Help!!! Large wound on hamsters back

Stuart · 03-01-2019, 02:38 PM

I was on holidays last week so my mom was minding my dwarf hamster. When I got back, I noticed a red wound under his fur but it was not bleeding and there was no evidence of blood around his cage. Over a couple of days it started to scab but tonight when I checked there was no fur What’s so ever there and an open wound. This doesn’t seem to be affecting his behavior and he’s eating and drinking fine. WHAT SHOULD I DO???. There’s no bet around me that deals with small animals. Here are some pictures.

Pebbles82 · 03-01-2019, 03:14 PM

That does look nasty. Does your Mom have any idea what may have happened? Was he out of the cage while you were away? And is it possible he could have been attacked by another animal? A cat maybe? How far away is your nearest exotic vet? For now you could bathe it with saline (salt water) which will help with healing. But very carefully. Use a cotton bud dipped in it but not sopping wet - ie try not to let your hamster get too wet or he could catch a chill.

So dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiling water and let it go cool. So the water is sterilised basically. It will take quite a long time to go cool enough and needs to be only just tepid - ie slightly warm side of cold! Not too warm.

Dip the cotton bud in it and press the bud against the sides of the container to press a lot of the water out and gently bath the wound. If your hamster isn't the type to sit still long you could partly wrap him in a cloth so he's sort of swaddled and his feet can't move but leave the wound part exposed. He won't tolerate that for long though.

I would try and google exotic vets in your area though and see where the nearest one is, in case it is deep or has got infected, he may need some antibiotics or stitches even.

Stuart · 03-01-2019, 03:55 PM

My mom said that she didnt see anything and he wasnt out of this cage. We have no cats so im thinking did he fall of the bars. I took out his hard toys and covered his other ones with a pinch of bedding (he only had one really hard tunnel). Ill try my best to get an exotic vet if his mood changes as he seems perfects at the moment. I heard Betadine is suppose to be good if not ill try and get the saline solution capsules as I don’t trust my self to make it.
Thanks for replying

Pebbles82 · 03-01-2019, 04:05 PM

Don't use Betadine or any antiseptic it's too strong for a hamster. Just saline. It's just salt in water

Might be better to make it yourself as other things may have additives and not be intended for wound bathing.

Have you got a photo of his cage set up? Might be able to spot something. His behaviour may have been different if you were away. Check any wood items for nails. You wouldn't believe how many wood houses etc have nails in that can stick out, or they can chew the wood and expose the nails.

cypher · 03-02-2019, 12:59 AM

That does look sore & I agree it would be best to just use saline & nothing else unless you can find a vet.
You really can't go far wrong with saline so I wouldn't worry about making it yourself no need to buy any really.
Did you make any changes to your cage after your last post about bar climbing? There was a lot of potential for falls from quite high so it could have been caused by a fall but as Serendipity said it is a good idea to check everything for rough edges, nails or anything that could be catching on his back especially entrance holes, while that heals I would remove anything with small holes (things like that log with lots of holes) as this may well rub against it & keep reopening the wound.
If you haven't made any changes to the cage I would really give some thought to adding in ledges, shelves etc as I suggested before.

Stuart · 03-02-2019, 02:08 AM

Tonight when he wakes up I’m going to remove nearly all of his wooden toys for the time being and switch to a few plastic toys and hides. Will I be able to leave a few bendy bridges? I’m also going to make the saline and just give him a small bit on the wound. Hopefully he’ll recover and it won’t get worst as he loves to play and explore. I got a kind of den box from zooplus that’s wooden and has loads of little rooms. He made his nest in there he sleeps there every night (well kind of day

) will I be ok to take that out as I’m always afraid to take there nest out?
Thanks for all the advice

P.S his cage setup is different but still contains the same items.

cypher · 03-02-2019, 02:21 AM

You could give him some small cardboard boxes to play in & if you can find some cardboard tubes that aren't too small (I wouldn't use toilet roll tube size until he's healed) that would be fine too. Plastic will be ok if the holes in the toys are large enough not to touch his back when he goes through them otherwise I would stick to cardboard just for now.
It would be very stressful to take his house out so I would leave it in for now & see how he goes, probably be a good idea to check it over though to make sure there isn't anything sharp or jagged on that anywhere.

Pebbles82 · 03-02-2019, 02:44 AM

Don't be scared about bathing it with the saline - you can't go wrong and it's way better than risking it turning septic as then it would be urgent. Just have a towel on your knee and dab his back with the salt water. If he gets a bit wet, just pull up the edges of the towel and pat him dry - maybe even a little rub gently dry.

There's no exact science to making salt water - people used to just chuck a cup full of salt in a warm bath many years ago to heal any sores or wounds - and it's amazing how quickly it can help heal things. I had bad eczema as a child and every time I went swimming in the sea it healed up the same day

Hospitals used to do salt water baths for patients who'd had operations to help with wound healing quicker (not sure if they still do but they did when I was nursing). So the amount of salt you put in the water isn't too crucial. If there's too much salt it will take a lot of dissolving and sting a bit more. A heaped teaspoon in a pint of water will be fine though.

It may soften the crust again and have it more open again after bathing, but will help clean and heal it. The difficulty is keeping it clean. Maybe you could keep him out of the cage for an hour or so for some play time/out of cage time so the wound can dry up a bit again before he goes back in the cage. If he's not very tame you could put him in the dry bathtub with a couple of toys - eg cardboard tubes/hides - and even his wheel.

I didn't realise there had been some fall risks in the cage if it's tall. That could be it - if they fall from a height and land on their back on something hard or sharp.

Could you post a photo of the set up now? I've spent quite a bit of time working out how to avoid fall risks in cages and sometimes it just needs a few simple tweaks.

souffle · 03-02-2019, 02:57 AM

How big is his wheel? He could have got it caught on the spindle or rubbed it it is too small. Also any wooden toys can have sharp nails or staples sticking out which can injure them. If you see any like that send pics to the manufacturer and pics of the injury and ask them to investigate.

Pebbles82 · 03-02-2019, 03:51 AM

I had a look at your other thread about bar climbing and added some tips for set up to avoid fall risks - it does look like he might have fallen onto something possibly. Just a few tweaks and more substrate should do it.

Also keep an eye on him to check if he seems his usual self - if the wound starts to look infected or he seems a bit unwell you would need to take him to a vet - asssume you're in the Uk as you have a Barney cage, so there will be a vet not too far away - google exotic vets in your county - there should be one in the nearest big town.