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A major cause of bumble foot is keeping hamsters
on mesh floors rather than flat floors, or on damp,
dirty bedding.
Wet tail
This is a secondary bacterial infection that occurs
and takes hold when the hamster is already unwell.
It is commonly triggered by stress—afor example,
transportation to the shop or new home, or exces-
sive handling of a new hamster before he has settled
in. Another cause is diet, typically too much fruit and
vegetables.
Wet tail causes serious diarrhea and the hamster can
rapidly dehydrate, causing life-threatening loss of
fluids and salts. The obvious symptoms are clumped
greasy hair around the rump area with a strong sickly-
sweet smell. The hamster will become very lethargic
and withdrawn and the rest of his coat will look and
feel greasy and stand on end.
In the later stages, the hamster’s eyes look dull and
sunken and the skin looses its elasticity. Such a degree
of dehydration may cause further problems, such as
kidney disease. All this can happen very quickly. The
first 24 hours are the most important, so getting vet-
erinary treatment is vital in the early stages.
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Hamsters