Difficulty: Moderate
Instructions
Summary: Stomach problems, heatstroke and diarrhea are three common hamster ailments. Learn more in this free video series and guide.
Laura Nessen works at the Pet kingdom in Cottonwood, Arizona and can be reached at 928-639-4283 for more info about finches.read more
"On behalf of Expert Village, my name is Laura and I am going to show you how to pick out a healthy hamster. Another malady that a hamster suffers from is wet tail. Wet tail is caused by diarrhea. Nobody knows for sure why it gets the way that it does. But if you notice your hamster's tail turning black and getting scabby, you need to take him to a vet and have him checked immediately. Hamsters love to horde food and they horde this food in their cheeks. Sometimes they can get a substance or some type of food that is not good for them stuck you in their cheek. If this happens, they have a tendency to have their cheek impacted which causes an infection. If you notice that your hamster's cheek is becoming impacted, you need to take it to a vet to have it checked immediately. Sometimes the vet can remove the piece of food with some tweezers and it usually requires some antibiotic care. Another common problems with hamsters is fleas. This usually comes from a dirty tank. If you notice that your hamster has fleas, it can be remedied easily by going to your local pet store and getting a flea and tick spray that is made especially for hamster. If you find that your hamster has fleas, this is a great flea and tick spray. It is also good for rabbits, rats and ferrets. For more information on keeping your hamster healthy, go to your local pet store who have several books that are available or you can go to animalplanet.com."
eHow Article: Avoiding Common Diseases in Hamsters
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Comments
aprilmkiss said
on 8/21/2008 There are several known causes for the disease called wet tail. It's not a great mystery. If you've ever spoken to a veterinarian or read one of your store's books (try the Animal Planet hamster book you mentioned in another video), you would know that. Wet tail is primarily caused by some sort of stress; in pet stores, it's commonly stress from shipping.
Wet tail is also not CAUSED by diarrhea; diarrhea is merely a symptom of the infection. Tail turning black or scabby? While both of those can happen at the same time as wet tail, they are not symptoms OF wet tail. I'm actually afraid for the animals in your store if you think a scabby tail is wet tail.