Wet Tail? (76 views)

Wet-tail is caused by stress, mainly, and it only affects Syrian hamsters under the age of 12 weeks. (so most pet store Syrians can develop wet-tail when you bring them home, hence the week waiting period.) Even when treated by a veterinarian with hamster experience, the survival rate is very, very low, and hamsters will die within 24-48 hours of contracting wet-tail. The symptoms are: (taken from the Hamster House)

A wet tail covered in feces
A bad smell
Diarrhoea
A lack of appetite
A lack of energy and enthusiasm
Walking with a hunched back
Sleeping a lot
Folded ears
Aggression, such as biting their owner or other hamsters (although this (biting other hams) should never apply to a hamster with wet-tail, as only Syrians to our knowledge can contract it, and they should never be housed with another Syrian.)

You may think that since the survival rate is so low, and wet-tail acts so quickly, it is not worth bringing your sick hamster to the vet. Wrong. The veterinarian can either help with medication/other treatments (I'm not too sure what a vet would do to a ham with wet tail) or they can help your hamster pass comfortably. It is also against the law to deprive an animal of veterinarian care.

Hope I helped!