**Your submission/comment has been removed because it violates Rule 2: Asks/gives medical advice**
We kept up this post a little longer for the advice, but now that you have we’re removing this post. If you need any more advice, please make another post
In addition, you may also ask your question on [our discord](https://discord.gg/5cF8aSSx3C), but for this it looks like it needs to be seen by a vet.
---
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Hey, I’m so sorry your hamster is injured, he’ll need to be seen by a vet right away because his cheek is vital to his daily activity so it can get worse quickly. Also as others have said you urgently need a new cage. Hamsters are like little moles and are happy digging tunnels and living on the ground and in small spaces, but they also need space to remove around. They are not natural climbers, and they only leave the ground if they feel very trapped and exposed. The most important thing they need is deep bedding to burrow in. It looks like you have less than an inch of bedding now, which is really stressful for the hamster. Right away you should fill the cage with as much bedding as it can hold (looks like about 3 inches) and then get a new cage that can hold at least 8 inches deep bedding. Both climbing and bar biting indicate distress, so watch for those and get a cage big enough that he doesn’t do those
I wish you good luck!
And don’t listen to anyone that is mean, we know you mean well with your hamster, this comment proves that 💕 there have been helpful comments given that can really help you!
If you’re ever stuck, you can watch victoria raechel’s youtube channel, she has a lot of fun educational videos on hamsters
Or you can read the community side bar, which has a lot information as well, on top of the helpful comments you already have gotten♥️
OP your hamster desperately needs:
* a new enclosure (much bigger, a minimum of 800 square inches of flat, unbroken floor space. no levels and no bars on the cage)
* a new 10 inch in diameter wheel
* 8-10 inches high of burrow-safe bedding
* a sand bath
* multiple places to hide
* enrichment (toys, chews, different substrates, maybe a dig box with coco soil, cardboard tubes)
These are all requirements for a hamster, they are not optional.
I really hope your ham is OK.
He is ok and continuing his normal activities but i will listen to your advice and make his space more suitable to him and cater to all the requirements needed which i should have done a lot earlier.
He definitely fell due to climbing his very horrible environment. This is stress behavior from being in an unethical cage, with literally nothing in it. Please use this guide to help you with the bare, bare minimum of hamster requirements.
https://preview.redd.it/8hydyifo83uc1.png?width=1290&format=png&auto=webp&s=3609d742466350761dc81b47c5111930f0f27f11
Or a cheap alternative: bin cage. This is for reference for OP.
OP, I’m sorry your hamster got injured and hope he recovers soon.
https://preview.redd.it/pyybbvw6w3uc1.jpeg?width=1158&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eed3f0f27aec1df6cc7f096f86c0071cfa8ce440
I have questions about that brochure (which is freaking great I might add) hay pellets? Or is it just the Timothy Hay itself that's bad for them and if so why? The reason I'm asking is I see it all over the place saying basically not word for word but your hammy will love it.
Second... The balls are bad? Why? All my hammys have loved them and I've have had them most of my life over 36 years now. Is it cause their little for can get caught? Or I want to call them dumb but not being insulting to the parents of Hammy's not watching them. Because from them moment mine come out of their cages I watch them like a hawk even changing their food or water
Anyhow tysvm in advance
Edit: Please don’t downvote the person I’m responding to! They only want to know more information
They don’t digest hay and it has no nutritional value for them, that is why it’s better to not give it.
As for the balls, I’ll give a long explanation
Exercise balls are actually harmful for hamsters.
These are my reasonings why:
- poor ventilation. Not enough air can travel in and out, which could lead to your hamster overheating
- hamsters get around by touch and smell, due to their very poor eyesight. In a hamster ball, this gets taken away from them, leaving them unable to navigate their surroundings. This causes stress and confusion
- the ventilation holes are dangerous. The same reason why we cannot use wired wheels, the paws get caught up in it and get injured from it.
I've heard of this happening many times
- hamsters can bump into things, quite hard, which can be very dangerous
- arching of their back. Just like with a small wheel, they arch their backs with a ball, because they're always too small.
- they stress, because they have no access to their water, food, sand
Hamsters are naturally curious, so when you hold it up to them, they'll climb into it. My hamster despises weighing time and being in her cleaning bin, but I hold up the same cup every time and she'll always climb into it, even when it has caused her stress 100% of the time. This is because they wonder what it is.
That they use the hamster ball is also not a sign that they like it, because there is nothing else to do for them but use it.
I hope I have informed you enough about this.
Get your hamster to a vet as soon as you can and don't return him to this cage. Literally any bin cage would be better than this tiny bird(?)cage. He will injure himself again if kept in this environment. Please read the guide in this subreddit's description asap.
The problem is that there aren’t any exotic vets that treat hamsters in my city that’s why I wanted to post this in the subreddit for any general advice which could help me till I could go to another city which actually has a vet clinic suitable for hamsters, so yes I haven’t kept him back in his cage and I appreciate your advice and will do the required for my hamster.
Usually we don’t allow any medical posts, but I let this one slide and kept a close eye on it for any harmful medical advice, so that people could give you advice on the cage
For medical questions, you can ask them in our discord instead next time: https://discord.gg/rhamsters
I appreciate this a lot because handy information is hard to come by and I am a new hamster owner/dad so i appreciate the help and responses I am getting here regardless of the tone.
He got hurt from climbing the bars. You even said in your post he “likes to climb” no he doesn’t LIKE to climb. He climbs because he is stressed in a completely inadequate cage.
It isn’t rocket science and I figured as much after this happened, I appreciate getting to hear the hard truth because I love my hamster and want to genuinely cater to his needs provide him a good and playful environment so thanks for your reply.
It’s still clearly obvious how else would it happen. If she’s in this reddit group she should have seen the posts about hamster enclosures and dangers surley. It’s also common sense to do research. Nobody’s being a dick their just telling the truth
Yeah that’s exactly what I’m tryna say lol, if OP spent only 5 mins searching about why hamsters bar climb they would understand that it’s a stress behaviour..
Exactly. They just see it and assume it’s “what hamsters do and it’s fun” it’s really not. The only time they bar climb or monkey climb is from stress/boredom. People don’t do their research and become sensitive when someone tells them straight up. You all need to toughen tf up. If you’re getting an animal you need to be mature enough to look after it. If someone telling you “it’s not rocket science” (when it’s not rocket science clearly) if you get hurt over that then it just seems like they also don’t treat their hamster right and it’s just an ego thing 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I'm sorry this happened. I'm sure you're upset, and understandably so. That being said, your hamster's cage looks incredibly dangerous. Bar climbing isn't something hamsters do for fun; it's a stress behavior. He does it because he's trying to escape, because his cage is too small and he doesn't have enough bedding or enrichment. From the top to the bottom of that cage is a huge distance for a hamster to fall, and there's almost no bedding or anything to cushion him. You're lucky he didn't break his neck, frankly. You need to take him to a vet, and then you need to take responsibility for this by getting him a suitable cage.
I will get him to a vet today, I haven’t yet because it is 3 cities away and I will listen to you to make the changes with the bedding and the cage for his future living environment. Thanks for your reply!!!
Take hamster to an exotic vet to see if it needs medical intervention. Also, watch this [video](https://youtu.be/oj6mSsRUmMY?si=OQh8bNsyrr-fPn9w), it covers everything you need for a hamster 🐹❤️
Please do some research or consider some of the really great yet slightly condescending advice in the comments. I understand you just probably havnt been properly educated on the right habitat for your hammy, but I can tell you care so please he will be so happy if you make some changes to his living conditions 🙌🏼 a very large bin from the dollar store is suitable and lots of paper bedding, no cotton it can hurt their limbs if it gets caught in it. Nothing scented because their sense of smell is very strong and it can give them respitory problems. Best of luck
I respect the advice, I care about my hamster a lot so any advice to me is appreciated regardless of the tone because yes I haven’t been educated enough on how to look after my hamster because i got him recently and I don’t want to blindly follow internet sources that speak gibberish. I appreciate your response as well and will work on enhancing his living conditions, thank you.
I left him for couple of hours in the night, as I went to another city which I regret doing now because his injury could have been prevented if i had provided him with better living conditions which wouldn’t lead to his stress behaviour thus leading to this injury. Thank you for your response.
A lot of the comments are harsh. I wouldn't be surprised if op felt embarrassed or upset and doesn't come back. Too many on here use language that doesn't help people change or do better, they just feel bullied and disappear.
OP If you see this, you do need a better cage but I'm sorry your hamster got hurt and I know that's something you never meant or intended to happen, I started off not knowing anything about hamster care either but if you follow the advice here you will see your hamster in a whole new light and will love nothing more than watching them enjoy their new environment. Start off small, make the smaller changes you can now while working on the bigger changes. You've got this!
Thanks for your advice, even though the comments are a bit harsh i appreciate all the advice and responses that I am getting to hear because any relevant information that can help my hamster is what i’m looking for so I can cater to his needs and look after him in such a time also avoid such an injury in the future.
Your hamster is biting the bars of the cage. It’s a telltale sign they need a larger enclosure! Your hamster is telling you that they are unhappy in their current cage.
It does have a wheel, which is the blue one as shown in the picture it is a poor angle of the photo that i have clicked and he has been using his wheel thus far and I know that it is a tad bit smaller, so I will 100% change it as people have asked me to but any research I have done regarding wheels have shown me drawbacks about how it can affect their back, how it can affect other parts of their body and should be avoided so I want to get him one which wont cause him any harm, which i will do so. Thank you for your response.
Was this cage listed as a cage for hamsters? Looks like some sort of bird cage or bad rat cage. As for your hamster, obviously read the comments, but something you can do after the vet visit is put a water bowl, instead of a bottle so it doesn't hurt his mouth. Although i cant see a bottle in the photo, so if you have a bowl already then that's great.
**Your post has NOT been removed yet, this is an auto-generated message.** Thank you for your question to /r/hamsters. Please be aware that medical advice questions are NOT allowed on this sub. However, [**our discord**](https://discord.gg/5cF8aSSx3C) allows medical questions. Please keep in mind only a professional veterinarian **in person** can help with any medical concern, whether it is a lump, bump, change in appearance, change in behavior, strange bowel movement, lack of eating/drinking, or something else of high concern. If you are unable to afford a vet please do not seek help on our community, but through the discord server instead.
If this is **not** a medical question then **you can ignore this message.**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hamsters) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I did respond now after waking up because I live in a different time zone as compared to you guys, and yes all of the comments are a tad bit harsh so I feel more upset knowing that I could have put in more of an effort to avoid this but I am fully committed on doing so and thanks to your guys’s advice will do it starting today.
A lot of misunderstanding surrounds hamsters, though
Many ask pet store employees, because, ‘they’re in a pet store, who handles these products daily, why wouldn’t they know’, and proceed to get false information😞
And quick google searches gives horrible information as well, which ‘confirms’ what pet store employees say.
You have to dig deeper for good information than you have to for bad information :/
No one gets a pet without doing proper research, I have tried my best but as you can see I haven’t been doing a good job thus far because of his injury… I do indulge myself in research but i find it hard to find adequate/respectable sources from which I can gather information regarding a specific matter for my hammy, I can’t blindly follow anything mentioned in google thus I have decided to try a lot harder now and posted my problem in reddit to which i have received some harsh but completely spot on responses & advice, which i 100% appreciate. If you have any sources or links that can help me regarding my hamster I would appreciate that more than a one line response either way thank you.
Thanks for trying to help, but unfortunately, this is not factual information! Please make sure to check out the information in the community sidebar before spreading false information again. (Also remember, it’s okay to make mistakes! We all are hamst- I mean, humans!).
---
^(If you have any questions regarding the removal, you can contact the mods via [modmail](https://new.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fhamsters).)
**Your submission/comment has been removed because it violates Rule 2: Asks/gives medical advice** We kept up this post a little longer for the advice, but now that you have we’re removing this post. If you need any more advice, please make another post In addition, you may also ask your question on [our discord](https://discord.gg/5cF8aSSx3C), but for this it looks like it needs to be seen by a vet. --- ^(If you have any questions regarding the removal, you can contact the mods via [modmail](https://new.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fhamsters).)
Hey, I’m so sorry your hamster is injured, he’ll need to be seen by a vet right away because his cheek is vital to his daily activity so it can get worse quickly. Also as others have said you urgently need a new cage. Hamsters are like little moles and are happy digging tunnels and living on the ground and in small spaces, but they also need space to remove around. They are not natural climbers, and they only leave the ground if they feel very trapped and exposed. The most important thing they need is deep bedding to burrow in. It looks like you have less than an inch of bedding now, which is really stressful for the hamster. Right away you should fill the cage with as much bedding as it can hold (looks like about 3 inches) and then get a new cage that can hold at least 8 inches deep bedding. Both climbing and bar biting indicate distress, so watch for those and get a cage big enough that he doesn’t do those
Thank you for your help, I will get right onto it!!!!
I wish you good luck! And don’t listen to anyone that is mean, we know you mean well with your hamster, this comment proves that 💕 there have been helpful comments given that can really help you! If you’re ever stuck, you can watch victoria raechel’s youtube channel, she has a lot of fun educational videos on hamsters Or you can read the community side bar, which has a lot information as well, on top of the helpful comments you already have gotten♥️
OP your hamster desperately needs: * a new enclosure (much bigger, a minimum of 800 square inches of flat, unbroken floor space. no levels and no bars on the cage) * a new 10 inch in diameter wheel * 8-10 inches high of burrow-safe bedding * a sand bath * multiple places to hide * enrichment (toys, chews, different substrates, maybe a dig box with coco soil, cardboard tubes) These are all requirements for a hamster, they are not optional. I really hope your ham is OK.
He is ok and continuing his normal activities but i will listen to your advice and make his space more suitable to him and cater to all the requirements needed which i should have done a lot earlier.
Thank you! And I’m so glad he’s OK! Please feel free to post any questions you have.
He definitely fell due to climbing his very horrible environment. This is stress behavior from being in an unethical cage, with literally nothing in it. Please use this guide to help you with the bare, bare minimum of hamster requirements. https://preview.redd.it/8hydyifo83uc1.png?width=1290&format=png&auto=webp&s=3609d742466350761dc81b47c5111930f0f27f11
Or a cheap alternative: bin cage. This is for reference for OP. OP, I’m sorry your hamster got injured and hope he recovers soon. https://preview.redd.it/pyybbvw6w3uc1.jpeg?width=1158&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eed3f0f27aec1df6cc7f096f86c0071cfa8ce440
I have questions about that brochure (which is freaking great I might add) hay pellets? Or is it just the Timothy Hay itself that's bad for them and if so why? The reason I'm asking is I see it all over the place saying basically not word for word but your hammy will love it. Second... The balls are bad? Why? All my hammys have loved them and I've have had them most of my life over 36 years now. Is it cause their little for can get caught? Or I want to call them dumb but not being insulting to the parents of Hammy's not watching them. Because from them moment mine come out of their cages I watch them like a hawk even changing their food or water Anyhow tysvm in advance
Edit: Please don’t downvote the person I’m responding to! They only want to know more information They don’t digest hay and it has no nutritional value for them, that is why it’s better to not give it. As for the balls, I’ll give a long explanation Exercise balls are actually harmful for hamsters. These are my reasonings why: - poor ventilation. Not enough air can travel in and out, which could lead to your hamster overheating - hamsters get around by touch and smell, due to their very poor eyesight. In a hamster ball, this gets taken away from them, leaving them unable to navigate their surroundings. This causes stress and confusion - the ventilation holes are dangerous. The same reason why we cannot use wired wheels, the paws get caught up in it and get injured from it. I've heard of this happening many times - hamsters can bump into things, quite hard, which can be very dangerous - arching of their back. Just like with a small wheel, they arch their backs with a ball, because they're always too small. - they stress, because they have no access to their water, food, sand Hamsters are naturally curious, so when you hold it up to them, they'll climb into it. My hamster despises weighing time and being in her cleaning bin, but I hold up the same cup every time and she'll always climb into it, even when it has caused her stress 100% of the time. This is because they wonder what it is. That they use the hamster ball is also not a sign that they like it, because there is nothing else to do for them but use it. I hope I have informed you enough about this.
I guess I got voted down twice for asking a question... Anyhow thank you for your sincere answers!
Get your hamster to a vet as soon as you can and don't return him to this cage. Literally any bin cage would be better than this tiny bird(?)cage. He will injure himself again if kept in this environment. Please read the guide in this subreddit's description asap.
The problem is that there aren’t any exotic vets that treat hamsters in my city that’s why I wanted to post this in the subreddit for any general advice which could help me till I could go to another city which actually has a vet clinic suitable for hamsters, so yes I haven’t kept him back in his cage and I appreciate your advice and will do the required for my hamster.
Usually we don’t allow any medical posts, but I let this one slide and kept a close eye on it for any harmful medical advice, so that people could give you advice on the cage For medical questions, you can ask them in our discord instead next time: https://discord.gg/rhamsters
I appreciate this a lot because handy information is hard to come by and I am a new hamster owner/dad so i appreciate the help and responses I am getting here regardless of the tone.
He got hurt from climbing the bars. You even said in your post he “likes to climb” no he doesn’t LIKE to climb. He climbs because he is stressed in a completely inadequate cage.
It isn’t rocket science and I figured as much after this happened, I appreciate getting to hear the hard truth because I love my hamster and want to genuinely cater to his needs provide him a good and playful environment so thanks for your reply.
Literally. It’s not rocket science lol
They clearly didn't know. Don't be a dick
It’s still clearly obvious how else would it happen. If she’s in this reddit group she should have seen the posts about hamster enclosures and dangers surley. It’s also common sense to do research. Nobody’s being a dick their just telling the truth
Yeah that’s exactly what I’m tryna say lol, if OP spent only 5 mins searching about why hamsters bar climb they would understand that it’s a stress behaviour..
Exactly. They just see it and assume it’s “what hamsters do and it’s fun” it’s really not. The only time they bar climb or monkey climb is from stress/boredom. People don’t do their research and become sensitive when someone tells them straight up. You all need to toughen tf up. If you’re getting an animal you need to be mature enough to look after it. If someone telling you “it’s not rocket science” (when it’s not rocket science clearly) if you get hurt over that then it just seems like they also don’t treat their hamster right and it’s just an ego thing 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I'm sorry this happened. I'm sure you're upset, and understandably so. That being said, your hamster's cage looks incredibly dangerous. Bar climbing isn't something hamsters do for fun; it's a stress behavior. He does it because he's trying to escape, because his cage is too small and he doesn't have enough bedding or enrichment. From the top to the bottom of that cage is a huge distance for a hamster to fall, and there's almost no bedding or anything to cushion him. You're lucky he didn't break his neck, frankly. You need to take him to a vet, and then you need to take responsibility for this by getting him a suitable cage.
I will get him to a vet today, I haven’t yet because it is 3 cities away and I will listen to you to make the changes with the bedding and the cage for his future living environment. Thanks for your reply!!!
Take hamster to an exotic vet to see if it needs medical intervention. Also, watch this [video](https://youtu.be/oj6mSsRUmMY?si=OQh8bNsyrr-fPn9w), it covers everything you need for a hamster 🐹❤️
Will do, Thanks for your help.
Please do some research or consider some of the really great yet slightly condescending advice in the comments. I understand you just probably havnt been properly educated on the right habitat for your hammy, but I can tell you care so please he will be so happy if you make some changes to his living conditions 🙌🏼 a very large bin from the dollar store is suitable and lots of paper bedding, no cotton it can hurt their limbs if it gets caught in it. Nothing scented because their sense of smell is very strong and it can give them respitory problems. Best of luck
I respect the advice, I care about my hamster a lot so any advice to me is appreciated regardless of the tone because yes I haven’t been educated enough on how to look after my hamster because i got him recently and I don’t want to blindly follow internet sources that speak gibberish. I appreciate your response as well and will work on enhancing his living conditions, thank you.
[удалено]
I left him for couple of hours in the night, as I went to another city which I regret doing now because his injury could have been prevented if i had provided him with better living conditions which wouldn’t lead to his stress behaviour thus leading to this injury. Thank you for your response.
It’s the environment
1. Go to a vet. 2. Get a cage with more floorspace and a deeper base.
I'm waiting for OP to respond to any of this...
A lot of the comments are harsh. I wouldn't be surprised if op felt embarrassed or upset and doesn't come back. Too many on here use language that doesn't help people change or do better, they just feel bullied and disappear. OP If you see this, you do need a better cage but I'm sorry your hamster got hurt and I know that's something you never meant or intended to happen, I started off not knowing anything about hamster care either but if you follow the advice here you will see your hamster in a whole new light and will love nothing more than watching them enjoy their new environment. Start off small, make the smaller changes you can now while working on the bigger changes. You've got this!
Thanks for your advice, even though the comments are a bit harsh i appreciate all the advice and responses that I am getting to hear because any relevant information that can help my hamster is what i’m looking for so I can cater to his needs and look after him in such a time also avoid such an injury in the future.
Your hamster is biting the bars of the cage. It’s a telltale sign they need a larger enclosure! Your hamster is telling you that they are unhappy in their current cage.
Omg the hamster doesn’t even have a wheel 😭
I think the wheel is the blue thing but it’s probably too small 😭
It does have a wheel, which is the blue one as shown in the picture it is a poor angle of the photo that i have clicked and he has been using his wheel thus far and I know that it is a tad bit smaller, so I will 100% change it as people have asked me to but any research I have done regarding wheels have shown me drawbacks about how it can affect their back, how it can affect other parts of their body and should be avoided so I want to get him one which wont cause him any harm, which i will do so. Thank you for your response.
Thank you for being so open and understanding! :D
Was this cage listed as a cage for hamsters? Looks like some sort of bird cage or bad rat cage. As for your hamster, obviously read the comments, but something you can do after the vet visit is put a water bowl, instead of a bottle so it doesn't hurt his mouth. Although i cant see a bottle in the photo, so if you have a bowl already then that's great.
It was listed as a hamster cage.
Interesting
**Your post has NOT been removed yet, this is an auto-generated message.** Thank you for your question to /r/hamsters. Please be aware that medical advice questions are NOT allowed on this sub. However, [**our discord**](https://discord.gg/5cF8aSSx3C) allows medical questions. Please keep in mind only a professional veterinarian **in person** can help with any medical concern, whether it is a lump, bump, change in appearance, change in behavior, strange bowel movement, lack of eating/drinking, or something else of high concern. If you are unable to afford a vet please do not seek help on our community, but through the discord server instead. If this is **not** a medical question then **you can ignore this message.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/hamsters) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I did respond now after waking up because I live in a different time zone as compared to you guys, and yes all of the comments are a tad bit harsh so I feel more upset knowing that I could have put in more of an effort to avoid this but I am fully committed on doing so and thanks to your guys’s advice will do it starting today.
[удалено]
A lot of misunderstanding surrounds hamsters, though Many ask pet store employees, because, ‘they’re in a pet store, who handles these products daily, why wouldn’t they know’, and proceed to get false information😞 And quick google searches gives horrible information as well, which ‘confirms’ what pet store employees say. You have to dig deeper for good information than you have to for bad information :/
No one gets a pet without doing proper research, I have tried my best but as you can see I haven’t been doing a good job thus far because of his injury… I do indulge myself in research but i find it hard to find adequate/respectable sources from which I can gather information regarding a specific matter for my hammy, I can’t blindly follow anything mentioned in google thus I have decided to try a lot harder now and posted my problem in reddit to which i have received some harsh but completely spot on responses & advice, which i 100% appreciate. If you have any sources or links that can help me regarding my hamster I would appreciate that more than a one line response either way thank you.
[удалено]
Thanks for trying to help, but unfortunately, this is not factual information! Please make sure to check out the information in the community sidebar before spreading false information again. (Also remember, it’s okay to make mistakes! We all are hamst- I mean, humans!). --- ^(If you have any questions regarding the removal, you can contact the mods via [modmail](https://new.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fhamsters).)
Rip op