wet tail HELP!?

Question

I have two hamsters and tonight I realized that one of them has wet tail. I don't know what could be stressing her out, I've had her for months in the same cage and she has been fine. She still seems to be eating and grooming. She feels weaker and lighter than before and has much less energy although she isn't completely lethargic. I picked her up today and noticed her belly is soaked in diarrhoea She made have had it yesterday, but I’m not sure, I checked on her once to feed her but I had a ton of homework so I didn't take her out or hold her. She ate most of her food from then. I have cleaned the cages from both hamsters and moved the healthy one to a new room. I also fed the sick hamster water with a new syringe we had left in a pack from when my mom took insulin shots (I removed the needle of course).

I know how serious this disease can be but it's 1am and I may not be able to get her help until about 6pm when my mom can take her to a vet. I don't know where to take her, last time my hamster was sick we spent so much time calling around for someone who took small animal ailments seriously, by the time we got him to someone the idiot doctor had him for five minutes before he told us that he was dead and that's all he knew. I know pet stores sell treatments for wet tail, but I’ve read online that they don't really kill the bacteria and more just mask the symptoms. I will probably take her to petco where I bought her and see if they have anything. Any advice on what to do in the meantime or somewhere else I can take her is very helpful. Also I don't know how she got sick, I feed her small amounts of vegetables sporadically and not too long ago I gave her a tiny bit of celery, her cage is clean but sometimes she pees on her food.

Answer 1

I am a show hamster breeder with over 100 hamsters at any given time. I have had a problem with an airborne virus that causes some hamsters to develop wet tail for a few months. Wet tail is not a disease itself, but a symptom of the real ailment. Young pups can develop wet tail from stress, though I've never had that happen in the thousands of pups I've had. Much of it is do to the manner in which they're breed and transported. Adult hamsters don't develop wet tail from stress but from another cause.


I can understand that most people say "take her to a vet", though it is very disappointing and irritating when I go to the vet and I know more than the vet on how to treat and care for hamsters. When you call a vet and ask if they treat hamsters, they all say "yes" but really they are just happy to take your money for the visit. The first visit I had when the wet tail first showed up was a joke and I had to pay an "emergency visit" fee of $60 on top of the normal $35! The vet didn't even run any tests though I had stressed the importance of containment to her. Had she been better at treating hamsters, I would not have the problem I do today. I am now onto my fourth hamster vet- fourth. I kept trying different vets and found them all lacking. I would suggest contacting local rat or mouse breeders and see if they can recommend a vet in your area. If they're recommending a vet, it's because they've had a good experience with them or know of someone that has.

One thing that I've observed is that the vet prescribed antibiotics don't help my hamsters. Much testing has been done on my hamsters at this point and it has been determined it is not a bacteria causing the wet tail. My wet tail did not come out of nowhere though, it was brought into my hamstery unintentionally by people picking up pups. They must have went to a pet store for supplies before coming to pick up their pups and picked up the virus there. They may have held the hamsters there to. Think back over the last week, have you been to a pet store? Has anyone that handled your hamster been to a pet store? If so, then I think you found the cause of the wet tail.

The product that I found best at treating wet tail is a product by Oasis (Novalek) called Wet Tail Treatment Plus with Probiotic. Petsmart sells it for $8. It is true that the antibiotic will destroy the beneficial bacteria but with this product, the last day of treatment is actual a probiotic to replace all the beneficial bacteria lost. This product has electrolytes in it that help to keep the hamster hydrated. It is the dehydration that kills the hamster. In my hamsters I don't believe the antibiotics are doing as much as the electrolytes. The antibiotics may bee helping to prevent secondary infections.

I've seen such astonishing results with the Wet Tail Treatment Plus that my vet will be prescribing it to future wet tail hamsters. I am lucky in that while this vet hasn't worked much with hamsters, she can see that I'm extremely experienced and respects that. She has also done so much testing and so many necropsies, even at the clinic's expense. She has gotten a biologist and a pathologist involved. The difference between her and the other three vets I went to is night and day. She has never suggested any other antibiotic to me. She said "Why change something that's already working so well?".

-Janice
http://www.holmdenhillhaven.com

Answer 2

Honestly, it would be best if you can find a vet who can help you. Wet tail (proliferative ileitis) must be treated very aggressively,and even then the prognosis is guarded. Its very important these little guys stay hydrated, usually by giving fluids under the skin along with antibiotics (warning: I would not use many of the pet store antibiotics available for treatment, they kill off all the good bacteria in the hamsters stomach and can cause a secondary infection to take effect) Its also important to get as much nutrition into them as possible, usually done by syringe feeding, you can soak her pellets in water, make a mash and feed her 1-2cc every 2-4 hours.

Answer 3

I'll take her to the vet asap. It perhaps whatever to do along with her kidney if her urine smells particularly unhealthy. But higher consult with the vet. Is there any blood sting amongst her beddings? I desire no longer. My prior hammy was once an overly vigorous Syrian hamster. She was once stretching herself mad looking to pop out (her cage was once Rotastak Jungle Explorer) each and every night time, till she fell unwell. I located blood sting amongst her bedding and been advised by way of a hamster breeder that she was once 'maturing'. NOT! She was once discomfort pneumonia and her womb was once full of puss. She finally given up and gave up the ghost on my palm. She was once approximately 21 months historical. Wet tail is deadly for the hammies. So take her to the vet and preserve your brain in peace. If you particularly love her, purchase a higher cage for her. Not always a three-reviews top cage, but when your hammy is a Syrian, 14"x10" cage is a little bit small. This perhaps one of the most causes why she turns out pressured. Good good fortune and I desire you and your hammy all of the first-class. (P.S. I would possibly not propose any person to shop for some thing from PetSmart, they have got been proved by way of PETA that they do not care approximately the well being of the animals they promote)

Answer 4

I don't have any experience with hamsters, but here are some websites I found for you... they are about wet tail in hamsters... maybe you can find some help in one of these places.

http://www.hammysworld.com/index.php?p=wettail

http://sweetcandy20000.tripod.com/id11.html

http://www.britishhamsterassociation.org.uk/get_article.php?fname=journal/wettailfact.htm

http://www.hamstercentral.com/user.php?action=viewArticle&a=15

http://pub35.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=3003384286&catid=6518&keywords=&q=18976&v=y
offers a possible way to deal with it

These all looked like really good hamster sites.
Good luck with your hamster!

And don't forget to include your vet!