My hamster only has three feet....

Question

I bought my 6year old daughter as syrian hamster today, she fell in love with him and I have to say he is very cute and fluffy, hence why I didnt notice at the time of purchasing....anyway just looking at him now and he is climbing up the bars and have noticed he has two front feet and one foot at the back with a stump where the other foot should be. Its not a wound, its just a pink stump.........should I be worried? he is very bright and alert and seems otherwise full of health.

Answer 1

If the hamster is healthy you have nothing to worry about. It could have been a birth-effect, or lost during its early life. If you ever see hamster babies they are like little pink fetuses when born. I can easily imagine one of those delicate little pink appendages getting bitten off or pinched off while they were being handled.

If you didn't notice it when you purchased it, it shouldn't be a problem in the future.  Have you named it yet? How about "Tripod"...just kidding. Tripod is the name of a three-legged dog which received Internet fame years ago.

Maybe your hamster can become famous on uTube or something.

Answer 2

as long as he doesn't seem to be showing any signs of an illness he should be fine. it could of been a birth defect or maybe it had to be amputated. don't worry. he sounds fine and happy to be with your family. just keep watching him for a few days just to make sure he is perfectly okay.

Answer 3

Its completly normal. I heard of hamsters with 3 feet and theat are fine. Everything is okay unless it is a open cut. Its just a defect and I'm sooo happy you bought him, other times people wont buy pets like that. I'm sure hes very very happy! Thanks

Answer 4

If he is healthy and active otherwise, there is nothing to bother about it. He could have been born with a genetic defect or handicap or when he was still a pup, damaged his leg somewhere causing it to get handicapped without developing properly. Just to make sure it is not a recent infection, keep a watch for any signs of swelling there. But my guess is since it is a pink stump, it is well healed. Hamsters on three legs can lead as normal a life as hamsters on four legs. You might just have to go easy on the climbing tubes and tiers in the cage. Give him a cage with no tiers but lots of space in the base itself and keep his tubes and tunnels horizontal rather than vertical so that he has no difficulty getting into the tubes and his climbing activities are minimised.

Answer 5

Ha!! Hope you got a discount for that missing toe lol!!!

Answer 6

He should be fine. It was probably just a birth defect.  

Answer 7

no pain, no blood. its ok. hamsters take the pain really good and even run on their wheel despite their missing foot. dont worry about it.

Answer 8

If he's walking alright, and as you said, he's bright and alert and healthy, it shouldn't be a problem, especially since you didn't notice he only had three feet until he was climbing on the bars. He was probably just born like that.

Answer 9

If its not a wound and it doesn't seem to be bothering him then I would say leave him be. If it seems to be bothering him or he seems to be in pain take him to a vet. This could be a result of injury or it could be a result of poor or inbreeding.

That's why when you buy a pet you should always ask if you could hold them first, and check them over thoroughly, He could've had something worse such as wet tail, which is quite hard to treat and often proves fatal. I suggest you check him over now to make sure there is nothing else wrong with him.

Make sure he has no lumps or bumps, and make sure his rear end is dry, nose and eyes should be dry and clear, ears should not be torn and free from discharge. Mouth should be free from discharge and dribbling, check his teeth and make sure their not overgrown, check his other feet and make sure their free from deformity. Make sure his fur is clean without any dandruff or bald patches. If you notice that  anything else is out of place, call the pet store and ask for a refund or ask for them to take him back.

Hope everything else is okay with him :)