Hamster poopy bottom

[Phoweebee]

Hiya! I recently got a long haired syrian . His bottom had a little bit of blood around and he keeps smushing his poo on his bottom. I have to get a wet cotton pad to wipe it off .He is eating and drinking and very active but i dont know why poo keeps collecting here. Its not diahorrea but i am worried about wet tail.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Hello and welcome to the forum. As your Syrian has newly arrived is it possible they are not used to vegetables? Not being used to vegetables can give messy poop.

 

[Phoweebee]

Hello and welcome to the forum. As your Syrian has newly arrived is it possible they are not used to vegetables? Not being used to vegetables can give messy poop.

Thank you!! Potentially yeah i have been giving him carrots etc. if he is active and eating and drinking is it unlikely to be wet tail?

 

[RainbowBrite]

Thank you!! Potentially yeah i have been giving him carrots etc. if he is active and eating and drinking is it unlikely to be wet tail?

Wet tail is more common in very young hamsters. Do you know how old your hamster is? Wet tail is very serious and will need a vet right away. I think you may be feeding a little too much fresh food and if he is not used to it then he will get messy or soft poops. Are you sure you saw blood and it could not be from red food such as beetroot? If it is blood then I would get that checked out by a vet.

 

[Maz]

Hello and welcome. If you recently got him I assume he's still a baby/very young? Wet tail is very serious and he would be very unwell - it's an emergency really. They can get diarrhoea which isn't wet tail and it sounds more like that. Although the blood sounds concerning.

One thing that can trigger wet tail with a new hamster is stress - they've had the stress of moving to a new home - so it's important to avoid stress while they're settling in. This usually means - no cage cleaning for the first two weeks and no swapping things and changing things in his cage. Then mainly spot cleaning for a while and doing less frequent substrate changes. The main thing is don't do full big clean outs where you clean everything, as this removes all their scent which really stresses them. "Partial" cleans and spot cleaning is better

Aside from that, long haired syrians can get messy bottoms! Poop getting caught in the fur. As rainbow says it might be better to limit the veg until he's used to it though. Ideally don't give any more than a 1cm cubed sized piece (eg cucumber or carrot) and initially only a couple of times a week - then maybe 3 times a week and after 2 or 3 weeks you can give it daily. But they really don't eat huge amounts so a tiny amount like that is fine.

I'm a bit concerned by the blood though as that sounds more serious. If it occurs again I would definitely take him to the vets. But if it seemed to be a one off and he seems fit and well in himself, and eating and drinking normally, then maybe just keep an eye on him.

Any sign of blood with a hamster is abnormal and concerning. Sometimes it can turn out to be from an injury though - eg if they caught themselves on something in the cage. Sometimes it can be a uti and maybe just get into the poop area.

 

[Phoweebee]

This is the best picture i could find . I wiped it off with a cotton pad and there was streaks of blood. He also did cry when i did this but unsure if that is pain or still not used to me touching him

 

[Maz]

That looks very sore and inflamed and not quite right, so I think you need to take him to a vet as soon as you can.

 

[RainbowBrite]

Please let us know how you get on at the vet's. We are all thinking of you and your hamster.

 

[Member ID2]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I just wanted to say that i would also advise to take your hamster to the vet. He may well be in discomfort and his bottom doesn't look right. A vet should be able to help.

 

[SunflowerSeeds]

Hiya! I recently got a long haired syrian . His bottom had a little bit of blood around and he keeps smushing his poo on his bottom. I have to get a wet cotton pad to wipe it off .He is eating and drinking and very active but i dont know why poo keeps collecting here. Its not diahorrea but i am worried about wet tail.

So did your hamster get better? Did u take him to the vet?

 

[Maz]

So did your hamster get better? Did u take him to the vet?

This is quite an old thread and I'm not sure the member is still posting