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Old 01-03-2021, 12:58 PM   #1
Margaret the dwarf
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Default Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

Well at the moment we have a syrian that has made a miraculous recovery the past 3days. We really thought she was gonna pass 3 days ago but today she is back to normal(eating, sleeping patterns, behavior) except for the use of her back legs never came back. So now we are looking for ideas for a wheelchair for her so she can move around easier. Some ideas on Google images but it never lists the parts they used or what they bought to fabricate the wheelchair. Her front legs are fine and work great, its just her rear legs that are not working. Thanks for any help.
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Old 01-05-2021, 12:10 AM   #2
cypher
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

I definitely wouldn’t recommend using anything like that.
What was wrong with your ham?
All you can really do is to make sure everything is on one level so easy to access without difficulty.
It rally depends what the cause of the problem is, one of my hams lost the use of his back legs temporarily & managed fine as long as everything he needed was within easy reach but he did recover, long term I think you just need to consider quality of l ife, how your ham manages & how it impacts on their life.
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Old 01-05-2021, 12:59 AM   #3
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

Agree with Cypher. They tend to just drag their back legs along with them. So you'll need to remove any levels or anything they could climb onto and add toys/tunnels at ground level so there is more enrichment at ground level. I'd also move her food bowl and water bottle closer to her house so she doesn't have to struggle to get at them. Did she have a fall or did the back leg paralysis just start on its own? There can be a number of causes - a spinal injury can cause it if they have a fall, or it can be muscular related in old age.
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Old 01-05-2021, 06:17 PM   #4
Margaret the dwarf
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I definitely wouldn’t recommend using anything like that.
What was wrong with your ham?
All you can really do is to make sure everything is on one level so easy to access without difficulty.
It rally depends what the cause of the problem is, one of my hams lost the use of his back legs temporarily & managed fine as long as everything he needed was within easy reach but he did recover, long term I think you just need to consider quality of l ife, how your ham manages & how it impacts on their life.
Not sure what is wrong with her. We took her to 2 different vets several times and neither one could figure out what is wrong with her. The leg issues started about 4 weeks ago and just kept getting worse and worse. But on top of that she was bleeding(which vet gave us antibiotics) and then she had a breathing issue from dec 28-31 which the vet gave us stronger antibiotics and pain meds. But everything cleared up except the back legs issues. She is now completely normal except her legs. She has always been kept in a one level xmas tree bin so we don't have to worry about levels.
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Old 01-05-2021, 06:19 PM   #5
Margaret the dwarf
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

Quote:
Originally Posted by cypher View Post
I definitely wouldn’t recommend using anything like that.
What was wrong with your ham?
All you can really do is to make sure everything is on one level so easy to access without difficulty.
It rally depends what the cause of the problem is, one of my hams lost the use of his back legs temporarily & managed fine as long as everything he needed was within easy reach but he did recover, long term I think you just need to consider quality of l ife, how your ham manages & how it impacts on their life.
How long did it take for your ham to recover? We noticed yesterday her one leg is starting to come back.
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Old 01-05-2021, 06:21 PM   #6
Margaret the dwarf
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

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Originally Posted by Serendipity7000 View Post
Agree with Cypher. They tend to just drag their back legs along with them. So you'll need to remove any levels or anything they could climb onto and add toys/tunnels at ground level so there is more enrichment at ground level. I'd also move her food bowl and water bottle closer to her house so she doesn't have to struggle to get at them. Did she have a fall or did the back leg paralysis just start on its own? There can be a number of causes - a spinal injury can cause it if they have a fall, or it can be muscular related in old age.
The back legs just started failing about 4 weeks ago and just slowly progressed to now she can't use them. Vets have no clue what happened. The one vet mentioned stroke but she was not sure.
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Old 01-06-2021, 02:33 PM   #7
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

How old is your hamster? A stroke could be possible and sometimes the paralysis can lessen but sometimes it can remain. When a hamster has mobility issues like this, I always discuss with my vet the likelihood they are in pain and weigh up quality of life. As prey animals they hide pain well so it can be tricky knowing and of course none of us want our little furbubs to be in pain. Other things I weigh up is the level of hygiene the hammy is managing to maintain. A dirty belly or smelly fur, sores from dragging legs can all become quite sore and even turn into ulcers. Do you have a little video at all?
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Old 01-06-2021, 05:19 PM   #8
Margaret the dwarf
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

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Originally Posted by Amethyst_ice View Post
How old is your hamster? A stroke could be possible and sometimes the paralysis can lessen but sometimes it can remain. When a hamster has mobility issues like this, I always discuss with my vet the likelihood they are in pain and weigh up quality of life. As prey animals they hide pain well so it can be tricky knowing and of course none of us want our little furbubs to be in pain. Other things I weigh up is the level of hygiene the hammy is managing to maintain. A dirty belly or smelly fur, sores from dragging legs can all become quite sore and even turn into ulcers. Do you have a little video at all?
She is 19months old. We rescued her at 12months. We are taking her to a special "pocket pet vet" on Monday to get some advice. Her hygiene so far has been about the same as before the loss of use if hind legs. Her fur looks great and she still grooms her top half with her front legs. The sores and ulcers I will definitely keep an eye on. The only thing that really bothers us is that she started to bite us. And she was never ever like that. She was the most gentle hamster ever until before her health went down hill. So that is alarming because we figured she is biting because she might be in pain? So hopefully the vet will give us their advice and hopefully they can tell us what happened to her to cause the back legs to quit working because the other 2 vets we took her to couldn't tell us. I will post video or a link to video asap. She gets around quite well but tires out quickly. Thanks for your help.
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Old 01-07-2021, 06:15 AM   #9
Pebbles82
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

She may be biting because she’s in pain. Another way to tell if they have pain is a “look”. My vet told me about this recently and said it is from recent research. They can have a kind of “drawn” look around the face as if eyes are more slitty- as if skin pulled back above the eyes. Hunching is another sign of pain and ears down.

It may also be that she just feels vulnerable being handled if she can’t run eg. As in - leave me alone. But it does suggest she may be in pain. If she’s grooming and looking well and eating ok and can manage her set up then maybe metacam pain relief may be the next step.
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Old 01-08-2021, 12:35 PM   #10
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Default Re: Syrian loss of use of hind legs - any ideas for wheelchair??

I agree with all Seredipity has said, it could be pain or more nerves because of feeling vulnerable.

With metacam, it can be quite harsh and cause stomach upsets too. It is always hard but I'd be considering her quality of life after you have had a chat with the more specialised vet. I don't mean to come over harsh at all, having rats they get a common thing called hind leg degeneration and they can be totally well but the extra energy, not being able to get around like they should does take its toll. Some I let go sooner than others, you get that feeling in your gut to "know".

Keep us posted and good luck x
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