R
RainbowBrite
Maybe she is trying to see if she can find out where the new hamster is. How cute.
B
Banned Member 1
Also, I suppose it is the first sign of a male hamster that she has ever experienced since she was a baby!
B
Banned Member 1
A tight squeeze!! Hoping she gets on with it ok. It has gentle undulations on the surface that should be much easier to cope with than the rungs of the niteangel.
M
Member ID2
Lovely wheel. Is it a Bucatstate wheel?
B
Banned Member 1
Yep. The 21cm version, which I'd normally consider a bit smaller than ideal except for robos, but Snowy won't be using it much or going fast.
M
Member ID2
It may well suit her. I'm looking forward to find out what Snowy thinks about her new wheel.
B
Banned Member 1
Me too. A wheel with an adjustable stand is much easier to fit into different layouts
M
Member ID2
They really are. My Robos have the MouseBro which has an adjustable stand.
B
Banned Member 1
She emerged in just the wrong place but after a little assistance from human she was able to give the wheel a very brief go and then had a nibble of hazelnut to make up for dealing with a bit of disruption
B
Banned Member 1
This is absolutely perfect for her
M
Member ID2
That's great that she gets on with it so well.
Whatever is wrong with her doesn't seem to stop her from enjoying life.
Whatever is wrong with her doesn't seem to stop her from enjoying life.
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An open wheel is probably a bit safer for her as I've heard stories about older hamsters with weak legs getting a leg caught climbing in and out of the holes of the trixie wheel - one ended up with a broken leg as had got caught and fell awkwardly. It's good she likes the wheel. She did seem to spin a bit again on the first photo so it was maybe still a bit stressful finding something had changed, but she will get used to the wheel.
Her back leg weakness is noticeable, the first time she tried to climb into the wheel, when she struggled to get in, but she seems to have got the hang of it now.
I wonder if something to help her get in the wheel easier would be good. With our robo I had a piece of cork just in front of the wheel (which could slightly slope down onto the substrate). He liked this a lot as it made a shallow step and the entry to the wheel was more level and easier. He also liked to sit under it and I think Snowy comes up from the substrate in that area so it would be like a little roof over her nest.
I just bought a bag of cork bark pieces and use them for things like that.
Her back leg weakness is noticeable, the first time she tried to climb into the wheel, when she struggled to get in, but she seems to have got the hang of it now.
I wonder if something to help her get in the wheel easier would be good. With our robo I had a piece of cork just in front of the wheel (which could slightly slope down onto the substrate). He liked this a lot as it made a shallow step and the entry to the wheel was more level and easier. He also liked to sit under it and I think Snowy comes up from the substrate in that area so it would be like a little roof over her nest.
I just bought a bag of cork bark pieces and use them for things like that.
B
Banned Member 1
Geeze, that's scary about the trixie wheel, I guess it's good to make sure the area in front of the wheel is flat so they can't fall far with a leg stuck :S
I suspect her leg weakness is more of a progressive thing than a result of the stroke. She started to struggle with the rungs of her Niteangel wheel well before that. I know rats are very prone to hind leg degeneration with age, I don't know how common a problem it is in hamsters?
Yeah, the current position isn't ideal for her getting on and off the wheel, this is something that'll be fixed when I move her.
I suspect her leg weakness is more of a progressive thing than a result of the stroke. She started to struggle with the rungs of her Niteangel wheel well before that. I know rats are very prone to hind leg degeneration with age, I don't know how common a problem it is in hamsters?
Yeah, the current position isn't ideal for her getting on and off the wheel, this is something that'll be fixed when I move her.
M
Member ID2
My dwarf Ozzy lost the use of his back legs to the point where he fell over onto his back and couldn't turn himself onto his legs again.
As you can imagine, he panicked and i had him pts that very morning because i knew that his condition would get progressively worse.
Until this happened, i adapted his cage to his needs as and when required. He also started to struggle to walk on the substrate so i put boredom breaker mats down to give him a firmer surface to walk on but left burrowing areas around the sides of his cage. He managed surprisingly well with hard surfaces for quite a long time and run up his (low) ramps without issues for quite some time.
It really is a matter of taking it day by day and adapt their environment the best we can.
As you can imagine, he panicked and i had him pts that very morning because i knew that his condition would get progressively worse.
Until this happened, i adapted his cage to his needs as and when required. He also started to struggle to walk on the substrate so i put boredom breaker mats down to give him a firmer surface to walk on but left burrowing areas around the sides of his cage. He managed surprisingly well with hard surfaces for quite a long time and run up his (low) ramps without issues for quite some time.
It really is a matter of taking it day by day and adapt their environment the best we can.
B
Banned Member 1
Poor Ozzy
Not quite the same but I had a rat with a pituitary tumor that progressively affected her mobility. She soldiered on and seemed in good spirits as long as she could get around the base of the enclosure but one day she fell over and couldn't get up and just like you I knew it was time and had her pts that same day.I am hoping Snowy has plenty of time left, she's not even that old really. She was I'm guessing she was born October 2021 so that makes her about 16 months now.
A little video of her checking things out after her MCH clean yesterday:
M
Member ID2
Snowy seems to be getting around ok which is great. I think with easier access to her wheel and some mats on the substrate she'll be mobile for quite some time yet. Hamsters adjust so well to changes in their mobility. Having four legs helps as well...
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She clearly enjoys burrowing, but she may struggle to climb out more and more. The photos I added with the mats are on your other thread and the idea was there was still the option to burrow in certain areas if wanted, but other areas were easier to walk on and less climbing needed with the back legs. She is managing to get out of her burrow, but it could be stressful if she couldn't quite manage it one day or is finding it difficult. She is quite the little trooper though.