my gerbils back legs

Question
QUESTION: im sorry if this is not your area of expertise but im sure you know enough about small animals to answer this if not is ok...today i accidently vaccumed up my gerbil and now he wont use his back legs they dont look broken but they might be fractured i dont know....he still eats and can even climb up his tunnel ok but i put a container of water in there and plenty of food soo he is extra comfortable.. i cant really afford to take him to the vet i really wish i could...do you think he will be ok and would he be ok if he never was able to use them again since he still eats and drinks well..also he isnt very old so that shouldnt be the problem i dont think he is at the most 1 year

ANSWER: He may just be weak, but his legs could also be broken. His behavior sounds fine, but you should moitor him closely the next few days. One question: How in the world do you vacuum up a gerbil? In the future you need to be more careful so this doesn't happen. Make sure your gerbil is in his cage before you vacuum.

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QUESTION: I have a wire/bar cage and sometimes they are messy and get the bedding everywhere so I have to vacuum around the cage. The door happened to be open and I got distracted by my son and left the vacuum for a second. I guess he just got too curious...I didnt think it could have happened. I forgot to ask this before...if his legs never heal and he isn't able to use them again, will he be okay? I also just lookd at him and it seems like he has bitten his testicles off? I don't know what to do I don't have the money for a vet.

Answer
He may be crippled, but he should be okay. Testicles are not visible on hamsters, just the scrotum, which looks like a bulge at the base of his tail. Sometimes traumatized hamsters will bite themselves, and sometimes it could be just a sore. Monitor him and if it doesn't seem to be healing, put some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and gently dab his wound with it.