Russian Dwarf hamster has Wet Tail?

Question

I noticed my male Russian Dwarf hamster, Sieben, had a somewhat wet-looking a**s a day or so ago when I had him out of his cage. His droppings seemed soft-looking and wet. Wet Tail crossed my mind, but I thought against that being what he had. Today, I took him out of his cage and his a**s was more wet than the other day. I also found some yellowish-brown diarrhea on the bottom of his cage. I haven't seen him actually making a bowel movement, diarrhea or otherwise, today so I'm not sure if it's passed or not. Other than that, he seems to be moving around his cage like he normally does. He's sleeping right now as usual. I haven't seen him eating or drinking lately, though. I'll be keeping an eye on him for the remainder of the day. I'm worried that he might be or will become dehydrated. Would it be a good idea to get some unflavored Pedialyte and do a 50/50 mix with water in his water bottle just to make sure?

Answer 1

if it has sores on it's ears or has a wet tail it is getting old

Answer 2

I dont reccommend the pedialyte.

I reccommend going to the petstore and buying some drytail. Also bring him to the vet if possible. Also give him some raspberry leaves. It may just be diarrhea, but he would be eating and drinking fine.

Watch him if he isn't drinking or eating as you are suspecting you should really bring him to the vet. If it is wettail the sooner you catch it the more likely that he will get better.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

Dwarf hamsters do not have wet tail disease, this is found only in Syrian hamsters. Dwarfs can have a severe form of diarrhea which mimicks wet tail and is equally lethal, hence the term wet tail is used as a generic term to describe the condition in dwarfs too.

I would suggest you take Sieben to the vet immediately for treatment with antibiotics. Until then, please give him lots of water and if he refuses to have it, force feed him with a syringe since dehydration is the main problem with diarrhea. Pedialyte is a good option too to keep him hydrated until you take him to a vet. However when hamsters are sick, they do not drink from the water bottle, so best is to force feed the pedialyte solution to him through a syringe.

Dritail is not very effective in dwarf hamster diarrhea since it more of masks the symptoms rather than to cure it.

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.

Though most cases of diarrhea are related to watery or unnatural food, it can also happen suddenly for no reason if the hamster has weak immunity since there is scientific proof that hamster diarrhea can be caused due to bacteria that is present in the hamster's intestines as part of the natural flora.