Is there something wrong with my new hamster?

Question

On Saturday my mom got me a hamster for my 16th b-day that just passed on sunday!
I named him Ollie. Cute lil guy he is too!

Thing is.....
All he has been doing since I got him is sleep and wake up every few hours, stuff his cheeks with food and scurry back to his corner. And he hasnt been drinking any water at all either :(

And along with that, his ears have been glued to his head....arent they supposed to pop up? And around his tail area is wet....does he have Wet Tail, possibly?

I'm really worried. Is Ollie ok? What can I do? :(

Answer 1

I can answer a few of your problems. Hamsters in new enviroments usually will do the "Sleep-and-run-for-food" bit. Water, i'm not sure about. He's probably a little scared, which is why his ears are back. As for the wet tail area, call into the vet and describe his symptoms.
A bit of advice:
Pinch up a section of his skin. If it returns quicly, he's hydrated, if not, then alot of the symptoms you describe could be attributed to dehydration due to nervousness.

Answer 2

Oh dear - im sorry to gear this, i have a hamster too. Mines fine and nothing like this happened to him. It could be that he was too cold, If he's a syrian hamster (like mine) Which originally come from the desert they will be used to a hot climate but cold nights, did you give him enough bedding? I give my hamster 2 big hand fulls of the soft, cotton wool like, bedding. I also spread a lot of wood shavings on the floor of his cage, probably about 3 Cm's thick of the stuff, i also changed his water bottle everyday for fresh water, they don't drink much as they are desert animals. I also gave him about 1 - 2 teaspoons of hamster muesli. I sometimes give him a few peanuts (non-salted) and i clean his cage out once a week. And he is absolutely fine. So you might have feed him too little/too much. Not given him any water. Also if you have cats or dogs that might have crossed Cinnamon, they can get very spooked by this, as what happened when my cat got in the room where my hamster is, fortunately, he was fine. You probably should have taken him too the vets, but whats done is done. Something could have been wrong with him even before you got him, I also got my hamster from pets at home. There are loads of different reasons why he could have died. Maybe you were'nt prepared, did you read any 'how too look after hamsters' books? Or reaserched it on the web? Im sorry too hear he died, but hopefully this helped in some way.

Answer 3

Apart from the wet bottom, everything you discribed is normal. He will be drinking, you just wont catch him doing it. My husband was convinced for months that our hamster was'nt drinking when we got him. I had to sit him down and gently explain that if he was'nt drinking, he would'nt be peeing and he would be dead LOL. We have had him a year now.

Hamsters sleep all day long, they are nocturnal. Which means they wake late at night, although I have to say mine does'nt. He sleeps all day and only gets up every so often at night to feed and play.

All hamsters store foor in there cheeks, they will normally empty it out in their sleeping quarters as the naturally hoard food away.

Hamsters will have their ears lying flat if they have just woke up or are scared, as he is new, it may well be because he is scared.

But im fraid he should not have a wet bottom, It does sound like it could be wet tail.. You know the rest, get him to a vet and fast, if caught in time he can be treated with antibiotics. Good luck x

Answer 4

yes, definitely sounds like wet tail. he's definitely running the risk of being dehydrated. The vet can give you some stuff to mix into his water, that you'll probably have to force him to drink. I bought a very small, young hamster a few years ago, and she died within 48 hours of bringing her home. We took her to the vet, and she injected some fluids and gave me medicine for her water to stop the diarrhea. Sadly, it didn't help. Wet tail can be brought on from the stress of being in a new home. Keep everything calm and quiet, and take him/her to the vet as soon as possible. Also, just a side note, don't ever use wood shavings as bedding. They can cause serious health problems, especially in young animals.

Answer 5

Reading your question, I wasn't worried at all until you said his tail area is wet. This does indeed sound like wet tail.

Do get the hamster to a vet asap, as Wet Tail is quickly fatal in rodents. It is in fact diarrhoea caused by bacterial infection - the wetness is caused by the runny poo. It needs to be treated with antibiotics and rehydration fluids, as the dehydration quickly debilitates small furries, so don't wait!

Chalice

Answer 6

ollie may have wet tail, either take it back to the store u got it, or go to a vet and pay out the a**.

Answer 7

Hiya he is okay I think.

and one person said he can die from wet tail, HE CANT.

my hamster sometimes has a kinda wetish tail but i think its coz when she does a wee, it go down tothetail. trust me i no whatim talkingabout.
and if so, my hamsters hadthis for like 2 years now, and nothing happened, dontworrry.
He probz isnt drinking coz he dosent need to lol? give him some fruit/veg coz that had water in it.
also,has they come out at night, you might not see him drink because you would probz be asleep.
and the ears go down when they just wak up or not woken probz, then they go up.

hope i helped. bye

DONT WORRY. it dosent sound like wet tail :)

Answer 8

Are you overfeeding him & feeding him the correct food & does he have fresh water (changed daily)? Does he have diarrhea? If you got him from a petstore, like Petsmart, they may have an employee who works with the hampsters regularly & could give you some answers if you call there. If not, you may need to call a vet or take the hampster for an exam.

Answer 9

He has wet tail. Get him to the vet ASAP. No Offense, didn't the people tell you no to touch him when you just got it?

Answer 10

u do know there nocturnal, right?? a sip of water to us would b like a bottle of aquafina to them, make sure u get cotton-e bedding, cedar if ingested, can make them pee more, making them get wet tail. just make sure u keep changing the bedding!