Hamster scratching

Question
Hi,
We are concerned about our hamster. We bought her almost two weeks ago at the age of ten weeks. She has responded well to being handled but shortly after she arrived she was scratching alot. This died down but today it has come on a again worse and she is dragging her bottom along the ground and rubbing herself up against the corner of her house. When we first got her she was not passing excrament so have fed her veg until we found some. Today I noticed quite alot suddenly appear, which is well formed but softish. She seems to be staying inside her plastic house as much as possible now whereas she had been sleeping in her bedding before now. When she goes outside of her plastic house she darts about fast before returning to shake herself off violently and scratch and bite somemore. This problem doesn't seem as bad when out of the cage but still drags her bottom as if she is trying to scratch it. We are hesitant to take her to vets at this stage as she is only just getting used to being handled and do not want to stress her. Can you advise on possible cause and whether she should go to vets?

Thank you

Answer
Yes, I would probably take her to a vet.  She could be scratching due to lice or mites.  You can also catch this so be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and consider handling her with gloves.

If she has a soft stool you need to back off on all fresh foods.  Try feeding her something high in fiber and dry like cheerios or quick oats along with her hamster pellets.  However, if her rectum area appears wet or she becomes lethargic and irritable she probably has wet tail.  This is a bacterial infection and can be brought on by stress or spoiled food.  When feeding hamsters fresh food you have to be really careful as any water remaining on it naturally or from washing can spoil and become contaminated with bacteria.  Hamsters have a tendency to store and hide food away where it may rot so keep that in mind.

The only other thing the skin irritation may be is an allergic reaction to the bedding.  She should be kept on carefresh (paper) or aspen.  Keeping hamsters on cedar or pine bedding can cause serious reactions and upper respiratory infections.  If this is the case, your vet will likely recommend 2ccs (depending on hamster size) of grape Dimetapp or Benadryl to counteract the allergic reaction.  Without seeing her it's hard to say so my best advice is to take her to the vet as soon as possible to avoid her getting any worse.

Good luck and let me know if I can be of any further assistance

~Lauren