new hamster in trouble please help!

[nibbles07]

ok so here it goes.... me and my gf were bought two Syrian hamsters for christmas. They both came in one cage... emma was told by our friends that pets in home said they could live together for up to 12 weeks... when i heard this i thought it was stupid and pets at home were talkin pants. but emma reckoned we could wait a week or so so thats what we decided to do. anyway we woke up on christmas morning to find bubble squeeking (dont ask they were already named) so we had to seperate them straight away as they were fighting. which i thought might happen so we put the one whcih was a newsence in the ball n left the other one in its cage. Anyway its been 4 days now since we got them and yesterday his bottle leaked but leaked further than what i thought (pets at homes bottles are crap and i couldnt get another one b/c of the time of yr i have one now) so we changed him today but his tail was SOAKED anyway he now has diarrhea. So my next question is what is the best thing to do... i took my first hamster to vets a week after id had him b/c of the same problem and he died on the same day from the stress of it and being injected as the anti-biotics hadnt worked. he is still eating.. and drinking to what i know of....... (actually i saw him drinkin earlier tonight) so my question is should i just phone the vet up explain the problem and ask him to perscibe the antibiotics and jus leave him to it and put it on his food? b/c surely taking him to the vets (when i havent handled him at all) is going to make the matter alot worse? either way im phoning the vets up first thing tomorrow morning. let me know thanks.

[dbl120902]

I don't know if this is what your hamster has or not, but when I read "diarrhea", this is the first thing that came to my mind:

http://www.petshub.com/hamster/wet-tail.php
http://www.petwebsite.com/hamsters/hamster_wet_tail.htm
http://nm.essortment.com/hamsterwettail_rlpq.htm

The three above sources indicate that antibiotic treatment is the only thing that can treat this ailment, and that it must be done immediately, as it is very deadly.

Good luck.

[shaybay]

agreed with above, sounds a lot like diarrhea. Wet tail did arrive in mind, but it sounds like your hamster is still quite active. check out those sites as they are quite handy and be sure to give a quick call to the vets!

[nibbles07]

turns out now that both hamsters have got wet tail, so im going to take them back to the pet store as we were sold either sick animals or due to the stress of bein housed together. not impressed!!!

[daddysgurl9245]

So, you're just gonna take them back to Pets at Home where they'll die without treatment?

[dbl120902]

A. Hamsters going in to a new environment are going to be stressed, regardless of where they are from.

B. You should have done your research before housing syrians together, so I do not blame Pets at Home for giving you improper information, as that's something you should have already known before acquiring the animal.

C. You already admitted that they were in wet conditions because of the water bottle, which is not the fault of the pet store.

I'm glad that you took the responsibility for living creatures and are giving up on them. Kudos.

[nibbles07]

oh no they'll treat them im going to give them the antibiotics and they have a vets.... so they will be treating them.

[nibbles07]

excuse me?! one... i did not buy them! two yes one of them not both!!! three... you have no right to have a go at me, everyone has their opinion but if you dont have anything nice to say just dont bother! i do not want to keep them as i have already just burried a hamster as it died (in his sleep for no reason to what we know of no visable signs eating fine) and i do not want to bury them b.c i will be too sad! now i didnt come for abuse i came for help if you dont agree with what im going to do keep it to yourself or atleast dont be horriable about it... atleast if i had a problem with someone i wouldnt try to guilt trip them into doing what i wanted them to! how dare you.

[nibbles07]

PLUS i wanted to split them but my gf was convinced and so was our firiend as they had asked 2 times repeatedly if this was alright! i know i should of gone on my instinct but somethings you cant get right.... n i regret it sure but thats how it is now unfortunately.

[nibbles07]

also i didnt put them in the bloody cage!!! you should ask before you assume.

[daddysgurl9245]

I'm sorry, but I agree with DBL.

And if you're girlfriend didn't want to put them in seperate cages, you could have done it anyways, for the sake of the poor animals. And do you think the pet store will actually take the time to treat them? They may've told you they will, but I doubt it'll happen. I can promise you that they'll take them back to an isolation room and let the A) die on their own or B) give them back to the mill they came from! I'm sorry if this sounds mean, but we really do care about the welfare of your hamsters and every other animal on PetsHub-sometimes it just gets frustrating when people don't do what's best for their animals...Taking your hamsters back to Pets at Home because they're sick is like taking a dog to a shelter because it peed on the rug. Animals aren't just things you can get and decide you don't want anymore-once you get them, they're your responsibility. And DBL was NOT trying to guilt trip you--she was just giving her personal opinion on a public site-we don't have to keep opinions to ourselves on here. I know I don't live in the UK, but I've heard, and I believe, that Pets At Home is the worst pet store chain in the UK. And next time when you decide to get another pet, look around at your local shelter. I know the shelter I volunteer at has hamsters once in awhile-and when they do there's always quite a few.

[dbl120902]

Ashlee is right... they likely won't treat the hamsters. They aren't worried about saving the lives of two hamsters when it is easier and more cost effective to just order two more. At the Petco in my area, when you take an animal back, they aren't given a chance at resale. They are stuck in a 10 gallon aquarium, and if nobody asks about them in a couple of days, they're either (like Ashlee said) left to die or sent back in exchange for two healthy hamsters.

Don't play the victim. You came on here and asked for advice, and I gave it. I am disheartened at knowing that people out there either take or are given responsibility for animals without knowing even the basics (such as the fact that syrians cannot be housed together, which is one of the first things you will read on any basic caresheet), and then give up on them when the slightest thing goes wrong.

If an animal in your care gets sick, you can't just give it away because you're scared it's going to die and you don't want to be sad. I have an old dog... I doubt she'll be around too much longer... and I'm going to be devastated when she dies, as I've had her for a decade. However, I'm not going to take her back where I got her just because I don't want to watch her die. And it shouldn't matter how long you've had the animal in your care. Even if these are new hamsters, they are your hamsters, and they are your responsibility. All of our animals will pass eventually, and it's our responsibility to make sure they are provided with the best care until this happens.

I'm a big believer in the idea that once an animal is placed with a family, that should be their "forever home", and that is a really poor excuse for dumping an animal.

[nibbles07]

ok well thats your opinion i took them back and they told me they would do the best they could for them they asked me for details about the hamsters and where going to contact their vet and they will be going bk on sale if they do get better.. i dont think you can really comment about the care of pets at home when you dont live here if they did not look after the animals they would be breaking the law and alot of people would get sacked.. how do i know this? because they told me. if you think my "excuse" is poor then fine so be it but i have had other pets before and still do have a few and i would take the best care of them... i just felt on this occasion i could not... for one i could not get them to take the anti biotics now im sure the vet with dealing with animals before will be able to have a good shot at it... n they said the chances of them living is pretty good b/c they aint as bad as what i thought they were... anyway i dont need anymore of your opinions and how im such a bad owner etc etc. i did what i thought was best and that! the end.

[dbl120902]

Well you shouldn't have pets that you can't provide veterinary care for in the first place, but if they were going to die in your care anyhow then I guess you did the best thing... it's a death sentence either way so I guess it really doesn't matter.

And they're a business. You can't always believe what they tell you. I mean, they're the ones who told you that syrians could be housed together, so why believe them now? A lot of pet stores don't take care of their animals, and although there are laws about that sort of thing, nobody really enforces them.

But none of this matters anymore. I hope the hammies turn out okay. Next time, adopt.

[nibbles07]

i wasnt personally told the could be housed together my friend was... and what was and wasnt said i cannot be sure of because i wasnt there..... the women who apprently said it told her that wasnt what she had said and the manager said he couldnt imagine someone saying that to a customer as its never happened before whilst he's worked there for the 3 years that he has so there was obviously some big misunderstanding to what extactly been said... plus its stated on the cages cannot be housed together and on the reciept..... which my gf was not given! (why i do not know!) I know my facts but unfortunatly b/c i thought this was what had been said to our friend and my gf said to leave even though i pushed to split them (as i didnt think it was right as soon as i heard) some lessons you just have to learn i think the lesson is not to buy hamsters for presents! anyway its all sorted now and they should be fine with the right care.. i just knew i couldnt give it them, i could afford the vets bills btw not a problem i just didnt think they would live plus they werent open when i discovered the 2nd one had it anyway what with it being the day b4 new yrs eve (our vets are funny with holidays) thanks for every1s time.

[daddysgurl9245]

i dont think you can really comment about the care of pets at home when you dont live here

If they aren't as bad as you say, why has everyone I've ever talked to about Pets At Home say they suck? I'm going on what I hear, and I believe that the majority I hear is most likely correct.

And you're right, no animal should ever be bought as a present unless you're prepared to take them and care for them properly.

[dbl120902]

Generally, chain pet stores do suck. I'd even go as far as to say "all", but there might be one or two out there that are okay. So I don't think Pets at Home would be any different.

[nibbles07]

ok well ive said what i wanted to, anyway you've all made your own minds up so theres no point in going on about it.... i finished a day or so ago!

[dbl120902]

Oh, I wasn't trying to be argumentative... that was a lost cause from the start. I was just agreeing with Ashlee and sharing my opinions about the large chain pet stores. ;)

[nibbles07]

ok sure :) thanks anyway no hard feelings!