Just had to separate Matrim

[LokiWolf]

I don't know what to do. Matrim just isn't happy. I know he is at least taking sand baths and eating, but I have no idea if he is drinking or using his flying saucer. All he mainly does is stay in that strawberry house, digging at the sides.

I did just get him to come out and nibble on a cheesy homemade treat I made, but he only nibbled at it for a few seconds before diving under the bedding and digging at the bottom of the bin. I then took him out to see if he'd enjoy crawling on over me, which he liked when he was with his brothers, but he didn't like it. He crawled a few inches before getting upset and de-pouching the food he had in his pouches. So I put him back and he ran back to the strawberry house and resumed digging at the sides.

*sigh* I don't know what to do with him. His butt wound hasn't healed any, it looks like he tried cleaning the blood off but he managed to reopen it and it bled again.

I can't risk putting him back with the others so soon but he's just so unhappy. I have no idea what to do to help him.

[chulasweetchica]

Well you know Im not an expert but if your in the USA Petsmart has a pet Hospital thats resonable for checkups...My Robo plays all nite long and sleeps all day does your do this? Do hope he gets better his lil face was just soo darn cute!

[LokiWolf]

I don't know if the two PetSmarts' (I have two nearby) pet hospitals does small animals, not all will see small animals. I do have a vet for them in the next town over.

They begin waking up around 3 PM (it's still a little early as it's just 2:50, but Matrim was awake and digging in the strawberry hut) and all the boys are awake at 5 PM (the girls don't have a schedule like the boys do) and they stay up off and on till past 3 AM.

[chulasweetchica]

Originally Posted by LokiWolf

I don't know if the two PetSmarts' (I have two nearby) pet hospitals does small animals, not all will see small animals. I do have a vet for them in the next town over.

They begin waking up around 3 PM (it's still a little early as it's just 2:50, but Matrim was awake and digging in the strawberry hut) and all the boys are awake at 5 PM (the girls don't have a schedule like the boys do) and they stay up off and on till past 3 AM.

I just saw on Hamster health care Souffle giving advice to someone else how to treat a wound your self go see...Do hope the lil one gets better..yea our petsmart Thankfully saw my first ever Hamster sweet Alice and was pretty knowlegable since she worked for a Vet prior but check out the colomn I saw or message a Moderator they get back to you asap...Good Luck..Im sure he will get better with all the Love your giving him.

[LokiWolf]

Okay. I looked at that, and I'm worried about getting him wet.
I hope Matrim gets better too. I love him, he's my little runt. I'd hate to lose him.
If the wound doesn't heal or seems to be taking too long, he'll be seeing the vet. It's only day two, so I'll wait a few more days and see how it's healing before deciding to visit the vet.

[sully]

Can you wipe the injury with a peice of cotton wool damped with boiled cooled salt water,it also might be thats hes just scared of being picked on again and doesnt realise hes safe in his own cage?

[LokiWolf]

I think he knows he's alone and that just upsets him. He wasn't acting scared when he was with his brothers and he isn't acting scared now.

[lucyeleanor]

As long as his wound isn't weeping pus or looks infected I would leave it alone. When Nutmeg was in a pretty bad state, he looked rough for several days, but he soon cleared it up himself and it healed wonderfully. He was fully healed around the 7 day mark, I was advised it could take up to about 10 days by the experts here.

It sounds like he is lonely and probably stressed. Could you take a handful of the substrate from the 3 boys and sprinkle it into Matrim's cage, so that it smells a little more 'like home'? Has he got plenty of bedding? Perhaps he is cold now he can't snuggle up with his brothers?

Maybe it would be best to let him settle for a couple of days before trying to interact with him too much. He's probably feeling a bit under the weather from the injury, so that might be why he is hiding in his hut so much. While he is sleeping, he is healing faster than he would be awake.

[LokiWolf]

I'm going to leave it alone, see how well he heals.

I gave Matrim tons of bedding, so he had plenty to dig in (these boys like to dig, while my girls only dig to make a nest). Between the time last night after I handled him to the time I went to bed, he has since made a huge blockade of bedding in front of the hut. I'm guessing he is cold, like you said. I'll try taking some of the other boys' bedding and sticking it in his cage to see how he reacts.

I have two playpens, so once he is healed I plan put both next to each other. The three boys will go in one and Matrim in the other. I'll see how they interact through the bars of playpens. This is a much better plan than my mom's which was basically sticking him back in the boys' cage and seeing how they fared together (she believes they will never forget a littermate). She doesn't understand proper reintroduction of hamsters. -.-'

[lucyeleanor]

My concern for reintroduction would be that yes, litter mates work out more often than strangers, but hamsters quickly forget their group scent. It is very likely that Matrim is already considered an outsider. I think you should try and follow the suggestion of a split cage here, something which I am doing myself and documenting here.

Although, I would be reluctant to try this until Matrim has completely healed. You don't want him being picked on for being weaker because he is still healing. If you find that the other three gang up on Matrim, could you consider splitting one from the three and introducing him alone to Matrim? Once Matrim and another are living together, you could reintroduce one pair to the other pair, making the balance of power more equal and possibly less likely to fight again?