Hamsters With Wet-tail
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Wet-tail
Hamsters are not the only small animal that can get "wet-tail," but they are the most common small animal to succumb to it. Chinchillas, rabbits, gerbils, rats, and mice, can all get wet-tail, as it is caused by stress. For the most part wet-tail is nothing more than extreme diarrhea. Without treatment, your pet can die within 24-48 hours, all depending on how soon you catch it. Once your hamster has had wet-tail and has been treated, he cannot get the illness again.
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What Causes Wet-tail
As I mentioned above, wet-tail is stress related.
- Too much handling
- Change in environment
- Change in diet
- Inadequate cage cleaning
- Being away from mother and/or siblings
- Death of a tank mate
Baby hamsters are more succeptable to wet-tail than juvenile and adult hamsters.
Symptoms of Wet-tail
The symptoms may not appear for a few days or so, but once they set in, you can see various symptoms.
- Wet bottom end
- Smell/ foul odor
- Diarrhea
- Lethargy
- Lack of appetite
- Excess sleeping
- Not grooming itself
- Walking with a hunched back
The most obvious symptom will be the wet bottom, tail area.
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Dritail - 1 oz.
Price: $2.99
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Wet-Tails Plus Antibiotic Fizz-Tabs - 6 pk
Price: $4.99
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Vita Drops for Hamster, Rat, Mice Gerbils
Price: $4.93
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8in1 Hamster/Gerbil Vita-Sol Vitamin Liquid, 1-Ounce
Price: $3.73
List Price: $9.12 |
Wet-tail Treatment
Well, luckily there are several products out today that can help cure wet-tail. You can take a trip to most of your local petstores to include Petsmart and Petland to grab a bottle of 'Dri-Tail' or 'Wet-tail Drops.' Or, you can go to a vet that sees hamsters, and he can put the hamster on Baytril or Sulfatrim.
Personally, I have had better luck with 'Dri-Tail' than with the vet prescribed medicines.
Prevent Wet-tail
For a new hamster, you can prevent wet-tail by (1) having the cage completely set up before bringing home the hamster, (2) set the hamster up in his cage and leave him alone for a MINIMUM of 1-2 days allowing him time to adjust to his new surroundings, and (3) set up the cage in a quiet place with less traffic.
If you already have a hamster that you're worried about, (1) watch how much you handle the hamster, (2) watch the duration he is out of his tank, (3) try not to change his food or surroundings drastically, and (4) do not add any new hamsters in with him.
My Story with Wet-tail
At one time, I had three hamsters (two girls and one boy). Rocky, the boy, was supposed to be a female, but he grew up a boy (ha). He bonded very closely to Pebbles, so I kept him caged with Pebbles, and moved Roxy into another cage, as she was heavily pregnant. Living together for months and having a litter of babies, Rocky and Pebbles became a husband/wife couple. Where one was, the other was not too far behind. It was actually rather cute. Until, my boyfriend was trying to clean the cage one day and, not paying attention, slammed the lid back on. Well, I found poor Rocky with his head caught in-between two tubes where the tube from the lid and the tube from the base met. Pebbles was on the other side of the cage, heavily pregnant at this point, not moving and not eating. Realizing that she had wet-tail as she was upset of the death of her husband, I quickly ran to Petland and bought 'Dri-Tail.' She was almost cured of the illness, when she had her litter. This stressed her body out so much more, and even though she was almost cured of wet-tail, she ate the babies a few days after she had them and died shortly after. She knew her body could not take it with the stress of labor and what was left of wet-tail. (So currently, I just have Roxy left of the original three. She is doing fine as she had not been housed with either Pebbles or Roxy for months prior to the incident.)
At work, daily, I see hamster after hamster getting wettail. Many of the hamsters are on a heavily walked section of the store. With people knocking on the cages, peering in, and just plain walking by constantly, the hamsters stress easily. I have helped to cure many hamsters of wet-tail using the leftovers of my 'Dri-Tail' as well as the vet's prescribed medicines.
Wet-tail is not a pretty illness for hamsters to get, and if not caught early enough not even vet prescribed medicines or commercial brand medicines will heal the hamster. Your best bet with wet-tail is to keep a commercial brand on hand in case, and try to watch the environment of the hamster, to include placement of the cage and how/duration of handling time.
Disclaimer
I am not a practiced veterinarian, and all information posted on this site comes from my experience and knowledge, or that of others I have talked to. For any medical problems that you notice with your reptiles, I recommend making an appointment with a reputable reptile veterinarian as soon as you can.
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Comments
Just wanted to say "thank you" for your wet-tail advice. Very helpful!
Thank you both. Everything was taken from person experience from my hamsters and from working at a petstore.
yes ill tell you me as miley has a hamster. My hamster has a big white spot in her bedding. i need help plz if you know anything plz e-mail me at hillymo123@yahoo.com. this is my friend hilarys e mail so ill be using it
hi, well my hamster died about 6 months ago from wet tail, i had no idea what it was untill i started working at the pet shop, well i just recently bought a baby rat that is around a month old, right when it was weigned (sp) off its mom, and the first day i had it its poo was normal then i get back from work and i see signs of wet tail, but a bunch of people are telling me that rats can't get it, but im scared because i have fallin in love with him/her. Also he is eating fine, drinking, and running/ being active so far. But im going to try and buy some of the dri tail from the shop and see if that helps. But i was just wondering if rats could catch it?
I've never heard of wettail in rats, but you may want to go ahead and puchase a dry-tail solution just in case. Make sure to follow the direction on the bottle. It could be stress.
You need to have at least 2 rats. If it's weaned then you should be able to sex it. If you work at a pet store you or someone there should know how to do it. It's simple. Males have balls. Females don't. At 5 weeks old- weaning age, you can see the balls. So it shouldn't be iffy at the gender.
Read more about rats- http://hubpages.com/_rats/hub/Caring-for-Pet-Rats
my hamster has wet tail i've given it medicine and its started grooming its self aready. im just scared cuz she still falls when she walks and she's only been walking in circles.
It will take about a week or two to fullly kick in but you hamster should be fine. Good luck with her.
Hi i just recently bought my som a hamster and my son loved this little guy he did spend alot of time with him and took very good care of him. One morning my son got up and like he does everyday he says good morning to oreo and he went to school when he came home he checked on oreo and he was just barly beathing and he had blood and it looked like his intestants were coming out of his butt along with blood i called the vet and the vet said it sounds like he has wet tail i never even heard of wet tail until that day. My question is could we of saved oreos life if i went and got the medicine for him even thou the wet tail had already attacked his body? Someone please help me out because i bought him another one because he was so upset and still is it was like he lost his best friend, so if i know better this time if anything happens to baby his new hammee i can help her as long as i know what i need to do next time! THANK YOU DONNA
To me that doesn't sound like wet-tail, especially if his intestines were coming out. That sounds like a prolapse. But, it's hard to tell. If it were wet tail, then yes. The medicine would have cured him. I've seen hamsters just a day till death, use the dry-tail meds and clear up. But at the same time, that's not always the case with every hamster. I would go ahead and buy the meds, just to have on hand, so that if you notice ANY signs of wet-tail you can start treatments.
The best way to prevent it, is to let the hamster get settled in for a few days before you or your son starts playing with him. Wet tail is usually caused by stress.
hi thank u 4 the help and i hope my hamster wil get better soon
We just bought a hamster and it is very friendly. They told us to watch for wet tail. His underside hair is all dried like it was wet and it looks like he has a big poop scab around his bottom. I have never seen something like this. My son just cleaned his cage so now that I saw this I am looking to see if there are any poops. Any help or suggestions would be great!
Heidi- It sounds like diarrhea. But you may want to buy dri-tail just to make sure. Wet-tail is a severe case of diarrhea. Diarrhea will cure itself. But just on your description,it's hard to diagnose.
Thanks for the info.. I really neededto know what would have caused my daughters' precious pets to die only 5 days after they pickedthem from a very overcrowded bin at the petstore.. It is a tragedy, and they are only 4 and 9.. too young for such a hard lesson..my heart goes out to all of you who have had to endure such a loss.. Ive had hamsters off and on through out my life and I never encountered anything like this before.. Pet stores should be forced to keep their hamsters in less crowded habitats... God Bless
i have a male and female hamster but dont know how to breed them???????????????
You shouldn't breed them. If you want another hamster, go buy another hamster. There's only small window that's safe to breed them, and if you pass that window, you're doing more harm to the female than good.
can a hamster have wet tail if it doesnt have diarrhea but she is tired all day and she cannot walk....she stumples when trying to walk...is this considered wet tail?
Wet tail is seen by a animals with a wet bottom area. If the hamster doesn't have a wet bottom area, then it's not wet tail.
well i got back from vacation a couple days ago and she was well taken care of...but when i got home i took her out of her cage and she was fatter than usual and she was very tired and she couldn't walk...when i put her on my bed she would just fall over...i dont know whether she is sick or if she is just really old since i have had her for a couple years...i need some advice on what to do
also i forgot to mention that my hamster has had excess sleepy gunk stuff in her eyes but that was before she became very lethargic...does this mean anything?
Usually, hamsters live an average of 2 years; if you've had her for a couple of years, it's probably old age. If she doesn't have a wet bottom, then it's not wet tail. It sort of sounds like old age, but yu may consider taking her to a vet.
my hamster has had wet tail for 2 weeks now i'm still treating it and we are trying to fight through it together shes like the daughter i never had she means the world to me
I just bought my son a hamster on Monday. We have pretty much left him alone like the lady said (48 to 72 hours) We have just sat and watched him or talked to him alittle here and there so he can get use to our voice. We have also petted him on the head as we talk to him. Today would be the day that my son can hold him. I went in and picked him up and held him for a few minutes. I noticed the fur on his bottom looked dry wet. So I have looked up wet tail to see what it looks like ( I don't want anything to happen to this Hamster, Ethan loves him already even though he hasn't held him yet) It doesn't look like the picture. His hair looks dry wet above his tail and around the sides of his tail. There is no poop at all. And he smells like urine a little. I am thinking because he was up in his little look out on top that he might have peed and got himself wet. He has hoarded food in his mouth and taken it up there and emptied his cheeks out, so he naps and then snacks up there.
What do you think? By what I am reading it sound like there would be diahhrea which there is not. After looking at a picture of wet tail, I picked DC up and checked out his bottom area, Nothing around there at all, just the dry wet look above his tail and around the sides of it. And when I say dry wet, I am trying to say that the hair is dry but you can tell that is was wet, but doesn't feel wet.
Any advice or opinion would help.
Thank you,
Holandia
It's hard to tell from your description, but if you're worried you may want to go ahead and purchase a bottle of drytail and give it to him. It won't hurt him to treat him for it. It will actually further prevent him from getting wet tail in the future.
Thank you, I do think he is fine though. He has no poop what so ever on him and he has had that wed dry look since I emailed you and he doesn't smell at all. I think that he just peed up in his little hide out and then sat in it. I have been careful about how much Ethan holds him. I let him give him attention and hold him but have explained not to stress him out.
Do they ever get past a point that they will never get wettail or is it always a possiblity?
Again,
Thank,
Holandia
Sorry I meant to say he hasn't had the wet dry look since I emailed you last.
typing error:(
Holandia
Wet tail is always a possibility. I've had hamsters for over a year, get stressed out and develop wet-tail. But she developed wettail for reasons other than being handled.
We just got our Black Bear Hamster 2 days ago. He is very small and very crazy. We have left him alone, just watching him and talking to him alittle. Tonight I decided to open his cage and see what he was up to and I noticed there was an area that was wet and it looked like there was blood in there and I let Bob come out. I opened the tub were it was wet and it spilled out and was very stinky like urine and was bloody and Bob's tail was more defined than when we got him or her. Is this wet tail or a urinary track thing and how can I tell? Also how do you recomend giving him the wet tail drops.
It's hard to tell from your description, but I'd bet wet tail is probably the cause. I recommend using the dropper that comes with the dri-tail medicine. It will get in their body faster than if you were to put he drops in the water. Hamsters tend to love the taste of the medicine, so after the first time or so it shouldn't be a problem.
I've seen hamsters grab for the syringe when you put it in the cage.
Hey, my name is Krista. I have the most awesome hamster ever. Butt, my hamster is very smart and comes to me when I call to him. I clean his cage regularly and give him a bath if he starts to smell. He actually likes baths. lol. I just noticed today that his back-side was wet. I have to admit that I am worried about him. So, I immediately cleaned his cage and put fresh food and water in. I read that wet tail could sometimes come from fecal matter in Butt's food and/or water. Do you think that if he does have wet tail, that cleaning his cage well and bathing him will fix the problem? I would rather not put medicine on him.
You should not bathe hamsters. Wet tail doesn't come from fecal matter. It's mostly stress related (see causes above). Cleaning the cage and bathing is great for regular care, but that will not fix the problem what-so-ever. Dri-tail or a prescription med from the vet is the only thing that will correct the problem. If you don't get either, then the hamster will slowly die. The medicine does not go on him, but in him; you give the hamster dri-tail with a syringe to the mouth or water bottle. By mouth has faster results.
Stop bathing the hamster period... It's not recommended... So don't do it...
i am scared, i think my hamster has wet tail. i love her so much and i hope i didnt cause it. i am going to take her to a vet.
I hope she will be ok. Stress is the most common factor of wet tail. So you could have caused it by over handling her.
My hamster has wet-tail and Im really scard, this is the 1st hamster I've ever had, so i m soooooo scard, and I dont know what to do, im crying and I cant stop... She might die tomarrow or even tonight... please help... just please...
Stevie
Purchase dri-tail, and start treatment as soon as you can. THe longer your wait, the worse the wet-tail will get, and the less likely the hamster will pull through. You should always start treatment at the first signs.
Thanks rhat was very helpful. Though im still not sure weather or not my hamster has wet tail. She is acting very wierd!
how long does it take to kick in?
Full blown wettail can come and kill the hamster within a week and a half to two and a half weeks. This is why you need to treat the hamster at the first signs of wettail.
I think my hamster has wet-tail.It just started its period.So its pregnet but it looks weird.
I'm not sure what you mean by your hamster started her period. I've had female hamsters before, and I've never experienced this. Also, just becuase the hamster is on her period, so to speak, it doesn't mean she's pregnant; she must have contact with a male. As for wet-tail, definitely purchase dry-tail or take the hamster to the vet.
my hamster died of wet tail yesterday. i've only just found out what it was.
my question is how long would it take for the treatment to work because he only got the symptoms the day before
The symptoms of wettail tend to show about a week or more before it becomes severe and the hamster dies. I kind of doubt that the symptoms all of a sudden appeared the day of the death. The illness doesn't work that way.
Treatment takes about a week days to clear up even if you catch the symptoms later on in the illness.
hey wait i have 2 hamsters in 1 cage not to small(by the way they are teddy bear hamsters) and they live together and there realy good hamsters there friends with each other AND you said they would fight but no they dont fight(and there both male and there names are jake ad heeth
You shuoldn't have 2 teddy bear hamsters in the same cage, as they are territorial, especially when housing two males.
i think my hamster may have wet tail. HELP. i hadnt even heard of it until i found this site. i cum on because my hamster has sum black scabs on her body and wundered what the hell thery were. she hardly moves and doesnt rele eat or drink anymore. im worried sick. then when i found this site i looked to see if my hamster had a wet bottom and she has. she walks with a hunched bk too. im so scared she will die. what can i do????? plz HELP
Purchase a bottle of dritail immediately. She is in severe stage of wettail.
I just got a hamster today, she's a sweet little thing. When I got her, the girl told me to give her red gatorade instead of water to prevent wet-tail. Is that going to harm her or help her? The instructions on the slip of paper I needed to fill out to bring her home said to give it to her in place of water. I'm just wondering if that's what I should be doing? It doesn't look like she's drank any of the gatorade I put in there.
I've been handling her on and off today, so I'm a little worried that she might be overly stressed out because of that, I'll stick with what I've been reading and leave her alone for a few days to give her time to adjust. She seems fine now, and she's eating. Should I give her the gatorade and water, or just one or the other? And how common is wet-tail? I don't want her to dehydrate herself because I'm only giving her gatorade if she won't drink it.
And thanks. ^.^
working
RenaSherwood says:
12 months ago
Thanks. Beautiful pictures. Well organized. My condolences on the deceased hamsters. Answerede my questions about wet-tail.