File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Shit, /an/, help me out. My female hamster had a litter of 7 about a month ago, meaning that the babies are almost weaning out of her.

I turned the metal part of the cage upside down and put all of them inside of it while I quickly cleaned the area of the bedding that they pee at, but in one of their little playful fights one of the babies pressed another against the table, making the other stick one of his paws between the table and the cage metal. When I noticed that his cry wasn't stopping after a couple of squirms, I lifted the cage and the hurt baby limped out of there, already had pissed himself. Minutes after, there was only a little bruise on top of his ankle, but now I checked on him again and all of his little leg is purple, except for his feet, that he doesn't move. He's still limping, and tries to hide under his brothers whenever there's a noise.

Is he going to die on me? What the fuck do I do? He's the smallest of the lot too, making me even more worried about him. I really don't want to wake up to see a dead baby hamster while his brothers and mother feast on his corpse, I really don't.

tl; dr - How do I fix baby hamster's bruised leg without him dying on me?
>> Anonymous
it's broke, vet.
>> Anonymous
>>291602

It's 11pm, and tomorrow's a holiday.

How can I go about immobilization? Is there a way even? And yes, I know I'm a huge faggot.
>> Anonymous
>>291611
Emergency vet.
>> Anonymous
>>291615

There aren't any! Today was a holiday already, so nothing was open. Tomorrow, even though a holiday, will have open commerce until noon, but only pet shops and the people there can't care for shit, they'll just tell me to kill the thing.

I checked on him again, and he seems fine, even if a little scared, but he's not squirming in pain or anything, just limping a bit. I know I can't give him any painkillers, but I took away the wheel and put some toilet paper for them to make a more comfortable bed.
Is there anything else I can do for him, other then leaving them alone to discuss if they'll feast on fresh or rotting meat?
>> Anonymous
place him in a sturdy sack or bag.
go outside and sling it against concrete or brick as hard as you can
>> Anonymous
>>291619
Is he eating, ok? Drinking? Guess it's leave it alone and wait and see. Good thinking putting him in a comfy bed. Are the others around to annoy him? Maybe he needs to rest and let his body will do the job. Check out hamster's forums. Sorry, if I can't help you more. Good luck for you both.
>> Anonymous
sorry anon but its a 13 dollar hampster, are you really willing to drop a 125.00 on a hampster that the vet will prolly just tell you something you could of done, or that he's doomed?...


sorry but anything smaller then a ferret i usually won't take to a vet.
>> Anonymous
>>291621

Yeah, I'm checking now, and keeping eye on them. If the other babies start to fight him too much I'll remove them to a bucket or something for a while, but they're all very calm around each other, except for the playful fighting.

If he's still alive by tomorrow I'll try to figure out what to do. I'm not too sure about the vet thing either, I already looked the internet and yellow pages and the smallest animal I've seen the vets treat on the ads were ferrets.

Thanks a lot for the advice though, already looking at forums.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Make a splint like this:

1. Take a toothpick and some nail clippers. Clip the pointy ends off and clip the rest to the length of the hamster's leg. If the clipper has a little rough filey bit or you have something else that'll do the job, smooth out any rough bits.
2. Wrap the toothpick in some medical tape including the ends.
3. Attach the splint to the hamster leg using more medical tape. Attach it on the outside of the hamster.
>> Anonymous
Hm, well usually a broken foot or leg won't kill a hamster. I know of a hamster who got her foot caught in one of those cheap metal wheels and turned it backwards. It healed very quickly, but backwards.

The swelling isn't a good sign though, definitely look for a vet in your area very soon. The hamster might chew through his leg to relieve the pain. For now, take out the wheel and make sure he's not climbing anywhere.
>> Anonymous
If he seems to be in a lot of pain, dissolve a little epsom salt and mix it with some neosporin and apply that to the leg. Cover it with something so he doesn't eat it. Medical tape, perhaps.
>> Anonymous
how can people like having these rodents as pets? they eat their own fucking legs if it's broke/painful? eat each other if one's injured/dying? christ
>> Anonymous
>>291721
And who are you? The pet police?
>> Anonymous
>>291681
>>291704
>>291718

OK, I keep checking up on him this morning, and his leg isn't swollen like before (it went from purple to a mild red), but his little thigh seems to be a little darker than the other, and he still doesn't squirm or show any signs of pain when I pet him or touch his leg/thigh.

Still, when he walks he's putting some weight on that leg, even if still limping. He's still a bit lethargic, but I guess he figured that being quiet will help on the healing of his leg. If his leg condition worsens, I'm taking him to a vet or even rodent-specialized pet store.

I'm going to practice the splint on his dad, kept in another cage, and if I get it right I'll do it. I also took away the wheel and restrained access to the upper floors. The other babies aren't picking on him, so I'll keep him with them, as he can still take some breastmilk from the mother.

Thank you very much for all the advice, guys.
>> Anonymous
>>291928

Post pictures of tractionhamster please.
>> Anonymous
>>291937

I'm trying to get a real camera around here, I only got shitty cellphone cameras. I'll be posting in a couple of hours, I'm going to let them sleep for a while more.
>> Anonymous
>>291681

Keep an eye on him that he doesn't try to eat the splint, though I heard animals will remove bandaging if they don't need it any more. If he doesn't put weight on the leg, bites at it or pulls out the fur, he's in serious trouble. Keep an eye on it--if it's a fracture that heals improperly because he was leaning on it, he won't be able to climb properly later. :(

I bet a good vet would try to splint it if it's broken--after all, people splint songbirds' legs and it works fine.
>> Anonymous
Jesus christ its just a fucking hamster, in like two months you'll have 7 more that replaced him. Who gives a shit.
>> Anonymous
>>291979
anon does ... gtfo
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>291937
>> Anonymous
>>292013
"Get it off, get if off, GET IT OFF!"
>> Anonymous
>>292013

HHAHHAHAHAAH

..FUCK. HAHAHHAHA.
>> Anonymous
>>292013
whuts that green thing
>> Anonymous
>>292059
A cast.
>> Anonymous
>>292013

This is the saddest sight I have ever seen. And sort of adorable.
>> Anonymous
Get a cage card. Place side of cage card firmly onto neck behind the head. Push down with cage card while pulling hamster body away from cage card.
>> Anonymous
Hamster cast...wow. I applaud you're commitment to your hammy.