Help!! Hamsters foot!!!!

[Billz004]

My hamster, A female Syrain, aged 4-6 months, has been asleep for 22 hours straight... she seemed fine when she woke up until I noticed a very slight limp and lack of use on her back foot.

It was visible normal and she showed little pain: she used the wheel and dug like she usually would.

30 minutes later... she seems to have gotten better, limp was less noticeable and she is being regular.

Could it be the way she slept as she slept in a odd position for 22 hours?

Thanks for all your help in advance

I’m just really worried

[SunnyOy]

Is your apartment cold? Are you wearing sweater in the apartment? If so, please turn on the heater for your hamster. Any temperature lower than 18 Celsius is too cold for hammies. They sleep more and it is more like a fake hibernation(torpor). They limp after waking up from torpor.

[cypher]

I would guess she may have hurt her foot or leg, possibly strained it a bit or caught it somewhere & has been resting but was still a bit stiff or sore when she finally woke up, if it's ok now & she stops limping then I wouldn't worry but keep a close eye on it for a while.
Give her cage a check to make sure there isn't anywhere she may hurt herself.

[Billz004]

Originally Posted by SunnyOy

Is your apartment cold? Are you wearing sweater in the apartment? If so, please turn on the heater for your hamster. Any temperature lower than 18 Celsius is too cold for hammies. They sleep more and it is more like a fake hibernation(torpor). They limp after waking up from torpor.

Torpor was something I was looking into but my apartment is quite warm in fact frequently too warm especially where the hamsters are (my bedroom). She always feels as though she is a nice temperature. Thanks for the suggestion though

[Billz004]

Originally Posted by cypher

I would guess she may have hurt her foot or leg, possibly strained it a bit or caught it somewhere & has been resting but was still a bit stiff or sore when she finally woke up, if it's ok now & she stops limping then I wouldn't worry but keep a close eye on it for a while.
Give her cage a check to make sure there isn't anywhere she may hurt herself.

Thanks for your reply, she has managed to bite at the mesh leaving a wire going onwards into the cage. I nearly had a panic attack when I seen it, it’s sorted now. I doubt this was the cause of the leg injury though as she wakes up gets food and goes back into the house before finally waking up. And when she got food and water etc she was walking fine.

Thanks for the reply

[dreamtree1234]

I'm sorry to hear that your ham had a limp for a bit, but I'm so relieved that it went away quickly. Hopefully, she will continue to be limp-free and enjoying lots of fun.

[Billz004]

Update: Mondayy @ 2PM

After a trip to the vets I was struck with bad news... she has Spinal trauma due to her hyper-activity, the vet gave me medicam to give to her. She seems sleepy most of the time. I’m so worried

[Billz004]

Update: Wednesday 9PM

After no sign the medicine is working... the vets said I should keep her on medicam for three more days if no sign of improvement then I should seek advice maybe euthanasia

9:30PM: She began looking and acting ‘better, though she was still dragging her back legs.

As silly as it sounds, I set up my hallway blocked all holes and escapes and let her roam. To which I was shocked as she was using one of her back feet only a little but using it.

She even used her back foot to scratch her ear which considering she couldn’t even walk with it is some improvement.

She is very young only half a year so I would only euthanise her if she was in pain, which the vet said she currently wasn’t in. Thanks for all who read and reply. Have a great day

[Pebbles82]

I am very sorry to hear you've had bad news. I haven't heard of spinal trauma due to hyperactivity. Spinal trauma can be caused by a fall maybe if they land on their back. Did the vet do any x-rays? Also hamsters can develop spinal problems if their wheel is too small and they run very curved. They need to run in a wheel large enough that their back is straight. A 28cm trixie wheel is a popular choice for a Syrian.

There is quite a bit of information about hind leg paralysis on this article, which says if it develops around 6 months of age it can be a hereditary condition (ie a genetic thing). It also mentions infection and lack of vitamin D. The article has some positive aspects - so it seems diagnosis is quite important, to know whether the hamster can live with this kind of thing or whether it is something that could lead to more suffering.

Keep an eye on things and I would remove any levels in the cage so she can't climb and fall. Is it a barred cage or a tank? If it's a barred cage it's possible she could still climb the bars to the top and fall, so have a good depth of bedding to cushion any falls and make sure there is nothing hard she can land on. You could leave a level in to sit over any hard items, if it's a tank and she can't get up to the level (ie no ladders etc).

According to the article, some movement may come back depending on what the cause is. If she starts to show paralysis spreading then sadly the kindest thing would be to have to have him pts.

It doesn't sound like an infection (mentioned in the article) as she hasn't had diarrhoea presumably.

Hamster hind leg paralysis

Our older Syrian started with this in his back legs and our vet thought it was Cushings disease as that can be another cause of weak back legs - but old age can also do that. So in a 6 month old hamster it won't be age.

I would see how she goes and then think about having another opinion from a different vet. An exotic vet is more experienced in hamster conditions. Is the medication "Metacam"? That is a pain relief medication - an anti-inflammatory.

I would seek another opinion before thinking about euthanasia. Some less experienced vets will suggest euthanasia for conditions sometimes, that another vet may treat or operate on. Although obviously I don't know anything about your vet.

It feels awful being given bad news at the vet, but I would see how she is over the next few days and kind of go with your instincts a bit - you know your hamster and can tell if she seems happy enough or not.

[Billz004]

Thanks for your reply. It was most likely due to a fall on her spine due to her being hyper active.

The vets are a well trained specialist vets. They are giving me advice if all else fails. Putting her down, they said, is the very very back of the list

She was quite a small ish female Syrian Hamster therefor the 8.5” wheel I had was perfect.

Thanks for your reply