My Dwarf hamster is bleeding

Question
QUESTION: I just got 2 dwarf hamsters on monday and yesterday afternoon I checked on them and one of them is bleeding from his pee hole? What do I do?

ANSWER: Hi Cristi

Sorry to hear about your hamster.  Have the hamsters been fighting at all?  Sometimes when they fight they do attack their rear end and I wondered if perhaps this was a bite.  If not, how much is it bleeding?  Does it look like the blood is superficial, i.e. from an external injury, or does it look as though the blood is actually coming from inside?  If this is internal blood, then a vet should examine him - he may have some sort of infection and if so this would need treating with an antibiotic.  If it is external, then make sure the area stays clean and keep a close watch to make sure there is no pus.  

Is it possible that your hamster has eaten something that has a strong red color?  Beetroot can make an animal's pee/poo go red - it can be quite frightening when you first see it, but it is the natural color of the food coming through.

Are you sure these are male hamsters and not female?  Sometimes female hamsters can spot or have a slight discharge.  Whilst if it is constant then it definitely needs to be checked by a vet, but I have had hamsters who have had a 'one off' of a spot of blood and it cleared on its own.

I would strongly advise that you examine him/her and try and ascertain where the blood is coming from.  Also, check for any signs of a fight.  I think you should also examine the other one too - both for bite marks or for any sign of blood.  Check that they are definitely both the same sex.  If this is some sort of infection/illness, then it is important to get it checked by a vet as treatment will be needed.  As you don't really want a vet bill this early on, I would suggest that you speak to the pet shop where you got them from and get their opinion - they may agree to get this checked out for you or can advise on how to treat.

Apart from this how are they behaving?  Are they active, bright, eating and playing normally?

I hope you get on OK.

Regards

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: No I am not sure if they are male or female but I will ask the pet shop. they seem to get along great though. they were in the same cage at the pet shop. I have not feed them anything that is red. And to me it does look like it is coming from inside. They are very active. But when they run in their wheel sometimes their feet go down into the holes in the wheel. It is a habitrail ovo, im not sure if that has anything to do with it though. But I do not think they have been fighting.

Answer
Hi Cristi

I think it is good to speak to the pet shop - perhaps even take them back for them to have a look.  If this is internal bleeding I suspect you might need a vet to have a look to see what is going on. Does the pet shop have a vet?  Some of the larger shops do.  Regarding the wheel, some of the them aren't that suitable, especially for the dwarf varieties, and therefore it might be worth changing this for a solid wheel so there is no chance they can get their feet caught as I suspect they both want to run in it at the same time.

Please let me know how you get on.

Regards