Syrian Hamster

Question
My 8-month-old syrian hamster is dragging her leg around and I fear it is broken or sprained. I am not exactly sure how she got the injury.It does not look purplish or swollen, but she stumbles when she walks.I would take her to a vet but I do not have the money, nor do my parents.I have taken out all the platforms that she could climb on in her house and her wheel so she could not make her injury any worse.I just really want to know if the injury can heal on it's own and how long it will take. If there is anything I can do to make her heal faster other than what I have already done,please let me know.

Answer
Hi Senait

Thanks for your question - I'm sorry to hear about your hamster.

There are different views on treating fractures. If circulation is affected, or if the bone is sticking out then a vet definitely needs to be consulted as the limb would need amputating. However I've had a few hamsters who have had fractures and they all healed on their own. You have done all the right things in removing anything that can tempt her to climb. She needs to have food and drink closely so she doesn't have to go far for it. It will take about 4 weeks or so for the leg to heal. After that time you can slowly reintroduce toys, platforms etc. but at the moment she needs to be encouraged to rest.

If anything changes I.e the leg swells or she doesn't want to eat etc.which would indicate she is in pain h she will definitely need to see a vet.

I hope this helps you?

Regards
Sheila