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My Hamster Hurt Her Foot, But Hasn't Learned Her Lesson
Hi, I have a female hamster, and over the weekend she was climbing and got her foot stuck in the bars. We managed to get her out of it, but she was kind of hurt and was hobbling around with the injured foot in the air. I don't have money to take her to vet, so she's kinda been nursing herself back to health, but she won't stop climbing her cage. I know it's normal for them to climb and play around, but she just got stuck again (though she managed to get herself free) and I don't know what to do. I want her to stop climbing so she'll stop getting hurt, but I know that's not possible. Should I maybe sell her or give her away? Is there anything I can do? I really love her but I don't know if I can handle her behavior.
Any advice works. Thank you in advance! :)
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Want to answer more questions in the Domesticity category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
A quick solution is to move her items into a cage with no bars so that she cannot climb the sides of the cage. This is really important for hamsters and other small rodents, usually, because they like to climb around and one fall from the top of a cage could mean death for these fragile animals.
If you have a 10gallon+ fish-tank around then that's a great start until you can purchase a different, more appropriate cage. It won't let as much air through the cage but she will be much safer then and not risk her life so much.
So, if you have an old fish tank (even if it's crack and leaks with water--remember, you're not filling it up with water at all) then you can put her bedding, toys, chew sticks, food, etc. in there. You can cover the top of it with some sort of meshing you might around if you don't have a mesh lid. You can actually buy a great fitting mesh lid for tanks though because a lot of people keep rodents and reptiles in these containers.
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So, move her to a better cage and there shouldn't be any more problem. Her water bottle can be fashioned to the side of the cage with a hook that is designed for it or some wiring if you can get it figured out (but if you do this make sure you put something slightly heavier than her on the mesh cage cover so she can't push it open a little and escape).
An even better idea might be to use a big, clear Rubbermaid container and punch a few holes around it (not close enough to let her climb; and punch the holes from the INSIDE outward so that she can't get her teeth around the puncture to start chewing; punch the holes fairly small) to let more air into the cage. You can make your own meshed cover with a few basic supplies. If you have a handy dandy father around he might be able to do it if he's into that sort of thing.
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Buy her a different cage?
That sounds like the most elegant solution. If her feet are getting caught in this one, then she either needs a cage with larger openings that she can manourver around, or smaller ones where she can't get her whole foot through.
Go to a pet store and ask thier advice, and take a look at cages. Maybe a mouse or rat cage, although still large, will serve her better. I have seen people keep hamsters in glass cages, although I don't know if that is a good idea or not.
Also, she is a hamster. As she gets older, she is gonna get hurt. Part of having a pet, is accepting that they are mortal, and don't live as long, or live as well, as people do. Please don't give her away. Work on your own axienty and stress, and see if a small investment can make her life better.
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