Hamster dragging back leg - Page 4

Pebbles82 · 11-16-2017, 11:31 AM

It depends what time your appointment is

Our hamsters have happily gone to sleep in the pet carrier during the day if there's lots of substrate, lots of paper bedding, a little house to hide in and food scattered in there and the odd treat and bit of cucumber. So if it's a morning appointment, I put them in the carrier first thing before they've gone into a deep sleep for the day. If it's an afternoon appointment I would just wake him and give him 10 to 15 minutes out of cage time to come round, before going in the pet carrier. I found a lunch-time appointment was tricky - he was not impressed at being woken in the middle of the day.

Having said ours sleep in the pet carrier - they don't when we're in the car and "pace" a bit. I usually have the pet carrier on my knee with OH driving and I put a blanket over the carrier so it's darker inside and lots of flashing lights and sun etc don't startle.

I hope they give him some Metacam - it may help or may be needed. He is a funny little thing getting up to mischief.

cypher · 11-16-2017, 10:29 PM

I do pretty much the same as you Nube when going to the vet, just gently wake them ( I always talk to them & make a little noise before taking the top of the house) just early enough to give them a little time to settle into the carrier before leaving.

Nube · 11-18-2017, 12:06 PM

Well hammie survived the vet visit well and did not even bite the vet which is a bonus! The vet was a bit better than most we have seen. She seemed to be confident it was not a dislocation/ broken leg and said it was most likely to do with spine. Figuring it out would require an x-ray and an operation which we of course all agreed would not be good for this age. She refused to give painkillers for two reasons - first, she thought he was not in pain (which I knew was the case

), second she said they did not have licenced pain killers for hams (not sure what it means?) only for cats and dogs.
Finally she reluctantly agreed to see what she could do, disappeared for a while but then came back with a steroid injection. Said we would need to do another one in 4 weeks.
Hammie immediately went back to catch up on his beauty sleep so the jury is still out in whether the injection helped or not...

Nube · 11-18-2017, 03:37 PM

Just let him out and his leg is very slightly better. Occasionally he uses it to walk on. So I guess steroids helped a bit. Will wait and see

cypher · 11-18-2017, 11:42 PM

Glad to hear the steroid injection seems to have helped a bit & that he hasn't dislocated or broken anything, it's still hard to tell if they are in pain though but he's pretty active all things considered so he may not be.
I think your vet is right & metacam the meds normally used for hams that need pain relief or anti inflammatories is only licensed for dogs & cats but most vets will prescribe tiny dilute amounts all the same.

Thin Lizzy · 11-19-2017, 10:04 PM

Pleased the injection has helped, good to hear he's used his leg.

Nube · 11-22-2017, 02:35 AM

Well, his leg is back to dragging I am afraid, the improvement was very temporary

But it still does not stop him at all, as active as ever. He is losing weight though and his fur is not as shiny and silky as it used to be, especially on tummy. I suppose it must be the age. Also his ears are now folded all the time, is that normal? Just wondering if it is a sign of age, distress or pain? He used to have them folded after waking up but then they would perk up and stay upright

cypher · 11-22-2017, 03:39 AM

The benefits from steroid injections are generally short lived in humans so probably even more so in hams I would think as they could only have the tiniest amount I imagine, if there was an improvement with the steroids though it does suggest that he might benefit from some metacam if your vet will prescribe it.
It's hard to tell if he's in pain, if he's active I wouldn't think it's troubling him that much but you never really know for sure, not sure about his ears either, ears down is usually a sign of pain or something stressing them, did you notice a difference in his ears after he had the steroid injection? If they were up then it could be an indication of pain.
Loss of weight & condition is normal in older hamsters, you could give some extra flax seeds which will give him a bit of a boost & might improve his condition a little but at his age I wouldn't expect to see a huge difference.
As far as weight goes I think all you can do is tempt him to eat a little more by offering some nice extras depending on what he will eat, nuts are good along with some porridge & baby food.

Nube · 12-11-2017, 02:45 PM

He seems to have deteriorated a lot in the last week or so. The fur on his tummy is dirty and stuck together. He still is reasonably active and food disappears. Should I help him groom himself somehow? Am worried and want to make his possibly last months as comfy as possible. Any advice?

Nube · 12-11-2017, 04:48 PM

Have just cleaned his cage properly (have not done it for a while limiting it to spot cleaning mostly) and have not seen him so agile and excited for a while. I made sure everything was accessible and added a few floor level toys. But he seems to have decided he is half the age, climbed the top of his house and the second level which I thought was well out of reach and only left there to create a bit of private space... His balance not good at all with one leg out of action maybe this is why he cannot clean his tummy he keeps keeling over