Wet tail

[Lydia1981]

Hello


Tilly occasionally sleeps in her tubes, she also has her food stash sometimes in there aswell, i always try to discourage her and remove the tubes give them and good clean and then she sleeps in her house,

On Friday she had been sleeping in her tube the day before, I noticed her tail looked very wet, and her bottom area aswell so I looked at pictures of wet tail and assumed that was what she had, she was very active and eating normally so I thought as it can get bad quickly I would get a vet to look, the next available appointed is tommorow(Wednesday) so I took it,

However over the weekend the tail is dry and clean and she is always active, I smelt her and it turns out she had been sleeping and peeing on herself,
I have removed all the tubes now and am trying To retain her to use the toilet
But I don't want to waste the vets time, should I take her in any way? She has never seen on before so I don't want to waste their time and wake her up and scare her,

I am happy to pay and maybe she can get her nails cut? Not sure if I should cancel

Thanks

[sarah001]

It's always best to be on the safe side! Especially with something that could be wet tail. Best get it checked out I'm sure the vet would tell you the same thing

[pinkneon]

I think if you are concerned to still take her. Even if she doesn't have wet tail they might do a complete health check - ours did. Take a little treat with you or give her one when she gets back so she isn't too upset about being woken up from her beauty sleep!
I took my Sweep to the vet as my scales said he'd lost weight. They did a complete check - even checking his little boy parts as I'd seen the vet about that before. He was declared fit and healthy (and very cheeky!) and behaved very well, unlike last time!
If Tilly has never been to a vet before I wonder if it will stress her too much to get her nails cut? She might be ok, maybe see how she is when you get there?
Also, I don't think it would be wasting their time Even if there is nothing wrong, it will put your mind at rest. If there is something wrong they can catch it now and treat it It's up to you, but personally I'd take her

[cypher]

If she's sleeping in the tubes & storing food in them then I would take them out permanently at least until she's established a nest & hoard elsewhere, it can get very unhealthy if they do that. Trying to discourage her isn't enough really, best remove them so she can't sleep in there!
It does sound as though she had just been sleeping in pee or wet substrate/nesting material, if she seems healthy, is eating, drinking, peeing & pooing as normal then I wouldn't think she is ill at all but she may well become ill if she continues with the tube routine.
Saying wet tail is a little confusing, it sounds as though you mean her tail was just wet as opposed to wet tail the disease which would include signs of being ill, diarrhoea & changes in behaviour.

[Lydia1981]

Hello

Just got back from her vet trip, I only live 10 mins walk away so not far for us to go

I woke her up with some treats then waited about 10 mins for her to come out of her bed, (
I have a critter trail school bus which we use when she goes to the hamster sitter) she must have known she was going somewhere

The vet who has been recommended by a lot of people and a breeder checked her over, she was really well behaved, I though she would bite him

She doesn't have anything wrong with her and he said she is healthy but my only concern is he said she was balding on her tummy but he didn't seem to worried

He didn't charge me either,
I live near the beach so when I was walking back home I took her past the beach and showed her the sea, it was windy so don't think she was interested at all,

There is a small Diy store near me with a rubbish pet stock but I took her in their and bought her some more bathing sand and some wooden sticks,

They sell lots for cats and dogs but not small animals

She is back in her cage now with some treats and seems happy

[sarah001]

That's brilliant news that there's nothing wrong.

[Gimleyand Meeko]

That is good news that she is ok

[Hammy992]

That's good that she is fit and healthy. One thing I noticed is you said she was peeing in her tubes and sleeping in them - this might be a possible cause of her balding tummy. Sleeping in their pee can cause hamsters to lose their fur in the areas it has prolonged contact with. If she goes to the toilet in her nest you could try convince her to use a potty by placing one close to her nest or in her house if it's big enough, with a bit of soiled bedding in it so she knows what to do. Makes cage cleaning a whole lot easier as well