# Hamster has runny poo



## Rachael Babb (Jul 12, 2009)

We bought a syrian hamster on saturday. We've just had him out in his play pen and he was leaving little runny poos around the place and little wet marks when he had been sat down. Is he OK :-( All we've fed him is hamster museli and the odd treat and yesterday he had a crunchy nut cornflake. He seems to have been drinking ok however today he has been gnawing on everything, the end of his water thing, the bars, even the plastic bit of the cage. He's back in his cage now so its harder to see if he still has runny poo, would it be really obvious if it was severe and something to worry about? Don't know what to do! Could it be that his teeth are causing him pain so it has given him the runs? We've got a mineral wheel in his cage for him to gnaw on and have placed a wooden peg in there now as well.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Does he look all wet near his tail and does it smell really bad? If so it might be wet tail and it can be quite serious and needs vet's treatment asap.
Did you get him from pets at home?


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## Rachael Babb (Jul 12, 2009)

Yeah we got him from pets at home. Didn't notice a smell and he is still abit scared around us so it is hard to have a proper look at his tail.

Edited to add that the wood shavings in the bottom of the cage are sticking to his bum so could suggest it is wet?


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## laststar89 (Jun 15, 2009)

sounds like wet tail. young hamsters are prone to it, and it takes 7 days to show symptoms so he was likley to of had it when you got him. It is known to be due to stress. Many do not live longer than 24 hrs  so if he still okay 2mo i would suggest the vets or get something like drydrill or something that sounds like that from [email protected], he might be a lucky one.


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

If you are concerned about him I think pets at home offer a 7 day guarantee and if they are ill in that time you can take them to their vet for free for a check up.


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## Flissy (Jul 27, 2009)

Yeah if I were you I'd take him to the vet asap as it sounds like wet tail, poor thing


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## laststar89 (Jun 15, 2009)

think it is called DriTail


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Take him back in tomorrow or if you leave it till Sunday he won't be under the guarantee. They will treat him for free at their vets. Don't go to your vets though because they won't pay unless it's their vet.


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## Rachael Babb (Jul 12, 2009)

If we hadn't had him out of the cage we wouldn't have noticed so is it really that bad? Never owned a hamster before so no idea but my hubby thinks I'm overreacting and that it is just abit of an upset stomach. It was a slight amount of runny poo then with little amounts every couple of mins or so but he was running around the playpen as though he was having fun. We did think he was breathing a little quicker than normal.


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## Flissy (Jul 27, 2009)

Rachael Babb said:


> If we hadn't had him out of the cage we wouldn't have noticed so is it really that bad? Never owned a hamster before so no idea but my hubby thinks I'm overreacting and that it is just abit of an upset stomach. It was a slight amount of runny poo then with little amounts every couple of mins or so but he was running around the playpen as though he was having fun. We did think he was breathing a little quicker than normal.


I don't think you are overreacting, wet tail is very serious in hamsters and its better to be safe than sorry! If you can I would take him to either pets at home or the vets tomorrow as the sooner its caught the more chance there is of him getting through it I think


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

I would take him back to pets at home for a check up if I was you. We got an hamster last Sunday and the assistant asked me if I knew about wet tail so it is very common.

How to Recognize the Symptoms of Wet Tail | eHow.com


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## Rachael Babb (Jul 12, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies, I really hope he is OK.


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## Abs (Nov 5, 2009)

Wet tail can be caused by stress and from becoming to hot. If he has a plastic house I would remove this as they don't allow air to circulate and can bring on the onset of wet tail. 
Some beddings can aggravate the ailment, It's a bit of trial and error. 
If you take hammy back to pets at home and they think it is wet tail, they sometimes take the animal off your hands to treat it and then hopefully he will recover and you can collect him back.
Wet tail is something Syrians are prone to and actually carry the bacteria with them, stress and heat can cause an imbalance of the bacteria which turns into wet tail and they can deteriorate quite fast often within 24 hours of first symptoms. 
It is highly contagious and if it is found to be wet tail the cage will have to be cleaned thoroughly before hamsters are re-introduced.
Signs of wet tail consist of wet area around the anus and tail area, often hunched over and may squeal with pain. The vet will probably prescribe bytrill. 
Good luck.


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## xshellx (Oct 30, 2009)

Yes you seriously must get this seen to asap! Please dont leave it. It's very serious.


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