Our hamster seems to have dihorreah for some unexplainable reason.

Recently we have changed his food supply to the museli type as it is supposedly better than the normal type, but over the last 2-3 days he has these symptoms of which are preventing him from coming out at his usual time.

He seems to be continuously sleeping and he does not seem very warm (even with extra bedding) - he is 5 months old.

Should we hope that this clears up naturally or take him to the vet? I have no idea if it is serious or not and/or the start of something else. I am baffled as he is only young and is very well loved and cared for.

Hopefully it will clear up naturally and he will be back to his normal self...but from past experience, once they get ill the worst usually comes to the worst..but hopefully it is just a minor bug.

Any similar experiences from hammy owners would be great...and thanks in advance.

You need to take him to the vet.

Does the area around his bum seem wet? It sounds to me like he has wet tail which is probably the most serious thing a hamster can get.

Yes, most likely wet-tail which will prtobably kill him without trreatment. Take him to the vet or PDSA, ASAP.

Wet tail would be blood wouldn't it?

This is normal dihorreah and looks a deep green colour.

The runs in such a tiny animal is going to be big trouble and easily fatal, wet tail or not

Vets it is then...no idea where to find one open on a sunday.

You probably won't, unless you wanted to pay a fortune for an emergency home visit. Better hope ammy survives until tomorrow and take it as soon as you can in the morning.

Probably the change in food. You should change gradually, by mixing a little more of the new with the old daily.

Have phoned a few emergencies and i am shocked at the price!

He is still alert and warm. Whatever it is, it don't seem to be bothering him too much - although you can tell he is not his usual perky self.

He is still eating and drinking ok so hopefully the vets will be able to sort him out tomorrow.

I just hope it is nothing serious and that it is his change of food that has caused this and can be remedied. He is only 5 months old!

I am appalled at the lack of vets that are not open on a sunday - absolutely ashamed! Even a 10.00am - 4.00pm would be better than none at all.

Do animals not get ill of a sunday?

And i can assure you its some price aswell
We last year had to rush our puppy who was 5 months at the time to the vet and the price wasn't cheap the total bill was alltogether £450 and £150 of that was emergency vets as our dog had to be ill on a bank holiday weekend didn't she lol

Hope your little hamster does get sorted out. Wet tail is an awful thing so i hope you get it sorted.

No, wet tail would not be blood

Here you go, but its not very nice reading.
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster_wet_tail.htm

Reading that explanation of wet tail, it does sound very much like it, i would take him straight to the vets tommorow.

Def get him to the vets and just make sure he has plenty of dry food to eat and no fruit or veg. Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

An interesting read - although some symptoms are not connected with what he has got. (unless they differ from animal to animal)

So far he has been eating still and drinking, there is no real smell to him and underneath seems to be drying up (but a little sticky and stained) and he is getting around around ok and will happily let you handle him. Also there seems to be two droppings at the top of his slats where he climbs that was not there before and they look normal.

The hamster i had a few years ago that had wet-tail encountered blood and he was very limp and would not eat or drink. (this came on all of a sudden out of no-where) he was fine the night before and the following afternoon is when there was a dramatic change for the worse.

The hamster now has had this since about friday and i would have thought if it was wet-tail, he wouldn't be here now.

Will clean him out and give him some more fresh bedding.

He is still not his perky usual self and even so i am taking him to the vets as soon as they open first thing.

You are doing the right thing by taking him to the vets. If there is a problem causing it then you should be able to get medication to help. Until then just make sure he doesn't get dehydrated.

Cleaning the little bugger out..he's been in his ball and rolliing like the clappers!

Gone back to sleep now (bless)

Hopefully he will make a full recovery after medication.

Fingers crossed, let us know how you get on.

Been following this thread... want to know how little one is doing.. Its like an episode of autumnwatch!!
Fingers crossed for little hammy

x

no news is good news as they say !
hope the wee guys alright .tho

Don't you think that vets are entitled to weekends off? As far as I know vets have never been open on Sundays. I would think that most vet appointments are made for routine visits and I bet if they suddenly started to open on a Sunday to suit a few people then hardly anyone would go in. The same goes for evenings or do you think vets should be open 24/7?

For emergencies you can always call the emergency number for your vet and a vet will come into the surgery and meet you there and of course you are going to pay extra! You have to expect that. Keeping a pet is not cheap.

By the way, if you have a five month old hamster, have you not already got a vet?

Anyway, I hope your hamster is ok.

Just to update you...taken little one to the vets (infact three) and they were all completely fully booked - have managed to make an appointment with one this morning - tuesday (9.30am)

Hammy has not deteriorated, he is still alert and eating and drinking well..although his underneath is still a little damp and we continuously wash him with luke warm water and are giving him lots of love.

The good news is - that he does not seem to be getting any worse and is running around quite active. I hope this is just an infection that needs to be treated.

He still climbs his cage - although he is obviously distressed as he is not his usual self (obviously)

Hopefully treatment will solve this (fingers crossed) as he is such a cutie and so young and i just hope he can continue fighting this off (as he has done so far)

I am really peed off with vets not being open of a sunday and not being able to get an appointment sooner - if hospitals were closed, there would be uproar!

Had the vets been open of a sunday or i could have got an appointment sometime on monday - then hammy would be having the proper medication.

Just hope the little one can get treatment and will fully recover...but thanks for all your support! it really boosts the confidence

Just hope it is good news!

I dont think vets should be open 24/7 as such...but it wouldn't hurt to open just for a couple of hours of a sunday for emergencies. (maybe 1 vet in each area would be a sensible idea)

I havn't got a vet (until now) as we have only just moved to this area a few months ago.

If hospitals or pharmacies closed on a sunday for humans...there would be uproar...so why is it any different for animals?

Animals can fall ill at anytime - just as humans so i fail to understand why they should have to wait?

Animals cannot tell you what is wrong...we have to guess and i suspect it is more agonising for an animal to be ill because they are on their own and cannot tell anyone their symptoms.

Hammy is so far ok...but still not himself.

poor little guy - I hope he's well on the way to recovery soon

Just to keep you posted...have taken little one to the vets and they say it looks like some form of 'wet-tail' but they cannot be certain. Some forms of wet-tail are more lethal than others, but obviously this symptom seems to be less lethal.

They have given him an injection and some liquid~food to put in a bowl in his cage to stop any dehydration. (although he is eating his normal food)

Got to take him back in the next day or two for a further check-up.

The good news is that because of his age and being healthy, he should make a good recovery.

But doctors close at weekends and we survive! Of course there are hospitals we can go to in an emergency but all vets also have a system for emergencies. You might have to put yourself out a bit more and go to a branch in another town and pay a bit more but the service is there.

glad the vet thinks this will have a positive outcome! Make sure you keep an eye open though, as I've known of cases where wet tail has seemingly gone, only to reappear a short time later . I'm not saying this will happen, and obviously I hope it doesn't, but just bear it in mind in case. Will keep everything crossed for him!