Babies legs

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sheila

I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago about Pinky's babies.
Just to update you we had miss-counted and there were 13 not 14 but unfortunately we lost the tiniest one bank holiday weekend.

Anyway all is well with the remaining 12 or so we thought, 10 of the babies are thriving and growing really fast but 2 of them are a lot smaller, roughly 1/2 the size of the others but seemed to be holding there own. A couple of days ago we noticed that one of them seemed to be walking funny and dragging her legs behind her, we wondered if she had some how hurt them during the night but she doesn't seem to be in pain and is managing to get around just fine. Then yesterday we noticed the other little one had started to do the same with his legs which we thought was a bit strange. Have you heard of this before and is it anything to worry about? I'm worried about taking them to the vet in case they just suggest we put them to sleep and they definitely don't seem to be suffering at all they are playing and joining in with the  others, they are eating and drinking just fine.

Have you any idea what the problem might be?

Lindsey

ANSWER: HI Lindsey

Glad to hear the litter is doing well - sorry you lost one.

13 is a big litter - one of the problems with large litters is that the runt (or in your case the 2nd and 3rd runts) get squashed in the womb which can affect their development.  It sounds to me as if this is what has happened to the two smaller ones.  Now that they are growing because something didn't develop correctly before they were born their bodies have started showing problems.

I recently fostered a litter and I discovered the runt wasn't growing as quickly and couldn't get around - he dragged his legs.  I hand fed him with special milk for a few days - every couple of hours, in the hope that this might give him a chance.  Then I noticed that when he tried to eat his jaw did a strange thing and the teeth separated.  I took him to the vet (he was only 2 weeks old) - and it was diagnosed that he was in effect suffering from the hamster equivalent of spina bifida.  When his spine and head were developing they failed to fuse together properly.  Had he just had either a mobility problem or an eating problem then it was feasible that he could survive as I am used to accommodating hamsters with special needs.  However, as it was a combination of both and he was not growing properly at all I am afraid we made the very difficult decision and he was put to sleep.  It was very sad as I was very attached to him, but nature had stacked too much against him.

I'm not saying this is going to be the outcome for your two hamsters - however, I think it is worth bearing in mind if they fail to grow - in that perhaps there is something fundamental wrong with them.

You can try giving them Complan - mix it with cold water or cat milk as this will help build up their strength.  Alternatively, you could ask your vet for a small amount of special powdered milk that they have for orphaned animals.  You need a small amount of this -  mix it with water and give via a syringe/dropper.

Providing no other problems start to appear and they continue to grow (I wouldn't worry if they are smaller than the others - they usually catch up at some time), then you need to consider how you would look after them - i.e. cages would need to accommodate their disability.  If you are going to keep them both - you might need to get them checked out by a vet - mainly to make sure there is good circulation in the legs/feet.  Providing there is, then they may just adjust to their condition (but you have to check for any sores that they might rub - and they wouldn't be able to have a wheel etc because of the repetitive movement).  If there isn't sufficient circulation in their legs, then I would imagine the vet would insist on euthanasia because the legs would need to be removed.  I've kept several with one missing leg - it doesn't bother them much, but I don't see how they could survive if they had both removed.

I'm hoping for the best as they are such little fighters and show a real determination to survive.  

Please let me know how you get on.

Regards


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sheila
Thanks for your quick reply, I'm pretty certain it is just the legs that are the problem, although I have been keeping an eye on them when they eat to see if I can spot anything unusual.

The good news is they both seem to be walking better now, their legs are no longer dragging altough they are a little wobbly still. It kind of looks like their feet are too close together compared to the other hamsters and last weekend we noticed they kept crossing over each and getting tangled up which may have caused the dragging, I'm hoping this is because they are a little under developed and will improve with time as they seem to be walking better every day.

I will have a go with the complan and see how they get on with that, they do seem to eat well and don't let their legs stop them from getting to the food bowl first when it's re-filled!

We will be keeping them as I don't think it would be fair to give them away if they could potentially have problems (though I would keep them all if my partner would let me, he seems to think 14 hamsters is too many!)

We do have homes for most of them now and I'm wondering when it's ok to give them away, they are 4 1/2 weeks and the boys are in a seperate cage now (apart from the little boy as we though extra time with pinky's milk would benefit him and we assumed he wouldn't be developed enough to mate anyway, hope this is ok?) I don't want to give them away too soon as they seem to love each others company at the moment but the longer we keep them the harder it will be to say goodbye.

One last question, they all love the baby porridge including mum and dad, is it ok to continue giving them this even when they are adults? I am a little worried about over feeding them as Pinky is starting to look rather large as are some of the babies. I have cut it down to one jam jar lid a day in each cage, Guinness get a milk cap full a day, they were getting through about three until I cut it down.

Anyway it has been a lovely experience and I am very envious of your job, it must be very rewarding.
Many thanks for all of your help,
Lindsey  

Answer
Hi Lindsey

Glad to hear your hamsters are doing well.

With regard to separating them - by the time they are 6 weeks old they may well be fighting.  I usually separate and re-home them at 5-6 weeks.  Apart from fighting, check that no one hamster is always sleeping alone - this is often a sign to get them out.  I'm sure the tiny boy is fine with mum - but I would move him out in a weeks time. Ordinarily they do become sexually active at 4 weeks but often they mate with each other, rather than with the mum unless she is quite small - so it doesn't sound as though there's much chance of this happening if he's so small.  I think it is a case of playing it by ear - if she stops feeding him or there is trouble in the cage, then get him out straight away.

With regard to feeding porridge - the problem with giving this all the time is that they become lazy and don't eat hard food.  This can cause dental problems as they need to grind down their teeth daily.  However, I usually give mine a lid of porridge every 2-3 weeks as a treat, and increase this to daily/every other day if they are ill or old.  I personally believe that a baby hamster should be quite tubby rather than skin and bones as this gives it a better chance in life - you can always tell which babies I've fostered when they are back at the rescue awaiting rehoming!

Regards