Caring for the special needs hamster

              hamvet

 “We’re getting rid of our hamster. Know anyone who wants it?”  Apparently the invisible (to me) ‘sucker’ sign above my head had gone off again. The Ratmaster and I looked at each other.

“Why are you getting rid of him? You just got him,”  I said.
“Well, the kids aren’t taking care of him and we don’t want him anymore.  And by the way, he’s crippled.”  The Ratmaster and I frowned.
“What do mean he’s crippled?”
“Well, he got away a couple months ago, and when we found him on the stairs, there was some blood and his back legs were broken.”
Our frowns deepened. “Did you take him to the vet?”  I asked.
“No.” 

I think my eyes may have rolled at this point. We quickly made arrangements to take this hamster, who we renamed Lucky, to Dr. Emily. Dr. Emily examined him and said Lucky was a girl, and her legs were not broken, she was paralyzed from the waist down due to spinal cord injury, most likely from a fall, or from being squeezed too hard by a small child. She said that Lucky seemed like a bright, alert and happy hamster and was in no pain. Lucky was not, however, able to urinate due to the paralysis, so the urine sort of “overflowed” the bladder and leaked out randomly. The problem with this was that urine in the overfilled bladder backflowed into the kidneys, and kidney failure would ensue unless I gently pressed on Lucky’s abdomen twice a day to express that urine for her, then gave her a little partial rinse bath:
“Whatcha doin’?”
“Helping the hamster pee” 

Lucky was a charming hamster. She seemed to have readily adapted to her compromised physical condition. She could “climb” up the tunnels (tubes) in her hamster habitat, by pulling herself up with her front legs, then sort of wedging her behind in the tunnel, then pulling herself up some more, etc., til she made it up the tube to the next level. She was quite busy burying her favorite treats in the bedding at mealtime, and enjoyed hanging around on the sofa with us. The only problem was that she could only slowly waddle around (she’d kind of swing her behind from side to side from the waist in order to “walk” forward) and she wasn’t getting much exercise. Use of the hamster wheel was out of the question. Those of you who have hamsters are now rolling your eyes at the obvious answer: the hamster ball! Yes, a trip to the pet store for a hamster ball and Lucky was in seventh heaven. She would roll all over the place in that hamster ball, would actually follow us around in it, and wheel herself right up to us for attention and a treat.  It was like a little hamster wheelchair.

Lucky lived with us for a year and a half; she seemed to have quite a happy life and passed on in her sleep. The lifespan of the average hamster is, unfortunately, only about two years.

Here’s the thing: if you get a pet, you all know the first rule if you have been reading my articles: do your research first. Make sure everyone knows how to properly handle the pet, and in this case, the hamster should have been out of reach of the very small children. If your pet is injured, take it to the vet, DUH. And if you do get a pet for your child, and he or she is not taking care of it, guess what? It is now your responsibility. Neglecting/getting rid of the pet only punishes the pet and teaches your kids that pets are disposable.

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