Back legs not working suddenly?

[Sellah]

Hi everyone,

I’ve had my hamster ‘Clover’ for almost 2 years now and I’ve never had any health issues with him, he’s always been eating and running on his wheel.

However, I got the chance to see him again today (The last time I saw him was 3 days ago) ,and when I picked him up I just felt like there was something wrong with him. So, I put him on the floor to walk and both of his back legs aren’t working. He’s using his front legs to drag his body to his food and water.

I don’t know why this suddenly happened though? He’s still drinking/eating, he was ok with me picking him up. Does anyone know what the cause might be?

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. I'm so sorry to hear Clover has problems with his back legs. He is a grand age at two, and I've found weak back leg muscles are one of the first things to go - eg they can't quite climb like they used to. But if he's dragging them along behind him it does sound a bit like paralysis. Does he have any movement in them at all? Could he have had a fall recently? A fall on the back can affect the back leg muscles. If he hasn't had a fall then it's possible there might be something pressing on his spine. Or just weakness of muscles. Does he have any other symptoms? He sounds like he's still hamstering along regardless, but you may need to look at his set up and lower things and remove any shelves or platforms (or just have low platforms) so he can't fall and injure himself. What cage/enclosure is he in?

 

[Sellah]

He doesn’t have any movement in them at all, and he hasn’t had a fall. That’s the only symptom I’ve seen from him though, he’s still being a hamster and doing his normal activities. He’s in a 75 gallon tank for his enclosure.

 

[elusive]

Hello & welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear this has happened.
Clover is a good age & weakness in the back legs isn’t uncommon but if it came on suddenly there may be another cause, sometimes in old age they can have a stroke that can cause various symptoms & this is possibly one of them.
I would get him checked by a vet to see if they can give you any advice or help.
This did happen to one of my hamsters, he wasn’t that old but suddenly for no obvious reason lost the use of his back legs completely, neither I nor the vet could work out why but he did have a course of metacam & after about 10 days recovered the use of his legs & was back to normal.
This may not be possible for Clover but I do think it would be a good idea to get him checked.
All you can do otherwise is just ensure he has easy access to everything he needs without climbing or struggling to reach things.

 

[Sellah]

Okay, I’ll schedule an appointment for him and go from there. I’ll move his water and food closer to him as well, should I keep his wheel in his cage or remove it? I’ve heard some people say to remove their wheel so it doesn’t strain their legs but since his legs are paralyzed then I’m unsure.

 

[Maz]

That's a good question. Does he try and use it? When a hamster was old and a bit doddery I just had the wheel so it was low to the substrate so easy to get on and off. Which wheel is it? I would have thought he wouldn't be able to run on it though.

 

[Sellah]

He uses the ‘Silent runner wheel 9inch’ and yeah, I thought the same but I had heard him trying to run on it as I was trying to sleep last night.

 

[elusive]

I would leave the wheel in for now at least, unless he looks like he might hurt himself getting in & out but he’ll probably be ok.
See what the vet says & take it from there.
When mine was paralysed he kept trying to get into his wheel but couldn’t really & then when he suddenly recovered the first I knew of it was him racing in his wheel like nothing had happened!

 

[elusive]

One thing I forgot to mention, if they can’t use their back legs they are more inclined to pee where they sleep rather than making the effort to get up & go to the usual spot so you need to keep a check on that & make sure the nest stays dry.