Last night whilst holding Casper, I noticed one of his paws looked a little red.
He didn’t seem too fussed but there was a speck of blood on one of his toes and his nail was hanging off at a very unnatural angle.
He’d only gone and broke a nail. In extreme fashion.
It doesn’t look too dramatic here, but if you look closely you can see his nail on the far left all wonky!
Now in the past, my other hamsters have managed to knock a little nail off when climbing and running. It falls off over a short time and a new nail grows back – a lot like humans really. Except hamsters don’t kick up a big fuss and their nail grows back a lot quicker.
I had a little examine of Caspers paw-ly toe and the nail is still attached – just! I dont want to force it off, it will drop off painlessly in time. I would only stress him out trying to sort it myself. Awww I feel slightly guilty about kicking up such a fuss when I break my nails now.. at least they dont fall off! 
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How do hamsters break nails?
Practically anything a hamster can do could lead to little injuries. Running on a wheel to climbing on the bars, scratching a toy to digging in the sawdust. You cant prevent it, hamsters are naturally going to prang themselves over their lifetimes.
Is a broken nail life-threatening for a hamster?
Nooo, its like if we humans break a nail really. A bit annoying, but it will grow back naturally.
How can you prevent hamsters breaking their nails?
Although you cant 100% guarantee that your small furries will never break their nails you can do little things to help them keep their fingers and toes in check. Give them lots of scratch toys, chew sticks, things to grind their nails on in their cages. As well as this make sure they get plenty of exercise outside of their cage as running about wears long nails down to sensible lengths.
What to do if your hamster has a broken nail?
In most cases, leaving your hamster be will be fine. The nail will fall off and regrow in a short amount of time – no harm done. If it gets bloody or swollen then a trip to the vet to get it checked out may be in order, there could be an infection of some kind.
Looks sore
It does, discovered this morning his nail has fallen off and so the healing process can properly begin. He looks a little bit stumpy though with a claw!
Awww. Poor little Casper. I hope that nail fixes itself up right away. Mom brings me to Petco every month to get my nails trimmed. You’re lucky yours will take care of themselves!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Aww you are one pampered pooch!
hehe, his nail has fallen off and the healing can begin properly now so its all very promising. xxx
ouch!
I imagine it to be like stubby your toe… Very ouch!!
Poor Casper! Koko and Ruma send lot’s of licks!
Thanks you two! He may need a few licks to get better!
He looks really poorly! I am so happy my tow haven’t gotten themselves into trouble yet!
Hahaha Ooooh such a well mannered duo
hehe super cute!!
I think it’s more luck then manners really. Lot’s of stuff breaks, just not on their bodies
Awww. Like hammies whee have odd numbers of toes. Four claws on our front paws and three on our back paws!
Nibbles, Nutty, Buddy & Basil
xxxx
Awww just three little tootsys! So sweet! Us lop-sided furries have to stick togerher!!
Xxxxx
I hope it re-grows soon. Birthday girls, Snuggles and Peaches. Daisy and Cinnamon. xxxx
i have a question about my hamste he has 1 swollen foot.
well it stared off as 4 swollen feet he took off all of his hair off of his feet and now 3 of his paws are black and he smells really bad like blood i am scared for him what do i do he cant really even move and his toes are stiff and they cant move and i cant afford to go to a vet as i am a kid/teen
Hi Keishia, First of all this sounds pretty serious and your poor hamster must be in agony – if his feet are puffy and swollen there is most likely fluids building up beneath his skin which is going to be very uncomfortable for him. Does it affect his movement?? Also the smell most likely signals an infection which means a trip to the vet is the only way to go Im afraid.
Let me know how it goes ? xx
The vet will make the most sensible solution and by the sounds of it a very hard and drastic decision may have to be made. Its really important you get to the vet because you hamster must be in so much pain and suffering, ask your mum or dad to take you. You can do chores around the house to make up for the money – small furries are that pricey to treat I promise.
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