Hamster limping on back right leg

Abatte13 · 01-30-2019, 08:03 AM

Hi everyone,
My hamster Annie is just over 1 year old now and a few weeks a go I noticed her walking funny, almost like she was hopping around. We realised that it was her back right leg. She uses it but puts the paw down sideways when she steps instead of flat. We took her to the vet and they said they couldn’t feel any lumps or breaks but she was in pain. They suggested that she could have hurt a muscle or maybe it was an old break that didn’t set right (although I feel like I would have noticed if she’d broken her leg?). They prescribed metacam for 10 days.

It’s been 9 days since she started the Metacam and I’m not sure that there has been much improvement at all. She is still walking the same way, although my partner says he thinks she has improved but it’s hard to tell. We are going to see how she is tonight and contact the vet again tomorrow but I am so scared. They said the next step is an X-ray which is fine but I don’t really know much about how they X-ray hamsters so if anyone has any information on that then it would be great.

She is eating, drinking and going to the toilet as usual and is still desperate to come out of her cage every night (we’ve been keeping her in to rest). She even uses that leg when she is furiously scratching herself or just generally cleaning so I am confused as to what it could be. I’m nervous that the vet won’t find anything and I won’t really get answers/ reassurance. If she has hurt a muscle would it take a long time to heal? Others have said that muscles can take weeks to heal and that’s why she may still be limping but the vet said we should notice a difference within a week so I’m not so sure.

Thanks everyone! My heart is breaking a little for her so any advice would be great.

cypher · 01-30-2019, 08:53 AM

An x ray will give you a better idea of what's going on, she will have to have an anaesthetic for that, it sounds to me as though it could be a muscle or possibly a tendon injury which would take a while to heal, if she's using the leg for grooming & things it doesn't sound as though it's bothering her but that might just be the metacam helping. See what the vet suggests but if it is a slow healing tendon or something similar she could probably stay on the metacam for longer.
Fingers crossed it will improve soon.

Abatte13 · 01-30-2019, 09:45 AM

Thank you for your reply. The vet did say they thought it was something to do with the muscle but I know that they can’t be sure until they take a closer look with an X-Ray. I suppose I was hoping that their first thoughts were correct and that she would heal within the time frame they suggested but I suppose it’s something that will take longer to heal. I really hope that it is something that she can get over because she is still quite young and I’d hate to lose her this soon, but I know that sometimes things happen that our furry babies can’t overcome.

In regards to the X-Ray, is there anything I should know or ask about before it happens? I’m nervous because she is so small. I know they must do these all the time but it’s not something I’ve ever experienced with a hamster so just checking if anyone has any useful tips or advice.

We are hoping that they will suggest to keep her on the metacam because she is still limping so I wouldn’t want her to be in pain while she recovers.

Thank you for your kind words cypher, they have made me feel better about it all. The most important thing for me is that she is happy and pain free and that is what we intend to make sure of!

I’ll keep everyone updated. We said we’d see how she is tonight and contact the vet tomorrow morning.

cypher · 01-30-2019, 11:52 AM

I've never had a ham have an x ray so I don't have any personal experience with that, you might want to ask your vet if there is going to be any real benefit in terms of what treatment would be offered afterwards if it was a break or a muscle or tendon problem I expect the treatment would be much the same, rest & pain killers/anti inflammatories (most probably more metacam) & there is always a risk with any kind of anaesthetic so that is something you need to think about & discuss with them really.

Abatte13 · 02-01-2019, 04:19 AM

Hi everyone,

We took her back in today because there wasn't much improvement in the way that she was walking. They decided that they wanted to do an x ray to see if there was anything noticeably wrong. She is a very calm hamster and never bites so they said that they could perform the x ray without anaesthetic which made me feel better because it lowered the risk.

We were invited to look at the x ray after it was finished and the vet told us that she could see arthritis in both knees. It is worse in the right back knee, which is why she walks worse on that leg. She will still be on Metacam but we are only going to give it to her every other day in order to wean her off of it. Then we can give her more in the future if she starts limping badly again.

I am glad that we have discovered what the problem is and that we can let her get back to her old routine (she comes out to explore every night) so she will be much happier. Obviously I am heartbroken that she has been given this diagnosis, especially as she is only a year old, but we plan to keep making her life the best it possibly can be and keeping her comfortable. The vet said she could live a relatively normal life, even with arthritis, but that it will get worse which worries me.

Does anyone have any experience with arthritis in younger hamsters? I don't really know if this will affect her lifespan at all.

Thank you!

cypher · 02-01-2019, 06:34 AM

I'm really sorry to hear she's been diagnosed with arthritis at such a young age, I don't have any experience of that in younger hams so I'm not really sure how it will affect her in the long run.
She will probably remain stiff but should be able to keep active so you may want to make sure she doesn't struggle to reach anything in her cage or have to climb anything too steep or difficult, other than that I would try to keep her as active as possible.
Good diet will help although it won't cure it may slow progress, I give older hams a drop of salmon oil once or twice a week which might be beneficial for her, certainly won't hurt anyway if you want to try it.

Abatte13 · 02-01-2019, 07:50 AM

Thank you for your reply Cypher. To be honest we are willing to try anything that won't harm her but has the potential to help her in some way. I have ordered some salmon oil and will definitely give it a try, especially as we will be weaning her off of the metacam.

Thank you for your advice, we will definitely keep her active, especially as she is always so eager to come out and explore! I am glad that we don't have to deny her that anymore.