Wet Tail in Hamsters

Most young children have had experience with hamsters as pets, and if you are a parent, you are probably thinking (or have thought) about getting your child a hamster.  There is a disease known as “wet tail” that is very common in hamsters.  This post today is going to go over the symptoms, treatments, and prevention for wet tail.

What is wet tail?  It is a bacterial infection which will cause the animal to have diarrhea and become dehydrated.  Dehydration can be deadly for a hamster - if they go one day without drinking, they could perish.  Wet tail is also contagious, so if you are keeping an infected hamster with other hamsters, chances are they will all be infected with it.

The Symptoms of Wet Tail:

The most visible sign that a hamster has wet tail is diarrhea.  Their fur may also be matted with their own feces.  You may also notice that the hamster is not as active as they normally would be.  Keep in mind hamsters are nocturnal so sleeping during the day is perfectly normal.  Your hamster may also have a strange odor and they will not be interested in food or water.

Treatment of Wet Tail:

Some people choose to take their hamster to a veterinarian, but I recommend purcahsing a medication called Dri-tail.  You can put the Dri-tail into the water bottle or you can give it orally to your hamster.  If you are housing more than one hamster together, you should give the medication to both animals.

Preventing Wet Tail:

You should purchase your hamster from a reputable source, and you should look for older hamsters.  Hamsters between the ages of 12-14 weeks is perfect.  Ask the pet store about the ages of the hamsters and if any of them have contracted wet tail.  Some pet stores will even put Dri-tail medication in the water bottles as a preventative.

Wet tail is most often caused by stress, so it is important that you make the transition from their cage at the pet store to your house as easy on them as possible.  When you first bring your hamster home, you should not handle it very often (one or two times per day is plenty) to give him a chance to get adjusted to the environment.  Do not place your hamster in a noisy area - since they are nocturnal they will be sleeping during the day so it is important you let them do that.  Your hamster must have fresh food and water every single day, and you should change their bedding every few days.  Doing all of the above will help your hamster avoid wet tail!

Hamsters can contract wet tail at any age, so it is important you remember the symptoms, treatments, and preventions I discussed in this post - they will help!  A dehydrated hamster very often will pass away, wet tail causes extreme dehydration so knowing what to do if you suspect your hamster has contracted wet tail is incredibly important.  I hope you found this post useful and that it will help you either now or in the future!

Thanks for reading!  As always your participation in comments and discussions are encouraged and greatly appreciated!!