poorly hamster poss TMI (update!)

I'm not a vet or medically qualified in any way but having four children you can imagine we have had our share of small furry pets. Hamsters are prone to wet-tail (inflamed bowel, leading to diaorrhea and dehydration) and tumours in the womb. Either of these is obviously very serious and if it were me I would take the poor thing to the vet. It may be he/she can do nothing for your pet but at least it would be put out of its misery.

ETA one year and three months is not really getting on a bit, hamsters live on average two and a half to three years (well, ours did anyway, one lived to three and a half) so should be in the "prime of life" really

Yes I agree it could well be wet tail and if so the prognosis is usually very poor. Poor hammy should really see a vet urgently as it is a very unpleasant state for them to be in. Give his rear end a wipe to clear off some of the muck if he's soiled but not much else you can do.

Wet Tail can make hamsters very poorly, very quickly and can be fatal in a lot of cases. Take the hamster to the vet. Poor hammy ☹️

http://www.vetbase.co.uk/information/wet-tail-hamsters.php

Rang the vets. Couldn't get her seen until tomorrow so booked her in for 10.00am

Hope she's better soon but I agree with others in that she's not that old really . I've kept hamsters most of my life and Dave is currently at the grand hamster age of 4 and still going strong, he even managed to escape at the weekend.

Everyone else has already answered, so just want to add that I hope your hamster is okay and the vet can do something

Seems to have perked up a bit now and has had something to eat. She hadn't been drinking anything so I got her out and put some water in a bowl. She has had a tiny bit of that (I could hear her tongue lapping at it) but she has never been a bit drinker anyway. Hopefully she will be a little better tomorrow.

I too have kept hamsters most of my life, so I am extremely surprised that some people have said they live 2.5 to 3 years. My most recent one died last week at the age of 2 years 3 months and is the oldest one I've had! She went to the vet a week or so before she died, and even the vet said she'd reached a good age. Good old Dave at 4 years - I am impressed! I hope my next one (when I get one - not for a while yet I think) lives that long...

Good luck to the OP, hope your hamster gets well.

Hope your hamster gets well, I have a hamster too and its part of the family lol. It does sound like wet tail though. Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Yes, I've always read that the life span is 1-2 years and my last one lived for exactly 2 years. Anyway, will post an update at the beginning of the thread.