Hamster with sore leg

ergonomics

Hi all. About a week and a half ago my boyfriend noticed my hamster had a cut on his leg. His best friend is a veterinary nurse so we asked her to take a look at it and she said he probably scratched himself off something and he would be fine. I cleaned out his cage that day to make sure it wouldn't get infected and kept an eye on him. The cut got better and healed completely apart from a bald patch on his leg. Last night was the first time I noticed it was perfectly healed. He was awake just now and I took him out to play and noticed the cut is back in the exact same place. It's on the inside of his left leg. Is this just coincidence or could something be causing it? I used to live in an apartment and just moved into a house so have been letting him run around the back garden, could he have gotten fleas or something? He hasn't been outside since he cut himself and I have cleaned the cage twice. I don't use cleaning products when I clean the cage, just water and lots of scrubbing.

spottykatt

Id bring him to a vet to be checked out, its really impossible to tell without seeing the little guy.
Best of luck with it

ergonomics

Had another look at him and noticed a bald patch on his other leg so I have rung the vet and am going to see them in an hour. They said it might just be a mite from his bedding so hopefully it'll be something small. Poor baby!

carwash_2006

Most hamsters carry mites in their skin that cause them no problems, if their immune system becomes weakened they can start to become itchy. It may be picked up by the bedding, but it could also be something that has always been there, but not causing trouble.

In general mites only cause problems in hamsters and other small animals when the immune system is lowered so it could be beneficial to look at the diet and maybe add some extra vitamins, perhaps change to a different food. The vet can give an injection that should help to clear up the mites, but I would treat the immune system too.

How old is the hamster? Sometimes this can be something that comes later in life as they are not as strong. I had a 3 year old hamster that started going bald from mites, we had her at the vets 3 times for the injection, but it just got worse, in the end I had them put her to sleep, when I realised that she had no quality of life any more, the day she was eating one of her favorite treats, dropped it and ran off into the corner to scratch. I didn't know at that stage about adding vitamins and treating the immune system, I wish I had as then she might have recovered from it, she was in perfect health otherwise.

Susannahmia

Hmm what is his wheel like? If it has holes or bars that could be it as his legs could be getting caught. It should always be a solid wheel for a hamster.

ergonomics

The vet ruled out mites as the cuts were only on his legs. Susannahmia is spot on - the wheel is thought of as the main culprit. I've taken it out of the cage and am hoping to see an improvement!

Susannahmia

ergonomics wrote: »

The vet ruled out mites as the cuts were only on his legs. Susannahmia is spot on - the wheel is thought of as the main culprit. I've taken it out of the cage and am hoping to see an improvement!

Make sure you replace it soon, they really don't flourish without one and can become paralyzed etc from inactivity. In the wild they would be running a few miles an night.

I recommend a wodent wheel, they are really great wheels and 100% safe.

Another plus is they come in the right size for a bigger hamster. A hamsters wheel should always be solid and his back should be straight while running in it.

I ordered one from here myself. My hamster is huge so I had to get her the 27cm one, could only find 6 or 7 inch ones in the petshops.:rolleyes: They are relatively expensive but I think they are worth it.

Sigma Force

Was going to mention he wheel or something else in the cage, sounds like it prob is the wheel anyway if it is it's easily solved by getting a different type. Hope the little guy feels better soon nice to hear of a hammy owner who takes good care of their wee buddy. Hamsters can be great craic.

ergonomics

I'd be lost without my hamster, Napoleon, so would do anything for him. The vet was even commenting on him as, when I was waiting, he was sitting on my chest very calmly being stroked. She said she had never seen such a tame hamster.

I'm unwilling to replace the wheel for a while just to make absolutely sure the wheel is what is causing it. I do have a plastic ball for him though and he's spending lots of time in that. I'd say he spent a good two hours in it last night, and a couple of hours during the day. Obviously he's not in there for two hours solid, he comes out every 15 minutes or so for food and drink. I'm also going to make him a maze to occupy him!

I was thinking about his cage last night though. It's a metal framed one with three levels and the wheel is the only source of entertainment for him in it so he spends excess amount of times on it. Would one of those habitrail cages entertain him more or are they just for show? While his current cage is very tall there isn't a lot of space for toys and that.

nice1franko

my hamster broke his leg on the wheel. although there was two of them and they were both going on the wheel at the same time and then one stopped

Susannahmia

ergonomics wrote: »

I'd be lost without my hamster, Napoleon, so would do anything for him. The vet was even commenting on him as, when I was waiting, he was sitting on my chest very calmly being stroked. She said she had never seen such a tame hamster.

I'm unwilling to replace the wheel for a while just to make absolutely sure the wheel is what is causing it. I do have a plastic ball for him though and he's spending lots of time in that. I'd say he spent a good two hours in it last night, and a couple of hours during the day. Obviously he's not in there for two hours solid, he comes out every 15 minutes or so for food and drink. I'm also going to make him a maze to occupy him!

I was thinking about his cage last night though. It's a metal framed one with three levels and the wheel is the only source of entertainment for him in it so he spends excess amount of times on it. Would one of those habitrail cages entertain him more or are they just for show? While his current cage is very tall there isn't a lot of space for toys and that.

Tbh they are just for show, I got my first hamster and foolishly bought a habitrail ovo as a cage, I like the tubes I have to say and so does the hamster but the cage by itself is simply too small. My first little guy was bored stiff and there was no room for toys etc. I ended up buying two other habitrails second hand, (a safari and a playground) and connecting them on in order for the little guy to have adequate space. Only then did he stop seeming bored and became much more active. My new hamster happened to come with a cage which connected to the habitrails so this one has four cages! I can honestly say that she really does need and appreciates the space.

Here is her current set up, yes I admit it is flippin ridiculous but she uses every bit.

If I were to do it again tbh I wouldn't even bother buy a cage at all, It is near to impossible to find a cage of an adequate size. I would buy one or two of those big plastic storage bins and make a cage, much more space, cheaper and pretty easy to make. Heres a site that shows how to make one

carwash_2006

There are loads of toys that you can buy that should fit in a tall cage. Look for hanging ones, you can get bridges and things that hang from the ceiling of the cage. There is a digging box that you can buy that you fill with bedding and stuf that the hamster can dig through without kicking it everywhere. There is also a wooden play tower that you can get.

Hope it sorts itself out for your little guy soon.

hadook

Your hamster can be just like Indy

This is quite cool too

The digging tower

Wire meshed wheel

My gerbils have the wheel above - I can highly recommend it for keeping paws/tails etc safe.

Susannahmia

[QUOTE=hadook;56061243

The digging tower

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+1 for the tower, I got one recently and my current hamster likes hiding in it and sleeping. For my old hamster I sometimes used to fill up a large cardboard box with shredded toilet paper and put him in, he would stay in there for hours digging and tunneling if I let him.

Another thing which fights boredom a little is to forget about the food bowl and just scatter and hide food all around the cage instead. Mine also likes when you put some food in a toilet roll and screw it up so that they have to chew it open to get to it.

hadook

Another good one is to nuke an (empty!) eggbox in the microwave for 10-20 seconds and then stuff with food/bedding/toys/treats.

Sigma Force

Tried a large tank at one stage but I found the last hammie we had (since died of old age)wasn't happy in it, although if I had managed to put levels in it he may of been happier. But in the end I went back to a similar set up as the photo Susannahmia posted.

So right about never being big enough although as they get older and really start to age they really only use one small area, so no sooner have you spent the past year and a half or so getting into debt building a hamster palace they end up too wobbly n old to use half of it lol. But it's fun watching them enjoy themselves when they are able.
They do love their wee diff areas and so much cute hammie stuff that can be gotten now.

Have tried various housing over the years but the best personally I found was the old version of habitrail it was at the time about the only one you could get suitable for the larger Syrians and the wheel was fantastic. Talking about around 14 years ago..cripes time flies!
The wheel was nice and wide no gaps and had a wee hide away area in the center.

Some old pics to bore yahs.


Next time the dog put her nose in the hammie bit it, poor dog was shaking lol.

This was the hammie put into a tank, as you can see he looked confused lol.


Diff hamster, toy didn't last long


Final set up for ham.

genegenie

I've had a few different living arrangements for my hams as I found it hard to strike a balance between providing a stimulating environment and ease of transport and cleaning.

Started off with a Rotastak set up, to which I added various bells and whistles. Ended up selling it all as it took me nearly a whole day every week to clean.
http://file007a.bebo.com/original/2006/03/15/14/7435659a419488797b597312874o.jpg

Next I used a modified bin, designed with lots of natural materials to mimic their environment in the wild. This was better, but not aesthetically pleasing.
http://file007a.bebo.com/original/2006/03/15/14/7435659a419488946b149684051o.jpg

Finally settled on an Imac Fantasy system. You start off with a two story "base unit" and can add/remove "extension units" as you wish, so it's adaptable. Also it's easy on the eye, provides excellent ventilation, lots of floor space and is a doddle to clean. I adore this set up. Well worth ordering from the UK.
http://file010a.bebo.com/original/2006/04/05/19/7435659a541033209b962290331o.jpg

Sigma Force

That last pic is pretty cool, and the wee little pooper scoop on the side of the cage hehe

ergonomics

Thanks for all the replies and pictures of your cages. Napoleon is doing much better now and had a new wheel. It's solid and a proper size for him. I bought this maze set from my pet. You can put it together anyway you like so I made it with loads of tunnels, tubes and a slide! I put it in a box with lots of bedding, things to chew and I also hid some food in there. The thing is Napoleon hates it and spends all his time trying to climb up on the maze to jump out of the box.

Does anyone know how to get him accustomed to the box or even other ways to keep him entertained? That was the point of the maze in the box as I was afraid he was bored.

genegenie

ergonomics wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and pictures of your cages. Napoleon is doing much better now and had a new wheel. It's solid and a proper size for him. I bought this maze set from my pet. You can put it together anyway you like so I made it with loads of tunnels, tubes and a slide! I put it in a box with lots of bedding, things to chew and I also hid some food in there. The thing is Napoleon hates it and spends all his time trying to climb up on the maze to jump out of the box.

Does anyone know how to get him accustomed to the box or even other ways to keep him entertained? That was the point of the maze in the box as I was afraid he was bored.

Wow, that maze sounds fantastic, ergonomics! Got any pictures of it? It's a shame that Napoleon (great name btw!) hasn't adjusted to it yet. Perhaps he's feeling a little stressed because it's a new environment for him? Hamsters sense their environment mainly through scent, so my advice would be to take some of his old bedding from his cage, which he'll have scent-marked, and mix that in with the new bedding in the box with the maze. That way it will smell more like his home and he may settle.

Another idea might be to hide some of his favourite, most irresistible,treats throughout the maze and mixed in through the bedding. His fear will likely be overridden by greed and gluttony! It will also serve as positive reinforcement, so he'll associate the new maze with reward. Do this a couple of times and I'm sure he'll love playing in there!

Though in saying that, one of my hamsters, Buster, just wouldn't settle in his playpen, no matter what I did. He had a rather ingenious way of escaping too! I've a video of it somewhere, I'll pop it up on youtube later to show you! Hopefully this won't be the case for Napoleon though

genegenie

Eep, forgot about this, sorry! Here's the video in case anyone's been waiting! :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVUKRMSH-nA

Is Napoleon settling in better ergonomics?