Hello from Luna Bean

[LunaBean]

Introducing my Syrian Hamster, Luna Bean.

She's not new (in fact we got her at 6 weeks old and she's now about 20 months) but we're new to this forum as I wanted to ask some health advice.

A few facts about Luba:
- Because we got her so young and we got her hand training her immediately, she is a super snuggly hamster
- She's a serial chewer - so many of my pyjama tops have got little hamster shaped teeth holes in them!
- I am sure she can smell when we are cooking eggs - she always seems to pop out of her house when she senses there might be some egg on offer

I noticed last week when we were playing that her back legs seem to have got quite a bit weaker. And tonight I could actually really feel and hear her little joints creaking. I realise this is might just be ageing, but I wondered if there is any medication (or supplements or diet changes) that might help?

Thank you in advance!

 

[Maz]

She's gorgeous! She looks so happy there. So weaker back legs is one of the things I first notice when they're around this age. Still fit and active but maybe not as good at climbing into things or platforms, without that extra push in the back legs. The solution for that really is to adjust the cage a bit so they don't have to climb anything other than a shallow ramp, to avoid any falls or accidents. They can usually still zoom around fine on the level.

If you've actually heard creaking and cracking though, she may have some arthritis. Metacam (AKA Loxicom) is the equivalent of ibuprofen for hamsters and is often prescribed by vets as a pain relief as they get older. 20 months isn't that old really though. Technically old age starts at 18 months but I tend to find it's age 2 before any real signs of ageing are noticeable (apart from the back leg weakness).

If you take her a vet visit and explain they may prescribe her some metacam, but it's a prescription only medicine.

It's lovely she is cuddly!