Natural Remedies to Wet Tail in Hamsters

If you notice that your hamster is not running on its wheel or has a soiled backside, your little rodent friend most likely has wet tail. Hamsters are susceptible to numerous illnesses and conditions in addition to wet tail, including diabetes, bladder stones, colds, stroke, skin mites and constipation. Antibiotics and anti-diarrhea medication are often prescribed to treat wet tail; however, natural and preventative methods will also work to keep your hamster healthy and wet tail-free.

  1. Description and Symptoms

    • According to Doctors Foster and Smith, wet tail is a hamster disease caused by fecal to oral contact with the bacteria Lawsonia intracellularis. Hamsters eat food or drink water that is contaminated with excrement and subsequently develop a wet, soiled area around the anus. Symptoms of wet tail include excessively watery diarrhea, failure to groom or eat, sluggishness, irritability, dull, sunken eyes, dehydration, blood in the stool or around the anus, protruded rectum to to continual straining, abdominal discomfort and remaining in a hunched position when sitting or standing.

    Preventive Care

    • Take preventative methods to ensure your hamster will not become infected with wet tail. Before buying a hamster, make several trips to the shelter or pet store and carefully observe the cage conditions. Also observe hamster behavior for signs of sick hamsters, and ask pet store employees about the hamsters' health. Remove all soiled bedding from your hamster's cage each day and clean and disinfect the cage on a weekly basis. Stress is a factor in wet tail development, so if your hamster is new, ensure it is as stress-free as possible by avoiding handling it until it becomes settled. Keep it on the same food it was eating at the shelter or pet store. Keep all new hamsters separated from other hamster pets to avoid spreading the disease.

    Nutritional Yeast

    • Feed your hamster nutritional yeast to help treat wet tail. Nutritional yeast can also come in the form of vitamin B or multivitamin injections, though such injections are best left to veterinarians. Give your hamster nutritional yeast only after removing all food for a 24-hour period. Place the yeast in the same food dish your hamster normally uses as the hamster will be familiar with the dish, but thoroughly clean and disinfect the dish before placing the yeast in it.

    Additional Methods

    • Add honey to hamster food to encourage it to eat while recovering from wet tail. If the hamster still will not eat, consider force-feeding the hamster liquid vegetables -- but discuss feeding details with your veterinarian first to avoid injuring the hamster. In addition to removing all foods for the first 24 hours of the illness, give the hamster warm liquids as dehydration is the primary cause of death from this disease. Keep your hamster in a quiet, warm environment to keep stress levels down, which will help the hamster recover.