Hamster with swollen foot?

IgglePiggleHamster · 12-29-2021, 02:22 AM

Hi
Last night I was just looking at my hamster and I noticed that one of his hands looked really weird. At first, I thought he was missing a 'finger', but on further inspection, I realised the foot was just swollen. There is one toe around the back.
Would you like me to attach a picture? (I'm new here sorry!)
Thanks!

Ria P · 12-30-2021, 01:48 PM

Hello and welcome to HC!

It may be a good idea to get your hamster checked by a vet in case he needs pain relief.

I'd also inspect his habitat to see where he could have caught his paw or fallen from a height maybe.

Accidents do happen though and sometimes we can't find the cause.

Pebbles82 · 12-30-2021, 06:10 PM

Does it seem red and swollen - eg hot? If so it could be infection and need antibiotics. There could be other reasons too - swelling from injury, but it’s most likely infection so may need antibiotics (and maybe pain relief as Ria says). If you can’t see any injury it’s possible he’s lost a toenail - caught it in something maybe. Or even just an infected toenail. Another reason to check the cage contents carefully for anything he could get a toe caught in. Some toys/ladders aren’t that safe.

As you’re new you might not be able to post photos until you’ve done a few posts, but when you can, maybe a photo of his cage set up might help us spot any possible culprits for toe injury!

The other thing is - what is his foot like underneath? Snd what wheel do you have? Hamsters can get a very painful foot condition called bumble foot - caused by wire grid surfaces (eg shelves) and by mesh wheels.

Either way best to phone the vet in the morning and get it looked at and some meds prescribed.

IgglePiggleHamster · 01-07-2022, 03:22 PM

Thanks for replying! I'm so sorry I took so long to answer. I took him to the vets and they prescribed baytrail for 7 days, it's now the end of the seven days and his foot hasn't got better. We're currently in the process of booking in a vet visit. About the bumblefoot, the cage is all solid and he has a solid wheel. When I realised his foot was odd I took out anything that could have been suspicious from his cage but there wasn't any blood anywhere.
Thanks!

Pebbles82 · 01-10-2022, 06:24 PM

So sorry to hear it hasn’t improved. Sometimes Baytril takes longer than a week to have full effect - or it may be something else. If you can find an exotic vet in your area, they know a lot more about hamsters (and fee os no different). If you Google exotic vets in your region I’m sure one will come up - although I have to travel an hour to the one near me! Do let us know how you get on.