Possible sick hamster, need help

Question
we've recently bought a syrian hamster, we have been taking care of it for the past 3 weeks...but a few days ago, we observed a considerable drop in the hamster's inactivity....the hamster used to be very active from 10pm until dawn (the squeeking wheel always wakes me up at around 2am)...but suddenly he started sleeping more and more, i also noticed that he seems uncoordinated when walking,climbing,etc...the tail seems to be wet too...is it diarrhea?we might have overfed him with fresh veggies but i've read diarrhea does not cause inactivity....what do you think is actually wrong with him?  

Answer
Hi Ray,

It sounds like your hamster may have wet tail, which is a bacterial infection that strikes young hamsters most often.  Symptoms can take up to a week to appear.  After the symptoms appear, the disease can be fatal within 24 hours.  Therefore, it's vital that you take your hamster to a vet as soon as possible.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kelly