Hamsters are very flexible and their bones are very fragile, they can sustain injuries very easily. It takes very little force for hamsters’ tooth-pick-sized bones to break. Accidental falls and drops most of the time can cause severe injuries and often lead to death.
Following are signs of serious injury
Raspy Breathing
Bleeding
Swelling
Limping
Aggression when handling
Curing the injury depends on the nature of the injury to determine whether it’s curable or not; if not then it would be more humane to euthanize the injured Hamster. A fall of a Hamster ball from the stair or the Hamster wheel catching the feet of Hamster or accidental drop from a few feet can cause a sprain, bruise, broken leg, and rib fracture.
If injuries are not that severe then they can be treated with supportive care like hand-feeding, medication, and ice compression.
In pain Hamsters eat and drink but less than usual; in such cases, hand feeding and internal fluid injection are necessary to sustain injuries.
A Hamster with a minor rib fracture can survive with help of supportive care and medication. Also during injuries handling hamsters should be avoided as it helps to reduce stress and discomfort and the cage should be kept clean; at a warm, peaceful, and quiet location for an environment conducive for rest and recovery. Applying an ice compressor reduces pain to the injured area but the rest of Hamster’s body should be kept warm even after applying the ice compressor to prevent Hypothermia.