Red tail?

[BiffyTheHamster]

Hi! I was just letting Biffy out for an explore, and as I was handling him noticed he had a very red looking end of tail, it looked like it had been injured, maybe chewed?
He is acting VERY energetic and his teeth are long, both of which worry me as he gets out everyday, has a good sized cage, has lots and lots of enrichment (including gnaws), seed clusters to gnaw on etc. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about what could be the issue.

Thanks!

 

[Maz]

Hi. Sorry to hear Biffy's tail is red. It might be infected. He could have just nicked it on something. Can you see any wound or anything? Or it could just be infected all on its own. Whether he chewed it or not, his tooth length wouldn't make a difference really I think as their teeth are sharp whatever length.

However if you do think his teeth have got too long that is an issue as well. How old is he? It's rare for a Syrian's teeth to get overgrown until they reach old age and aren't chewing on hard things much any more.

One way to check is just a simple test - say giving him a monkey nut (peanut in its shell) and see if he can pick it up in his teeth. If he can't open his mouth wide enough to pick up a hard piece of food that size, then his teeth probably are overgrown. It can stop them eating.

Assume his weight is constant? I've only once had a Syrian whose teeth got too long (our first one) and the first thing I noticed was he was losing weight - then I saw he struggled to open his mouth wide enough to pick up a monkey nut. Checked his teeth and sure enough they were too long. He actually had to have them clipped at the vets. After that he could eat properly again and put his weight back on. He was about two years old though.

 

[BiffyTheHamster]

Hi. Sorry to hear Biffy's tail is red. It might be infected. He could have just nicked it on something. Can you see any wound or anything? Or it could just be infected all on its own. Whether he chewed it or not, his tooth length wouldn't make a difference really I think as their teeth are sharp whatever length.

However if you do think his teeth have got too long that is an issue as well. How old is he? It's rare for a Syrian's teeth to get overgrown until they reach old age and aren't chewing on hard things much any more.

One way to check is just a simple test - say giving him a monkey nut (peanut in its shell) and see if he can pick it up in his teeth. If he can't open his mouth wide enough to pick up a hard piece of food that size, then his teeth probably are overgrown. It can stop them eating.

Assume his weight is constant? I've only once had a Syrian whose teeth got too long (our first one) and the first thing I noticed was he was losing weight - then I saw he struggled to open his mouth wide enough to pick up a monkey nut. Checked his teeth and sure enough they were too long. He actually had to have them clipped at the vets. After that he could eat properly again and put his weight back on. He was about two years old though.

Thank so much for your quick reply! I got him late August 2024, but we have a feeling he could be any age as his teeth looked very mature and he didn’t grow at all. I’ll do the monkey nut test, thanks so much. There is a visible wound to his tail, and if his teeth are too long then I may just take him to the vets.

Thanks so much again!

 

[Maz]

You might need to go to the vets anyway if the tail is red and inflamed, in case there is infection. He might need antibiotics to prevent infection getting into the blood stream. Or he might have been chewing his tail because it was painful. If there is a small abscess eg.

Hamsters instinctively try to chew off body parts that are painful sometimes. There are stories of hamsters chewing off their own leg (eg if they got a leg trapped or because they were in pain after injury).

The vet could check his teeth at the same time, although doesn't sound old enough to have overgrown teeth.

 

[BiffyTheHamster]

You might need to go to the vets anyway if the tail is red and inflamed, in case there is infection. He might need antibiotics to prevent infection getting into the blood stream. Or he might have been chewing his tail because it was painful. If there is a small abscess eg.

Hamsters instinctively try to chew off body parts that are painful sometimes. There are stories of hamsters chewing off their own leg (eg if they got a leg trapped or because they were in pain after injury).

The vet could check his teeth at the same time, although doesn't sound old enough to have overgrown teeth.

Thanks so much for your help, he is going to the vets today!

 

[Maz]

Do let us know how you get on