Hamster stress

Question
Dear Kelly,
We have a new female Syrian hamster.  About a week after bringing her home, she developed diarrhea. Having read about wet tail, I feared the worst, and prepared my kids for the fact that she might die.  Luckily, she never got that sick, just slept a lot and made really runny poops. As soon as I noticed this, I took her off fresh food and, on a vet's advice, gave her Pepto Bismol with an eyedropper for a few days.
My question is: we are now in day 6 of her illness.  Her poops are still soft, but looking closer to normal.  During the worst of the diarrhea, I was taking her out of her cage once or twice a day to clean the cage, give her medicine and wipe off her bottom.  I know that diarrhea can be caused by both stress and diet, so I am wondering if I should leave her alone more now that she seems to be improving.  I am concerned that all my compulsive cleaning, medication, etc. might have been making her problem worse.  I just didn't want her to dehydrate and/or get an eye infection from having such a filthy cage.
Any suggestions you have on transitioning her to a more normal care schedule would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Answer
Hi Joanna,

The stress that most likely caused her diarrhea was probably from bringing her home from the pet store (or her previous owner).  This is fairly common, as the transition is very stressful for the hamster, especially if there is a lot of noise around her, or if people handle her in the first 48 hours after putting her in her new cage.  (Hamsters need about 2 days without human interaction to transition to a new home and to calm down.)

It sounds as if you did a great job in caring for your hamster.  Once her diarrhea is completely gone, then you can go back to cleaning the cage just 1-2 times a week.  Right now, keep up the good work.

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

Kelly