will my hamster die?

Question
hi my name is kyle and i am wondering if it is normal for a hamster to chew off one of their arms if they get it cuaght in some and if it will regrow? and i dont know what to do...please help

Answer
Hi Kyle

I'm sorry to hear about your hamster.  Hamsters don't normally die from this.  What did it get its arm caught in? Was it its bedding????

As part of my job as a foster home for unwanted/abandoned hamsters sadly I've had several hamsters that have been handed in with limbs missing - most times they get them caught in their wheels (the ones with spokes - hence the reason why they need a solid plastic wheel), or fluffy bedding (it tightens around the limb and the hamster has to bite its foot off to get free).

They can live without a foot, however, they do need special treatment.  First of all - if the injury is new you must check that it doesn't become infected.  If it bleeds a lot, gets very inflamed or puss comes from it then your hamster will need antibiotics.  Sometimes, if the limb has been chewed off at a strange length, then the vet may need to operate to take off the whole limb.  The reason for this is that if there is a 'stump' left, when the hamster walks it can rub and cause a problem for them.

Hamsters with missing limbs cannot have a wheel - you would need to change your hamster's environment - look at the toys it has and see if you need to make changes.  I have a hamster at the moment with a missing back foot - I've taken her wheel out of her cage and put in lots of climbing ropes and toys so she can entertain herself.  Fortunatley she didn't need the whole leg to be removed, but if she were to have a wheel in her cage the repetitive movement of running in it would probably mean she would surgery.  

Missing back legs are easier to deal with than missing front legs.  This is because they use their front paws to empty their cheek pouches of food.  If a paw is missing, they can't do this - the danger is that food can get stuck in their cheek pouches and decay as they can't remove it, in which case a vet will need to flush out the cheek pouch from time to time.

The best thing would be to see why your hamster lost its leg - if there is something that needs to be changed.  The bedding for hamsters should be the strips of soft paper, not the fluffy bedding.

I would advise you getting a vet to look at your hamster's leg so that they can decide whether or not they need to operate.  

Good luck and I hope it all works out well.