Hamster - dried blood on tail

Question
Hi my 18 month old female dwarf hamster has dried blood on her tail.  I phoned the vet and they advised unless changes within herself, eating/drinking/behaviour or fresh blood I dont need to bring her in.  She is a little hunched but happy looking within herself.  She doesnt like to be picked up so I dont like taking her to the vets unless I need to as this upsets her.  She does a wierd kicking behaviour in the cage at the sides which are plastic.  She has done this from the begining though.  She suffered with some hair loss a month ago and had treatment from the vets.  Can you advice what might be up?

Answer
Hi Lin

Thanks for your question.

Blood is always something that should be investigated, but it doesn't always mean there is a serious problem.  Now and again I have found a spot of blood on one of my hamsters, but nothing else seems to happen.

It is hard to know what it is however.  Worst case it could be an internal tumor that has ruptured and is bleeding (hamsters are very prone to getting tumors from about the age of 18 months) - if it this, then there will definitely be more blood and she will show signs of being unwell.  What is her poo like? has she had any diarrhoea lately, or is it possible she is constipated.  If a hamster has to strain to go the toilet they can sometimes cause a prolapse of the colon/intestine and this can bleed.  Usually with this, however, you actually see some of the intestines coming out of the rear end along with some blood.

I would agree with your vet - I suggest you monitor her - check she is still bright and moving around (not wanting to just sit hunched all the time, or stay in her nest), check she is eating and drinking normally (usually when there is a problem the hamster will increase their water consumption quite considerably especially if there is a tumor present) but if anything changes in her behaviour or there is more blood or pus coming from her rear end, then get her back to the vet.  They are more likely to be able to diagnose what is wrong if they actually see her bleeding and can advise you accordingly.

The hair loss is quite common in hamsters around this age so I wouldn't worry about that as such.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila