Hi,
This evening I noticed our Robo Dwarf was limping and she has a small scab on her back right foot. I am VERY worried. She's eating and playing as normal, just with a limp. Is there anything I can do to help her or will this heal on its own?
The vet is closed until Monday.
Location: Yorkshire, UK but my heart lies in Scotland!
Posts: 28,197
She could be limping because of a fall or catching the foot which has damaged the bone or even broken it or it could be that she has a cut or an infected cut. The key to mending bones is rest which means you should really confine her to as small an area as is practicable until the wound heals. This means removing the wheel and any toys she can climb up and on. A small tub about 1ft square is good. It sounds cruel but she needs to rest as much as possible. If it is red, weepy looking or goes black you should seek urgent vet attention as she will need antibiotics. Otherwise I would take her in Monday if it is not improving and get the vets opinion. He may give anti-inflammatories. You can also feed extra calcium in the form of milk to help the bone heal.
Our Nelson recently limped quite a bit as he fell and bruised his leg but after a week of rest and extra milky porridge he was back to normal. You could even see the bruise in the skin but feeling the leg I could feel not break and the leg movement was good so we rested him.
A bad break can send the bone through the skin so you need to check this. It the leg needs amputated hammies do well on three in suitable accomodation.
Hope she recovers well.
Dwarf Hammie with hurt Leg
Linear Mode
