my syrian hamster has a swollen abd broken leg..

Question
please help me my syrian hamster has a broken leg .. he fell from a very short place he jumps from big places but does't get hurt today he fell on his back and it is a swollen leg it is pink in colour he is lifting it and not touching the bedding i have a cage with many toys and mazes but he is not playing he is just interested in coming out of the cage .. can you tell me how to handle him and if there is any medication which can be home made then please tell me..

Answer
Hi Aslam

I'm sorry to hear about your hamster.

Often broken bones heal on their own, however, sometimes you do need a vet to intervene.  The main thing right now is making sure his cage is on one level only.  Remove his wheel and any platforms - you need him to rest and allow his leg to heal. It will take several weeks.

There are different views about broken legs - if you give pain relief, whilst it means the hamster isn't suffering the fact is that they will continue to use the leg and then they stand a chance of the leg not healing properly.  However, without pain relief it is miserable for the hamster while the leg heals and therefore some view this as being cruel - but the hamster will rest more.  You need to make the decision about this.

The important thing is that the leg does heal properly.  The fact that it is swollen and pink is a bit of a concern.  It is vital that the circulation is good in the leg otherwise he will lose it.  If it turns dark red or blue, then he definitely needs to see a vet.  It is very difficult for a vet to mend a broken leg as the bones are too small to pin them and in cases where circulation is affected they tend to amputate.  This isn't too big a problem for a hamster in captivity - you just need to modify their cage a bit to accommodate them.

If you notice a discoloration, if the swelling doesn't go in a day or two, if the leg starts to bleed/show pus, or if there appears to be bone sticking out then you must get him to a vet.  Otherwise it is up to you to decide whether to wait a day or two to see if it starts to heal on its own without veterinary intervention or not.

Once the leg has healed you can put the wheel back in the cage - it tends to take about 4 weeks or so for it to be OK again.  Obviously if there are any complications you might have to delay.

I hope you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila