Glossary · 🩺 Health

Wet tail

Also called: proliferative ileitis

Wet tail is severe, often-fatal diarrhoea in hamsters (frequently caused by proliferative ileitis), seen as a wet, soiled, matted rear end with lethargy and loss of appetite — a veterinary emergency.

It’s most common in young, stressed hamsters (after transport, overcrowding or a diet change) and progresses fast, so it needs urgent veterinary care, fluids and isolation from other hamsters.

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