My hamster is limping :(

[taniaandharrie]

Hello! I have a Syrian hamster who is about a year and a half, she was doing fine until I took her out one night so she can roam around my room, that is until I noticed that she was limping, I held her and examined her and gently touch her legs (the back ones) and noticed that she didnt squirm in pain so im assuming its not broken? Then I noticed that her (sorry for the term) butt hole had a piece of dried poop stuck, so with a damp paper towel I was able to extract it but it still looks black and Im not sure if thats normal?

About her drinking and eating habits:
I used to hear her eat during the night but recently I rarely hear/see her eat, I dont know if she is just tired of her food or something. I cut up strawberries for her two days ago and apple slices a day ago, she likes those so I will give her more fruit often. Now with drinking, I have gone through 3 water bottles and all of them have failed me. They either start leaking or the little entrance where they drink from gets stuck sometimes. So I dont know how much my hamster is drinking, so when I see her move around in her little house (day or night) I bring the water bottle up to her and make sure she drinks some.

Her exercise:
This is the topic im most worried about. She used to use her wheel ALL night, she outgrew her first wheel I bought her so I bought her a premium wheel (the yellow and black one that doesnt make much noise) but now she doesnt use it at all.

Long story short:
My hamster looked perfectly healthy to me until in this past month when she started to come out less and run less. I have made an appointment to go to the vet but they dont have a free opening until June 8th Im afriad that she is sick and that she will get worse and I dont know what to do in the mean time. Im also scared and sad that maybe this is old age starting to get to her

Please if anyone can give me some advice, that would be very much appreciated/

Thank you,
Tania and Harrie.

[Thin Lizzy]

The fact that your hamster didn't squeal when you examined her leg is a good sign, it could be she's strained it. This happened with one of my hamsters years ago and I just kept a close eye on her and she was back to normal a few days later.
Her drinking is a worry, you could add a small bowl with water, also instead of fruit try veggies, cucumber is good for making sure she's hydrated.
She's 18 months and my Noah doesn't use his wheel as much either, I find that when hamsters get older they exercise less and sleep more.
Try not to worry, keep a close eye on her and be sure to fill the vet in at your appointment on the 8th. Don't be afraid to ask the vet questions, what I do is make a list of questions I want to ask.