SarahJo Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Our 2nd dwarf russian hamster, Wicket, died last night - showed no real signs of wet tail, but I suspect this is what caused her demise Do not shoot me down in flames - BUT - we did get both Solo and Wicket from PAH, both only lived for 3-4months. Solo became lethargic and noticeably poorly, whereas Wicket seemed to just "go" . I have heard that PAH have a problem with wet tail (unfortunately after we got Wicket) - and I am going to go elsewhere and get Campbell white dwarfs. Just wondering what others have experienced keeping these cute little critters, should I get 2 females and should I treat for wet tail anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Sorry for your loss SarahJo . My hammie, Maisie, currently has wet tail. I'm hoping she'll pull through . As for the treatment of WT, apparently the best thing to do is to take them to the vet. Make sure they stay hydrated and only feed them their normal hamster mix. If you could get hold of some extra vitamins or something similar probably wouldn't go amiss either. I agree with you that PAH isn't a great place to buy animals. Although I buy lots of food, treats ect from there, I would never buy a pet. I always take a look at the animals when I visit, and although the animals look fine, they live in tiny houses and their water bottles are usually dirty and full of algae. . Sorry I don't have much advice on whether you should get 2 girls. I've only had one dwarf hamster before, and he was male. (I know you should keep two dwarves together, but he used to belong to a friend. The hamster fought with his brother so they just wanted to sepperate them quickly so that they wouldn't fight anymore) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Thanks for the reply - There has been mention of a product called Dri-tail on other web sites. Though I might invest in some with the new hammies. Hope your little one pulls through - they are lovely little pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Thanks for the reply - There has been mention of a product called Dri-tail on other web sites. Though I might invest in some with the new hammies. Hope your little one pulls through - they are lovely little pets. I also heard of Dri-Tail. I've never used it before but it wouldn't hurt to try it . My little hammy seems a lot better today after I gave her some extra vitamins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Lucky - I hope she comes good - not entirely sure mine had wet tail after seeing your last post on your own thread Its always tricky with the little furries - they, like hens, are good at concealing illness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Lucky - I hope she comes good - not entirely sure mine had wet tail after seeing your last post on your own thread Its always tricky with the little furries - they, like hens, are good at concealing illness I'm not entirely sure that mine has wet tail either, I just assumed it was wet tail because her tail...was wet. Apparently it's really easy to confuse standard diahrrea (sp?) with wet tail, but as Maisie had a few other symptoms other than just her wet tail (weight loss, a little bit shaky on her feet) I just thought that it was worse than just diahrrea. Like you said, it's a shame that hamsters try to hide their illnesses. I know that in the wild, preditors will try and pick off the weakest animals, so it's not in their best intrest to go parading round looking ill. It just goes to show the importance of regular handling to check up on them . What were Wicket's symptoms? I've got a huge pile of hamster books next to me and I could look it up for you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 13, 2010 Author Share Posted June 13, 2010 Wicket was fine - until yesterday, she went to drink and looked 1/2 asleep, which I joked about as it was daytime. She then slept - but moved to the external tube and slept. I said how cute she looked all curled up, and ES agreed. He then went to bed and OH and I looked in on her, then noticedshe had stopped breathing . I did examine her and although a little damp - urine leak from death there was no foul smell, etc to suggest wet tail. She had been normal until found Solo the previous hammie - was definately "sick" but again no real wet tail as such. Became lethargic - and ALWAYS drank loads of water, as if kidney disease or diabetes - chinchilla sand was always wet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 I'm a bit worried that Oscar has wet tail now . He feels quite thin and his poos haven't been dry for a day or so . I'm going to take him to the vet tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 ANH - hope your hamster is better - did you manage to get him to the vet Update on my hammie status - now have 2 Campbell White Dwarfs, brothers of 20 weeks old, so hopefully past fighting. The cage they have is 3 storey so plenty of space BUT the twist is that 1 of them only has 3 legs Yoda - has the left paw missing and a stump. He manages up and down the tubes and Mace (Windu ) has full ownership of the wheel . So far they have settled well - Yoda squeakes if Mace tries to shove him out of the way - I wonder if it is the non-threat of Yoda that makes Mace more tolerant of a "disabled" sibling. I really hope they have a long and happy life together - they certainly seem well bonded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Got an appt at 8.45am . Typically Oscar was full of beans and not staggering like he had been last night and this morning . She did say he probably had an infection though and was dehydrated so gave him an injection of fluid and antibiotics. I've got a 5 day course for him too. This afternoon though, I took him out and his rear end was damp and had some diarrhoea on it . I'm hoping it's the antib's working the infection out? Is that likely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I am afraid that the outcome is often not very good All that you can do is to give antibiotics, keep clean and ensure that they are well hydrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 What's odd is that the vet said he definitely didn't have Wet Tail . His bottom was clean then though - I'm wondering if I might take him back tomorrow if he's no better. Is there anything else they could do though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Is he bright and perky otherwise? You could give him a bit of Avipro if you have some around for the chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Actually, that's a good idea . The vet wanted to give him a tonic of some sort but they didn't have any . I've just added some to his water - thanks for the advice . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 18, 2010 Author Share Posted June 18, 2010 it could be the antibiotics giving him the poos now - hope he recovers well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Thanks, SarahJo . That's what I'm hoping . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 Ahhh poor little Oscar - I love that Hamster! Hope he gets better soon. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Oscar is still with us but I'm not hopeful . He wobbles about wildly when he's walking and falls over all the time . He does have loose poos but I wouldn't say bad diahorrea. The little chap is still quite bright though so perhaps the anti-b's will do the trick . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 Fingers crossed for Oscar. Yoda and Mace have setteld well - Yoda can even run on the wheel despite being 3 legged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 That's good news . Bless him, did you find out how he lost his leg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahJo Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 No ANH - we have no idea how Yoda lost his leg. He has adapted extremely well though, even the lady whom I got him from was surprised he managed the wheel. I would guess he was either born slightly deformed OR something happened when he was very young. Mace, his brother shows no aggresion towards him, and obviously sees no "threat" - hope the happy little relationship they have lasts for a long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 Hello, I bought 2 female Chinese hamsters from a breeder on Sat and I looked in their cage to find that one of them had died😥. We let them settle in for 2 days and then handled them for the first time last night, the one that has died was crawling and running around and sat in our hands quite happily last night, was fine this morning and died just before I had to leave for work. I thought she looked slightly hunched when she was running around and I read that this can be from dehydration. I have noticed what looks like runny poo that has dried. Water bottle looks perfectly well and we squeezed the bottle onto a ledge so they could find the water easily after they had just moved in. Does anyone have any ideas? Marie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Did they use a water bottle at the breeders place? Put a low dish with some water in the cage just case. They sometimes use it to clean themselves when do have runny poo. Hamsters don’t do well under stress and moving might have caused this. Are you feeding the same food as the breeder used? They should be changed over on a different feed slowly. Also don’t feed any treats for at least a week or two. It might also upset a tummy and added with stress might make them dehydrate to fast. You can check for dehydration by carefully pull a bit of skin on it’s back. If the skins stick up for longer than second he might be dehydrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted December 18, 2020 Share Posted December 18, 2020 Hamsters, as prey animals, tend not to show weakness so, often, they can 'hunch' slightly if they are in pain whilst exhibiting otherwise ordinary behaviour. We have had 4 dwarf Russian, 2 Chinese and 4 Syrian and only one (a Chinese lad) was found dead in the cage. All the others were taken to the vet and subsequently PTS.........all 'hunched' to a greater or lesser degree. Now it's the first thing I look for when I peek into the cages. As CT says, they get very stressed and young ones can take a long time to settle. Our newest (Hilda) came from a home where she had been handled every day and was, apparently, very hand tame but she has regressed and we can now only really get her out when we clean her as she is very fast and has twice jumped out of my hands (both times I was holding her over her cage base but it could have been a disaster!) We've now decided not to force the issue and let her settle down for a few more weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapdragon Posted December 19, 2020 Share Posted December 19, 2020 Marie - how is your lady doing? Thinking that it may have been wet tail I'm assuming that you will have disinfected the cage and food bowl?! Do hope that she is thriving. She will be fine on her own. We had two Chinese boys in together and one was found dead in the cage aged around 2.5 - no obvious cause - whilst his brother continued well and happy on his own for another 4 months! Well....progress here!!! I moved Hilda's cage today to accommodate the Christmas tree and she woke up, had a run around and walked out of her cage into my hands or onto my knee at least 8 times. She was far less stressy or fast and I feel she has made so much more progress today - tho' I still don't quite trust her not to take off, I'm getting to know her better and putting her back into her cage BEFORE she starts to get antsy! I'll post pics on the appropriate thread when we can take them. NB We have always had a water bottle but also a small dish with water int he cage to cover any eventuality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
