Hamster with Diarrhea (Wet Tail)
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of hamster diarrhea are similar to that of the wet tail hamster disease but there are some signs that different. A normal case of diarrhea will have feces that are soft and light in color. Other than that, the hamster will not appear sick, hunched over, or loss of appetite. Diarrhea caused by a virus can make the hamster look sick, lethargic, and out of it. In severe cases, the hamster’s feces will be watery making its backside wet. Hamsters with diarrhea will often lose weight and can become anorexic (see hamster anorexia).
Treatment Methods
If you determine your hamster seems fine other than its diarrhea, change it diet to a dry food mix and eliminate limit fruits and vegetables until a few days after it has fully recovered. During that time, make sure the hamster stays hydrated and its hamster habitat stays at a constant warm temperature 70-85*f (21-29*c).
Dehydration as a result of diarrhea can become a serious health concern for a hamster. It can even lead to death. Since a hamster is so small in size, even a mild case of diarrhea can dehydrate it quickly. It is vital to make sure any water loss is replaced either through the hamster’s water dish/bottle or via a water dropper if the hamster isn’t observed drinking on its own.
In severe cases, you might consider going to the vet to get antibiotics. You can give your sick hamster a few drops of kaolin preparations or charcoal three times a day. In any case, for proper care, you should isolate the sick hamsters from the healthy ones and also thoroughly clean their cages and accessories.
Or you can try this effective treatment
Causes of Diarrhea
The causes of a hamster with a bout of diarrhea include several things. If the diarrhea is just that and not the more severe type referred to as hamster wet tail, it’s typically caused by three or four different factors. The first cause can be due to an infectious virus like influenza or salmonella. Even more likely the case though, the hamster’s diarrhea is caused by too many greens or foods with laxative agents in its diet ( see a list of foods that act as laxatives). Other causes can be due to unsanitary living conditions or during times of elevated levels of stress like a weening baby hamster.
Reviewed By: Tim Winter
Tim Winter has a strong affection for pets and wildlife. His years of experience caring for various types of pets has led him to share his knowledge with others on the best practices in pet care. Tim holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications.
My hamster has no dry food so we feed her brocclie and carrots she is very aggressive and wants to bite pp, what to I do
You should get your hamster to the vet. When hamsters get aggressive that means something is wrong
try putting an old clothes of yours that has your scent over the cage to let the hamster get familiar with your scent.
when your hamster bite, does it draw blood? does it lurch at you? if not it could probably just be testing to see if you are food.
food wise i would highly recommend Rodipet.
Get a bigger cage like a 40 gallon tank or a large bin cage. Hammy probably has cage aggression. Hamster needs hamster food though in addition to broccoli and carrots.
Hi!
Okay so I’ve had my hamster for a little over six months. I gave him to my cousin about a month ago and he has recently just came back. He only hunches when he’s sleeping, but he wants to sleep all the time. (Day and night) I’m a little worried and I don’t know what to do. He’s been peeing a lot but I realized his feces have become regular to soft and light. He doesn’t really bite and he let’s me pet him, although I’ve noticed that he becomes stiff and just sits there staring.
My hamster is the same. Some of them can be like this, but with the poops definitely keep an eye and you may need to bring water to him x
My hamster is the same. Some of them can be like this, but with the poops definitely keep an eye and you may need to bring water to him x
I’ve had my hamster since September and she has recently had diarrhoea abd become very lethargic and lost weight. She is the 1st hamster I have had and I’m worried.
my hamster is a teddy bear hamster, i gave her carrots a few days ago and now she’s making weird noises and has diarrhea really bad. not sure what to do.. i cleaned her cage and gave her dry food but she’s all stiff and i’m not sure what to do
Ur actually not supposed to give a hamster carrots so try not to feed them to ur hamster anymore
this is completely untrue and never give false information. Hamsters are allowed carrot in moderation. This means pieces the size of its ear once or twice a week. Carrots are completely safe.
i got a hamster 2 days ago and she was fine the first day butsince last night she has been constantly having diarrhea and being agressive like she has bit me multile times to the point where she pierced skin. Once again i have had her for 2 days and never had one before PLEASE and thoughts or help
She is probably super stressed. When u get a hamster,the first 3-5 days ur not supposed to bother them or touch them.
You to play with her to get her to calm down because you only had her for two days. She doesn’t understand where she’s at and she’s probably stressed out. Just give a little bit a time. I’m not a vet but I’ve had 1 million animals before. Just give a little time I am might get a little bit better.
You’re supposed to leave your hamster alone for at least a week so they can get comfortable. Leave it alone for a while and see if anything changes
i got a 2 days ago and she had n probloms till yesterday night when she started constantly havng diarrhea and biting me and again i’ve never had a hamster before so does anyone have and guidance??
you had to make sure ur hamster was comfortable in its cage. Ur hamster get stressed out with things move too fast. You should’ve left ur hamster in it’s cage for a week before playing with it because you already touched it considering since it bit u
My hamster is active , eating and drinking , her eyes are not crusty or watery , she doesnt hunch over unless she’s asleep but she has a wet bum & i’m not sure if i should worry myself or not . Can someone please give me some advice 🙁
I just got a hamster from the store and all of its other mates had wettail but the lady there said he didnt but he dihariad on my hand and when i give him sunflower seeds he wont eat them. And hes sleeping all the time. Does my hamster have wettail? And will it hurt a hamster if they have wettail drops and they dont have wettail?
Those are a lot of symptoms. You should definitely go to the vet. Don’t use wet tail drops they just hide the symptoms but don’t fix the sickness.
I have recenty bought a hamster n im noticing that the half the bedding becomes wet fast n the hamster becomes wet n what food should i give to hamster suggest some dry foods?? And is my hamster suffering from wet tail??
This happened to me too but it’s not wet tail i think. It’s just that the water bottle may be placed too low, so much that the beddings touched the tip of the water bottle resulting to the watter slipping out and thus wetting half of the beddings. Before, i always find the water bottle empty whenever the beddings is wet. ? even though it’s far enough from the beddings, my hamsters always push the beddings towards it -_-
i have had my syrian hamster for 5 months and yesterday i noticed a big pile of brown liquidy stuff with chuncks in it in his cage. he seems fine now, is eating and drinking and running on his wheel, could this be wet tail or something else?
Our new Syrian Fancy has wet poop that’s green. I’m guessing the color is from the food. She’s on her wheel hours at a time and only sleeps during the day as expected. She’s eating & drinking fine, so I don’t sense wet tail. Is it possible it’s the stress from a new home &/or new diet? Please tell me it won’t stay that way…it’s a hot mess! 😉
Your hamster is probably just stressed if it’s acting normal, but just to be sure make sure you clean the cage every week or two. You don’t always have to change the bedding you can just take the wet spots out or poo but make sure to change the water daily and uneaten food gets thrown out the cage!
I have just got my daughter her second Syrian hamster. We managed fine with the first one but I think it was quite old as it was quite slow and died a few weeks later. But this one is quite fast. Anyway I’ve started to notice a milky/dirty liquid in spots of the cage and the last time I wiped it up it was more of a light brown colour and most of the time it’s in the same places. Would this be diarrhoea or something else. He only gets dried food so far x
It sounds like normal urine
It’s urine.
I have a chinese hamster of about 1 &half years old .today for my suprise when i saw his back it was fully wet i got worried and taught it could be a wet tail .then i found out is was diherria.. hes pop is very watery & has a foul smell.im hydrating him evry now & then but still its the same & now i found out even the female which use to stay with him in the same cage has also got diherria …im worried please tell me what should i do ???? Please
My Chinese hamster ( Female) has gotten a brownish looking substance on her butt near her tail i was worried so i came here for help as well sadly i haven’t found anything and i’m worried please somebody help us!!!
Bought a baby hamster yesterday she is only 6-8 weeks old left her to settle in for 24 hours before handling but when i opened her house to check on her today after 24 hours, her bedding was extremely soiled and it looks very much like diarrhoea, she was screeching because i had disturbed her, the poor wee thing is terrified. Is there anything i can do until i can get her to a vets tomorrow?
My male Syrian hamster who isn’t even six months old yet is having diarrhea. It wasn’t very bad to start with, and then it went away for a while. Now it’s even worse and I’m worried. He still acts normal and he still eats and drinks regularly, etc. I’ll be taking him to the vet soon, thank you so much for your info!
I’m worried about my female Syrian hamster she is almost 2 years old and she had diarrhea before when she was younger but it went away on its own but it’s come back again now after about 6 months and it’s happening every day and it is much worse and sticks to her fur. She is eating and drinking as usual and I have cut all fruits and vegetables out of her diet as I suspected that might be the problem. I never find any diarrhea in her cage though and I have noticed that she sleeps more now. I’m worried that taking her to the vet in the car might be too much stress and do more harm. Is there anything I can do??
This treatment has made my hamster better it is worth it I would buy it for my hamster when it runs out it is perfect
My long haired serian hamster is starting to sleep all the time, only gets up to eat, drink, and use the restroom. I am getting worried, he is getting skinny and has the runs, scared he is dying but not for sure, if anyone knows what could be wrong, please let me know, I’d appricite it.
My hamster is about 6 months old and he has made a new friend when he was about 5 months. (The second one is a girl) The girl is doing fine but the male has diarrhea! Please, please, please help me! I want them to make babies… Thank you! Is it because of the beddings, or the food, the tissue I give them, or is it because of anything else? Please. Help me. I love him. (Including the female one) I am so worried about him. What am I going to do?!
You can go to the vet or you could change his diet to dry(just like the article said), don’t give him a lot of veggies and fruits. I’m aware the beddings will not affect your hamsters health just make sure it is SAFE bedding for hamsters(search on what’s the right or the best bedding for your hammies). Also it is not recommended to breed your hamsters. Your hamster may fight even though their friends. Just take care of them and you’ll be fine?
She has also been sleeping at night and day and she stopped running on her wheel. She used to run on it a lot.
I have a female Siberia short haired hamster, she is just about 3 months old and all of the sudden she got dirreha. I dont know if its because we went on a road trip with her or because there was a dog at the place we stayed at or if its the treats. How do I know what to do? Should I take her to the vet or see what she is like in a couple of days. Please help.
My hamster doesn’t go on the wheel at all , all he does is stay in his corner with a bunch of bedding . He eats and drinks and he is really friendly and I saw his poop one day . It look like a normal hamster poop but it looked as if it was covered in pee . I don’t know what this means it looks like he just peed on his poop . Can anyone please help me .
Thats the same as mine… Trying to find out why but i can’t find anything! Has anything happened within these months?
Hi. My daughters hamster looks sick, I’m worried it has a bloated stomach, and it’s wet down by its bottom area, it also has diarrhea, anything I can do to save it. Plzzzzz my daughter loves this hamster to death she can’t lose it.
You could get special drops in the shop it would be fab to take it to the vet
My current Syrian hamster, Ginger, was purchased about 2 months ago. She has been to the vet twice, once for multiple zits appearing on her chin. The zits went away after her antibiotic and she was perfectly healthy for the next 6 weeks. On Tuesday May 3, she was taken to the vet because I noticed a large mass on her left side near her food pouch. Unfortunately, her tumor wasn’t all they noticed on her second visit; they believe she has brain inflammation. Ginger is no longer using her left side legs correctly anymore which is on the same side where her tumor is. She is extremely off balance and falls over constantly. Since I have been giving her her medicine for the past 5 days, her appetite has grown back but her energy and changes to her balance has yet to come. Her poop is no longer in small pellets anymore either. They are twice as long now and they are a lot more wet than usual. If u have ever had a hamster poop on u, it’s typically very small, no bigger than the length of a pencil tip, and dries within a minute or two. Ginger’s poop is not like that; it’s still in one piece when it come out but it is about as long the diameter of a dime and is wet like human poop(it leaves behind when I try to clean it off a flat surface). Ginger is coming up on her last few days now. Is her poop becoming the first stages of diarrhea or is this normal when giving hamsters medicine?
I lost my baby dwarf hamster today. he was just a month old.. last night i checked on him and he was very active and even playing on his wheel..but today morning i woke up to his screams.. he was lying on his back ..i immediately placed him on my palm and caressed his back to calm him..but within seconds he became stiff.. and his eyes closed…i tried my best to revive him..but all in vain..:((((… i even kept him under warm conditions but deep down i knw he was gone… he started smelling in d evening …i buried him
…:((((… that was my first ever bday present to myself…i will never ever celebrte my bday..:((((( oh god..m completely shattered..:(((
I’m so sorry to hear that. I know exactly what ur going through. Depending on how active ur hamster was and how small determines the cause. There are some few cases, like my friend’s hamster, where a hamster gets so excited and happy with the owner and its environment that they become very active and hyper. Unfortunately this can cause rapid hart rate and result in a heart attack, hence the screams. I know exactly how ur feeling with this loss. They are just so little and u have had them for such little time that u feel like u have failed at being the owner of such a small vulnerable creature.
I have a Syrian Long-haired Hamster she is a girl. She has been peeing out blood she isn’t drinking much, she is eating a ton! What do i do?
MINE IS PEEING OUT BLOOD! I THINK IT HAS A BLOCKAGE!
Could it be a period?
Hamsters don’t have periods. They go into heat about every 4 days but don’t bleed like a human female. You should see a vet ASAP.
My Russian dwarf hamster is fine she is running around on her wheel happily but I have noticed wet dirrea on the wheel. I just got her yester day
Is she just stressed..?
Hi, my male sybiren (i don’t think i spelt that right!) Long haird bear hamster seems to be feeling bad. I just got a new wheel, and a sacer thingy. He has not used any, and has been sleeping, or takeing unnessisary long naps though the night. He has also had diahhhria, insis his food bowl, and where his wheel is.
see this post on hamster food. you might need to change up the diet. Too many greens for instance would cause diarrhea. Make sure your hamster is drinking a lot of water too.
Why does my hamster have a closed eye
Maybe scratched his eye or has an infection, I would take it to the vet
Well it could be that but my friends hamster did that for a while till my friend saw a white dot in her eye , that eye on her hamster went blind her hamster was a albino
I’ve got 2 Russian dwarf hamsters. They are sisters, I’ve had them a few months now. They have taken to me, they let me hold them, they even come to the side of the cage when I walk past. Just tonight I have noticed one of them biting at the roof of the add on bedroom at the breath holes. She has never done that before, I went to check on her and she came straight to me like she wanted me to pick her up. I noticed she has Diarrhea. She fights with her sister every so often but it’s not full on fighting, no blood is drawn. Recently I have noticed they sleep separately. When they normally cuddle together to sleep. I’m really worried about her. What should I do. The other one seems fine.
I have a male hamster that I believe has diarrhea. His poop is normally a dark color and hard. Today when I had him in his ball I noticed it was mushy and a light color. I just got him a couple weeks ago. He is an adult hamster. We feed him only dry hamster food. I had the stomach virus yesterday. Could he have caught it? If so what do I do? He seems fine. He is his active, loving self.. just seems to have diarrhea.
I had the same problem today with my 9 week old Dwarf hamsters. Maybe it’s the ball?
Exact same I noticed it 2 mins ago that’s y I’m here will the hamster be ok (also a Russian dwarf)
Hi, I recently bought two baby female dwarf hamsters. One seems normal but is a little on the chunky side. The other hamster has severe diarrhea and although she still acts like a normal hamster I am very concerned because it is not getting any better. They live in the same cage but only the smaller one has it. I see her eat but she is also pretty skinny. I bought them two weeks ago and this has been going on for most of the time. They eat the same food, and no greens or people food. My family and the other hamster are attached to her so I don’t want to take her back.. what should I do??
Thanks,
hamster owner
Separate them. When one hamster is sick they should not be housed together like that. Also hamsters, Syrian hamsters, cannot be housed together after they are 4 weeks old. They fight and will kill each other. This goes for both sexes. And do not house a female with a male. The rule is one hamster to one cage.
I found the diarrhea on the plate of food
In the morning. The corner of it’s eyes
seems to have some hair loss and it hasn’t
been moving around lately. For the past few months I fed it some broccoli. It’s ‘wife’ died yesterday, what should I do?Should I stop feeding it the broccoli?
Yes, too many greens can cause diarrhea. This can lead to dehydration and result in a hamster that is lethargic. It can also lead to death if it gets bad. See this post on feeding a hamster a proper diet.
I am having the same issue and I adopted mine as an adult from a shelter…he was also in contact with someone who had the flu that was taking care of him when we went away. I am sure that they can catch influenza…make sure he doesn’t get dehydrated.
This morning I noticed my hamster had dioreah she’s normally out in the day and sleeps at night but doesn’t like to be handled she’s not had any change in diet or habitat just noticed she’s nawing at her toys more than usual any ideas?
If it is a bad case of diarrhea, look at this post on wet tail to see how to treat it. Or you may consider changing the diet up to (avoid too many greens, fruits and veggies for now). You can give her a little bit of yogurt to help with digestion issues (with probiotics for beneficial bacteria).
My hamster hasn’t been running on his wheel lately but that could be because it’s a little cold in my room, I have no source of heating, only a heated blanket which I leave on in hopes it warms up the room. But I think it’s either because I have been giving him too many dried strawberries, dried peas, and dried carrots. His stools are lighter than usual and mushy. The PetSmart I got him from promises to take them in until they’re better if they get diarrhea for free, but I don’t want to have to resort to that. Could you help? Should I just stop giving him the treats and only give his the dry food I have for him?
Yeah, try mixing up the diet and avoid too many treats that can cause diarrhea. See this post of hamster diet. In terms of a cold room….just make sure you have lots of fluffy bedding in the cage and avoid placing the cage by a window. Hamsters in the wild don’t get the luxury of a heater but they do have the ability to burrow down into the ground and make warm cozy nests. I don’t think the electric blanket will do much to heat the room. I would save the electricity and shut it off when you are gone.
Hi, my friend recently got a hamster. I feel she doesn’t know a lot about them as it is her first pet but I’m most confused on why the hamster had a yellowish discharge from his bum..?
I think the hamster should be taken to the vet… it could be very ill.
I have a russian dwarf hamster who is roughly 9 months old, he had an upset tummy, I knew what the cause was and I took him to the vets who confirmed that he didn’t have wet tail and was prescribed some antibiotics for 3 weeks in total, they caused slight bleeding in his stools but the vet said that was normal. He came off these just over a week ago and his stools were back to normal but they’ve gone soft and mushy again. In himself he’s fine, there’s no blood or swelling, he’s eating and drinking just fine and is more than happy to wake me up at 4am wanting to come out and play.
I haven’t changed his food or given him anything high in water content (fruits/veg), should I take him back to the vets or see how he goes?
Thanks!
See how it goes but if things don’t improve soon, go back to the vet.
In my case, my hamster seems fine in her daily habits, she’s attentive with I open the cage door, she runs on her wheel, some of her waste is questionable. However they seem pretty solid. No wet back side it’s just her fur looks very wet on her back face and stomach area. And she looks a tad skinnier. The weirdest thing she didn’t look like this yesterday when I saw her do you have any ideas?
My hamster has a dirty rear end/tail area, has loss of hair in the same area and us dirty round the mouth (almost like faeces are stuck to her face). She’s extremely awkward to handle (and often bites when trying to be handled). She’s spending more time in her bed but otherwise seems to be active and eating. Faeces are soft and pale.
Try to use a warm wet wash cloth to clean the dirty areas. If the issue re appears it might be a sign of an illness. Make sure sure the hamster continues to eat and drink like normal. You might also want to clean the cage bedding just to be safe.
My hamster is suffering from this disease
I already gave him the wet-tail drop medication but she doesnt seem to get better.
continue the treatment as directed on the packaging. Also make sure it is drinking lots of water. Give it time. Try some applesauce.
My hamster is usually very active .over last couple if days .not moving much seems very sleepy. And hasn’t put her ears up .her back and sides seems to be swollen
Are there any other symptoms going on? It could be any number of issues based on the issues you mentioned.