Vets amputate hamster’s leg after cooker accident
Veterinary staff at Cherrydown designed Lavender a special, tiny buster collar.
Vets in Basildon have performed a life-saving operation on a hamster after it was found trapped behind an oven.
Four-month-old Syrian hamster Lavender had been missing for almost a day when her owners finally discovered her behind the kitchen oven at about 10pm.
Noticing her leg was trapped, they immediately called the out-of-hours service at Cherrydown vets, who assessed Lavender and carried out a rare operation to amputate her severely damage leg.
Vet Amy Andrews, who carried out the operation at Cherrydown, said that due to the unusual nature of the operation, the theatre was full of vets and nurses.
“Receiving an emergency out-of-hours call for a hamster is quite a rarity. When Lavender arrived, it was clear her injury was very serious,” said Amy.
“Lavender’s owners had to make the choice of with taking the high risk of a general anaesthetic to amputate her fractured leg or make the sad decision to put her out of pain.
"Just giving a general anaesthetic to to such a small pet can be very risky, but Lavender woke up quickly and went from strength to strength over the next couple of days, learning to manage with three legs.”
To help Lavender recover from her ordeal, staff at Cherrydown designed her a special, tiny buster collar.
She is now getting used to life with three legs, but her owners say the accident doesn’t seem to have diminished her appetite for exploring.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.
