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Originally Posted by catherinet94
So although I can't see anything wrong I'm absolute terrified that I've hurt him. I feel so awful. I really wanted to make him happy and give him a good home and I feel like I've hurt him and done something really bad. I'm not sure if I should be worried about him or if he'll be ok? I just need advice on what to do next? Do I need to take him to a vet asap? Should I call an emergency vet? I'm not sure if I'm over reacting or if he's going to be really hurt.
Sorry this is so long, or doesn't make sense. I'm still in a bit of a panic to be honest and don't know what I need to do.
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Whether or not you take him to the vet kinda depends on what your vet is like. If they are just a standard dogs-and-cats vet then they won't be able to do much more than check him over and you can do as much yourself. If you can find a vet who has hamster experience then it may be worth a visit. Internal injuries would either show mostly as symptoms (swelling, lethargy, lack of appetite etc) or would require an x-ray which your standard vet might not be able to do.
Do check his teeth regularly from now on either way, damage to the root will take a while to show up. They might grow unevenly or might fall out in the next days or weeks. Watch how he eats his normal food and maybe give him chewable treats, things like peanuts in the shell so you can monitor how he manages.
Most importantly though, recognise that you made a mistake here in not having the plug in the bath. You could probably have predicted he might get under the towel, so it's important to make sure you think these things through before you start free roaming him again. That doesn't mean you're not giving him a good home or that you can't make him happy, it just means you've learned an important lesson the hard way. Tiny rodents are fast and unpredictable and often very very stupid, you really can't leave anything to "I'm sure it'll be fine" because you can guarantee they'll find a way to get themselves into it.