worse, but he struggles to clean his back and bum. Did you do anything special with scamp or did he just get better at cleaning himself?

[AprilPearl]

Mulky no problem at all. It makes me so happy that you are giving Koda a chance Scamp’s back legs were more stiff than limp. They permanently stuck out at pretty much 90 degree angles from his side. He didn’t have any problem bending round to clean himself, so we didn’t have to do anything special. However, I can’t say whether he had any difficulties at first because by the time we got him, Scamp had already been paralised from the waist down for about 2 and a half years. It could be that Koda gets the hang of washing himself, or maybe he won’t. Sorry not to be more help! For now, seeing as he is having diffuculties, I would try to keep him clean by brushing him with a toothbrush, picking out anything caught up in his fur and if absolutely necessary wiping very dirty patches with a damp cloth. Bathing is not a good idea for hamsters unless it is an absolute emergency.