How do I know if it's wet-tail or not?

Question

I noticed that my hamster's rear is kinda wet. But she's all playful and stuff. She's eating properly and playing with her sister properly... How do I know whether it's wet-tail or if the hamster is just not being the cleanest hamster ever? Please help I don't want to lose Muffin now ;_; I love her so much and so does Marshmellow, her sister!!!!

Answer 1

That is exactly what happened to my hamster. He played fine, ate and drank, but then out of nowhere he died!! But here is what I learned from a trip to my Vet : ( sorry if its long, but he gave me this info sheet, and I'm just copying what it says on it)
Wet Tail is a disease that is thought to be stress related and often affects young hamsters around the time of weaning, as this can be a stressful time. Therefore it is important when buying a new hamster that its cage is prepared before its arrival home and it is left to become familiar with its new surroundings in peace apart from feeding for a day or two to keep stress to a minimum. It is also thought that Wet Tail can be caused by bad living conditions, etc which could also cause stress.

Wet Tail is a bacterial infection or an imbalance of the natural bacteria in the hamster's stomach or intestine and is often confused with diarrhoea. Although a hamster with Wet Tail has diarrhoea, the diarrhoea is so severe that the hamster is wet and/or dirty not only around the anus but usually around the top of the tail as well. The diarrhoea is accompanied by a strong unpleasant smell. Droppings are pale in colour and extremely soft and may contain mucus. The hamster often walks hunched up, is weak and lethargic and may squeal in pain.

Symptoms take 7 days to appear and the disease is often fatal with death occurring as early as 24 hours after the appearance of the symptoms. Therefore it is vital that veterinary treatment is sought immediately if a hamster shows symptoms of Wet Tail. Do not rely on over-the-counter products such as Dri-Tail to treat Wet Tail as these are often not effective against severe cases of Wet Tail. These should only be used if it is not possible to get the hamster to a vet immediately and veterinary advice should still be sought at the earliest opportunity, but do ensure if you have used any over-the-counter product that you inform your vet when you visit.

Hamsters suffering from Wet Tail often die from dehydration rather than from Wet Tail itself, or they simply refuse to eat or drink. Also, because of the severe diarrhoea Wet Tail can lead to rectal prolapse where the intestine is pushed outside the body through the anus.

Veterinary treatment will consist of a course of antibiotics, anti-diarrhoeal medication and help with rehydration. The hamster should be kept warm and quiet whilst undergoing treatment and be disturbed as little as possible. Wet Tail is contagious to other hamsters and so any hamster suffering from Wet Tail should be isolated from other hamsters. It is also a good idea to wash your hands thoroughly after handling a hamster suffering from Wet Tail, to avoid passing the infection back to the hamster worsening its condition and certainly before handling other hamsters (this is best kept to a minimum). It is a good idea to remove droppings from the cage at intervals and disinfect the cage with a disinfectant designed for small animal cages when cleaning the cage. Although it is important to keep stress to a minimum it may help to clean the cage of a hamster suffering from Wet Tail every 2 or 3 days.

Any equipment occupied or used by a hamster that has died from Wet Tail should be disinfected thoroughly with a disinfectant designed for small animal cages and left to stand for a few weeks before being used by another hamster.

Wet Tail is a disease associated more commonly with the Syrian Hamster and is not associated with Dwarf Hamsters. Dwarf Hamsters can suffer severe diarrhoea but it is not clear at present that they actually suffer from 'Wet Tail'.

Susceptibility to Wet Tail is also thought to be genetically inherited and so it is best not to breed from any hamster that has suffered from Wet Tail during its life.

Wet Tail is a bacterial infection or an imbalance of the natural bacteria in the hamster's stomach or intestine and is often confused with diarrhoea. Although a hamster with Wet Tail has diarrhoea, the diarrhoea is so severe that the hamster is wet and/or dirty not only around the anus but usually around the top of the tail as well. The diarrhoea is accompanied by a strong unpleasant smell. Droppings are pale in colour and extremely soft and may contain mucus. The hamster often walks hunched up, is weak and lethargic and may squeal in pain. Symptoms take 7 days to appear and the disease is often fatal with death occurring as early as 24 hours after the appearance of the symptoms. Therefore it is vital that veterinary treatment is sought immediately if a hamster shows symptoms of Wet Tail. Do not comletely rely on over-the-counter products such as Dry-Tail to treat Wet Tail as these are often not effective against severe cases of Wet Tail. These should only be used if it is not possible to get the hamster to a vet immediately and veterinary advice should still be sought at the earliest opportunity, but do ensure if you have used any over-the-counter product that you inform your vet when you visit.
Any equipment occupied or used by a hamster that has died from Wet Tail should be disinfected thoroughly with a disinfectant designed for small animal cages and left to stand for a few weeks before being used by another hamster.
So, that's what I learned from my Vet! Feel free to e-mail me, I will be happy to give you the info sheet and more hamme diseases!!

Answer 2

Then take her to a vet. Wet tail can kill quickly, you don't want to assume it's not this based on advice on here - there are no vets no here and we haven't seen your hamster, so NO ONE can tell you it isn't this fatal condition.

Wet tail is a bacterial infection of the ileus (gut) in small mammals, causing diarrhoea (the wetness of the tail). The wetness is sometimes the first sign of the illness, with lethargy and not eating following - by the time you reach this phase you're in serious trouble, so take her to a vet BEFORE these symptoms develop. She will need antibiotics.

DO NOT rely on the stupid pet store product 'dry tail' or whatever they call it - it's just a rehydration suspension, it can support hamsters during the illness but it is NOT a cure.

Chalice

EDIT: Yes dwarf hamsters can get it, any rodent can. Since 'wet tail' is the generalised term for diarrhoea as a result of infectious bacterial ileitis, technically even rabbits get it.

Answer 3

I have had many, many hamsters, and i have run into this problem alot. Wet tail is very dangerous, it can be fatal, the symptoms are, poop gets stuck to their bottom, they have diarrhea, they sleep alot more then they usually do, and they dont eat as much. If your hamster has wet tail, you need to go to Petco and buy tablets called Dry Tail, these dissolve in your hamsters water and will help him get better, you also need to give him a small bowl of pumpkin pie mix, the kind you buy in a can, this will help stop the diarrhea. If you dont want to run to 2 diff places you can also mix 50/50 portion of pedialite, the non flavored kind, and water. You need to get on it right away, it can be fatal within 24 hours, 48 at the most.

I hope this info helps!

Answer 4

DWARF HAMSTERS DO GET WET TAIL... give her some plain dry oatmeal it will cure her within days I promise you. I was told this by a vet himself. I give my hamsters a pinch of oatmeal a day and they even live longer then the average hamster. I have a 3 year old dwarf and hes perfectly healthy. Also I have never had a sick hamster because of it.. ok once a hamster of mine got a bad cut and it kinda got sick but was fine after I took him to the vet..

Answer 5

I'll take her to the vet asap. It maybe some thing to do along with her kidney if her urine smells rather dangerous. But higher talk over with the vet. Is there any blood sting amongst her beddings? I desire no longer. My earlier hammy was once an overly lively Syrian hamster. She was once stretching herself mad seeking to pop out (her cage was once Rotastak Jungle Explorer) each night time, till she fell sick. I observed blood sting amongst her bedding and been advised by means of a hamster breeder that she was once 'maturing'. NOT! She was once anguish pneumonia and her womb was once full of puss. She ultimately given up and gave up the ghost on my palm. She was once approximately 21 months ancient. Wet tail is deadly for the hammies. So take her to the vet and preserve your brain in peace. If you rather love her, purchase a larger cage for her. Not always a three-experiences prime cage, but when your hammy is a Syrian, 14"x10" cage is a little bit small. This maybe one of the crucial explanations why she turns out careworn. Good success and I desire you and your hammy all of the quality. (P.S. I would possibly not propose anyone to shop for whatever from PetSmart, they've been proved by means of PETA that they do not care approximately the wellness of the animals they promote)

Answer 6

I'm assuming you're talking about dwarf hamsters, since Muffin is living with her sister.
As far as I know, dwarf hamsters don't get wet tail, but they do get diarrhea.
I would take Muffin to the vet, just to be safe.

Answer 7

if she is a dwarf then she wont get wet tail, but if shes syrian (which she probly isnt cos she cant be living with her sister) she probably will be more hunched and stressed, and she will get diarreah
but if shes dwarf you can see if she has diarreah by looking at her poop. it will be very liquidy. or she may have constipation, when her poo will be very hard, and she does less poo
you can stop diareah and constipation in hamsters easily, simply by:
diareah: stop feeding them fresh fruit and veg, this will thicken up and harden the poop
constipation: just the opposite, feed them more fresh fruit and veg

hope it helps!

Answer 8

I agree with cavylove