wet tail help

[Babyghost84]

Hi I need help and advice.

I've been to the vets for past 3 weeks with my baby girl. She has had wet tail 3 time - every 2/3 months since last sept. We have tried everything and usually it clears up in a week.

This time as I said it's been two courses of antibiotics and now they have put her on the human banana antibiotic for children as the first two (hamster one) hasnt cleared it up and it's coming to 3 weeks. She is a very stressy hamster where if a car door bangs in the street she is out of her house at all times of day wanting to know what's going on. She had a varied died before all this started with fresh fruit (kiwi etc) and bits of cheese and meet for extra protein (the vet said she eats better than they do) I have two others and have had hamsters since little so
I do know what I'm doing but this is really really starting to get me low as I can't seem to cure her.

She is eating her recovery food, taking her meds. She's drinking water and ive now started her with none flavoured yogurt to help the good bacteria in her tummy. I know the vet said that it could be an immune thing since she has had it so much (cage thoroughly disinfected every week) but could it be that she is so stressy? She s not in with the boy hamsters - she is in a totally seperate room, she gets fussed daily and only when she wants to come out so I don't know what to do I was wondering would lavender wood shavings help her de stress and calm down?? Or do you have any ideas what I can do to help calm her down? I've currently got the lavender smell near her cage to try that

Sorry for the long message but I'm now at the end of my rope and trying to figure the best things to do with her. My next move is a total new cage and replace everything again.

[souffle]

It may not be that she has an infection anymore babyghost. Sometimes after a hamster has had a first attack the bowel wall becomes damaged and it never does go back to normal. These hamsters will be prone to attacks of diaorrhea all their life and episodes of stress or food changes will bring these on. It's a bit like irritable bowel in humans.
Obviously with hamsters being so small diarrhoa is very serious as it can cause them to go downhill very quickly.
Long courses of antibiotics also cause the hamster to lose most of the bacteria in the bowel so their digestion of food is not as it should be. They need the bacteria to break down the cell walls of the plant fibres so they can extract the vitamins they need. Loose motions means they also do not re process some of the food by eating certain faecal pellets and reprocessing these.
Is she having Probiotic powder to try and build up the gut flora again? She also needs vitamin supplements to help compensate for poor absorbtion.
Her main food must be a good hamster mix Harry / Hazel hamster might suit her. Too much fresh fruit and veg is not ideal for a hammy with the runs and can make them worse especially with 'novel' sweet fruits like kiwi. Cheese is also not great in case she is lactose intolerant which again can cause the runs.
Stick to a dry food diet for now with small amounts of dark greens only like brocolli till you see if you can stabilise her. You can then introduce teeny bits of other things to see if she relapses.
Lots of cleaning and cage changing is very stressful for hamsters so try and keen this to a minimum given her condition. I wouldn't use scented bedding as it can be overpowering for hamsters.
Hope that helps

[Babyghost84]

Hi thanks for the reply. Everything you have suggested is what we have already done as that was my immediate reaction with wet tail/diareah first time round so did same again the last time and then this time same again but it's not worked. I've taken her back to vets and she wants to see her Monday as well. She wants me to give her cheese (she has had it in past way before this started) and is on harry hamster or wagg mix I'll be honest I can't remember which one off the top of my head.
I've tried vitamin supplements in her water but she won't drink the water with it in so ended up replacing it with fresh water after a day and she say at her water bottle for ages drinking more than normal so I daren't add them to the water. Is there any other vitamin sublime ts I can get that you may know of?
I've got the pro biotic powder which is mixed in with the yogurt and the recovery food (im lucky as she likes both so will eat both without issue. Her water is still being drunk and she is hording food. It's just this poo situation that is getting me so confused as we stop stuff(kiwi etc) and it has no effect so add it and again has no effect.
I'll hold off on the bedding - I was just wondering if getting a lavender one would help her distress but I won't atm. I don't care what I need to do/buy to get her through all of this and I certainly don't care what I have to do (currently putting sueocrem on her bum as its red raw - orders by the vet) to get her through it. She is a fighter but I just feel so helpless.

[Thin Lizzy]

I would suggest giving your hammie some Heinz or Cow N Gate baby foods.
The creamy porridge, rice pudding, egg custard and caulifloert cheese.
Don't get a fragrance bedding or substrate this might not agree with them. Try and hold off with cleaning the cage as this will be stressful and more so because she's ill.

[souffle]

You can get a powder vitamin which could be mixed in plain porridge maybe.
Vionate Vitamin Mineral Supplement Powder - Pet Drugs Online
Another think I have found helpful is arrowroot. You can either get the biscuits feed a small piece dry or powder in supermarkets and mix in porridge or babyfood. Might be worth a try.