hamster and guinea pig

Question
hi! im Revz, i have 2 teddy bear hamster the male ham is ok but the female is not. She has wet anus but she eats a lot than normal. What could the reason of her wet anus? And about my guinea pig my two GP has wound and they are scattering but they don't have hair loss. What could also the reason of this?


Please answer me...im so worry about my hamster and guinea pig..:(

Answer
Hi

I'm afraid I can answer your question about your guineapig as I'm not an expert on them. I do keep a few but I always get advice on them if there is a problem.

Regarding your hamster - I'm assuming that she is living alone??  Syrians are solitary creatures and must be kept on their own otherwise they will fight.  When you say that her rear is wet - what is it wet with?  Is this pus, or diarrhoea?  Is there any sign of diarrhoea in her cage?  If so urgent treatment is needed.  If this is pus that is coming out of her then she should see a vet.

Diarrhoea/wet tail should be treated immediately with an oral rehydration (you can give the ones that are designed for humans but follow the instructions on the box) and also acidophillus which is a pro biotic. You can get one called Avipro but if you can't get this acidophillus can be bought in health shops and this is fine to give.  You mix one capsule with water and give along with the oral rehydration by dropper in severe cases or you can just put it in the water bottle.  Also only bland food should be given for a few days until there is an improvement - such as dry hamster mix, bread, raw porridge oats etc.  Avoid vegetables during this time, although some fibrous ones can be re-introduced when there is a noticeable improvement (such as cabbage, spinach, brocolli etc. but avoid lettuce).

If this is pus, then she might have an infection which would need to be treated by antibiotics which you would need to get from a vet. Some infections are very painful and do need to be treated professionally.

If this is urine, is she peeing a lot more than usual?  Is she drinking more?  Hamsters can get diabetes and this makes them drink a lot and pee a lot and their cage gets very wet and smells quite sweet.  In cases like this it is vital to immediately stop feeding any foods that contain sugar, including dried fruit and hamster treats.  In addition to the standard dried hamster mix and fresh vegetables you should also add sunflower seeds, linseeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds as these contain essential fatty acids and can help stablise sugar levels.

In any event I would strongly advise that you are careful handling your different pets right now and wash your hands between handling each one so that you don't cross contaminate in case this is something that can be passed on.

You haven't said how old these hamsters are - are they young or old?  With old hamsters, around 2 years or more they can develop tumors especially abdominal ones and if one ruptures it can cause blood/pus to come out of the rear.  In cases like this it is very important to see a vet as the hamster will be in pain.

I hope this helps you but if you are worried at all I strongly advise that you get someone to look at her.

Regards
Sheila