My hamster broke his leg now the leg fell off and he has a stub. How do I avoid infection and care for it.?

Question

I notice he has some bleeding today but I don't spot an infection. He still is very active and eats and drinks. It doesn't seem to bother him. What can I do to make sure he doesn't have or get an infection and treat him.

Answer 1

i would take him to a vet. some hamsters will chew off broken limbs if they become a burden. ask your vet about possible antibiotics or small stitches to avoid infection.

Answer 2

take it to the vet and mabey they will put a bandage on him and it wont get invected.

Answer 3

You are incredibly irresponsible for not taking him to the vet when he broke his leg.  You should take it to the vet NOW!!!

Answer 4

First of all, Dont put anything on it that the vet didnt suggest. Hamsters l**k and clean themselves all the time. I would take him to the vet just to be safe. However, I use to raise and breed hamsters. I had a three week old hamster that had gotten his leg wrapped up in some Hamster breeding bedding. This happened at night while I was sleeping . I took him to the vet that morning. The vet looked at the bedding wrapped around his leg and said the leg was "dead". He clipped off the bedding string and showed me that his leg had just died. Then he just snipped off the leg (I couldnt believe my eyes). He said the Hamster or the mother would have done it sooner or later. I called a handicap school in a near by town and ask them if they would like the hamster.They took him and for one of their classrooms. I think my visit to the vet cost under $20.00. Take him in to be safe. Good Luck !!

Answer 5

TAKE HIM TO THE VET ASAP. NO ANIMAL SHOULD BE LEFT LIKE THAT.

Answer 6

Take it to the vet. Quick as you can maybe like RIGHT NOW!

Your lucky it survived and is still active but it can die anyday......take it to the vet NOW!!!

Answer 7

Clean the wound once a day with rubbing alcohol or a regular wound cleaner until the leg (stump) is fully healed.

Answer 8

The best thing to do for a hamster in that condition is take it to the vet....but usually, there's nothing you can do. Since they are so small, vets put them to sleep to decrease thier pain. And that's when the leg is still on...

Congradulate your hamster for being brave and lasting that long with a broken leg.....usually not all of them survive that long.

Answer 9

put neosporin on it, it will help

Answer 10

If you can't get a vet to check him out (sounds like you know that's best and have tried - keep trying - maybe you can at least find one that will prescribe hamster safe antibiotics), in the meantime make sure to keep putting perioxide or similar on the wound until it completely closes.

Bleeding - again? - sounds like the scab is being removed? Either by him chewing on it or bumping it into things. Consider whats in his cage now to be sure its as safe as possible. You might try calling a small animal rehabber or a local zoo - they may have advice for how to solve this. Not sure if allowing the hamster access to wound would help (cleaning it) or hurt (chewing and making it worse).

You also want to keep his cage extra clean during this time. Maybe even some extra bedding. Also, make sure he's on the best quality food you can afford to promote healing. It sounds odd, but look into caring for a pregnant hamster and duplicate that diet for the extra nutrition it provides.

Cages - the homemade bin cages are much lighter than the glass cage you're using. If you're looking to give your pet a change of scenery, this may be the safe solution you were seeking. Try not to beat yourself up over the accident - and keep trying to get a vet to at least talk to you about what else you can do.

Wire cages, wheels, etc - folks using these, should consider this posters unfortunate accident as a warning. This is not an uncommon situation. Please make sure your cage is actually hamster safe. Just because it was sold for hamsters, doesn't make it safe. Several folks on YA are STRONG proponents of bin cages for good reasons! They are SAFE!

Answer 11

Try to find a vet that it is at least willing to see your hamster.  The area may need to be sutured.  At the very least the vet can prescribe pain medication and antibiotics.  Not all antibiotics are safe for hamster, so be sure that your vet prescribes a safe one.  Take a look at the list here:

http://www.hamsterific.com/HamsterUniver...

Answer 12

Maybe you should think about taking him to the vet...