I need some advice...
My precious Jean Claude, almost 1 year old dwarf hamster, has some sort of problem with his eye. It appeared a day or two ago, suddenly.
It appears inflamed, definitely swollen and red. It seems to be bothering him, not sure if it's painful but he's been scratching and rubbing at it, and definitely doesn't have vision out of that eye anymore.
Someone have advice for my poor little Jean Claude, (besides to just take him to an expensive vet), or any idea what the problem is? I know it could be an infection or maybe he hurt himself.
Location: Yorkshire, UK but my heart lies in Scotland!
Posts: 28,192
Re: Hamster with Red/Irritated Eye Problem??
He absolutely must see the vet I'm afraid. It could be an injury to the eye or an infection and these are really very painful. It does look very swollen and it could rupture which is very nasty
I do hope you can get him seen soon. The vet will likely give either eye drops or gel which will need applied 2 or 3 times a day. There is advice how to do this at the top of the healthcare forum.
unfortunately like souffle said it is extrmely unlikely it will get better without intervention by a vet. without a vet itll likely get worse.make sure he in a environment that has as little dust as possible and remove sharp objects in his cage.
but really the best hope is a vet
__________________
PASTA AND PANCAKE ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD!
Definitely a vet. Even a vet without much hamster experience (if you can't find an experienced vet) should be able to prescribe some type of antibiotic eye drops and pain relief if necessary.
A vet shouldn`t be expensive. Depending on where you live, ring round a few locally and ask what they charge for a hamster consultation and probable treatment just to get an idea of the costings. Although I agree with everyone else in saying that taking him to see a vet to at least find out what`s wrong and whether it`s a case of an eye gel/drops or whether it`s a problem with the eyelids and not the actual eye (like blepharitis). I can only see the swelling from your image but whether it`s inflammation around the eye or both that and the eye itself is difficult to say. Mixing up some saline (one pint of boiled COOLED water and add a Teaspoonful of salt while the water is really hot. Let it dissolve in the water until cool. Use this to gently wipe the eye lid with a clean cotton ball or pad from the front to the back. Saline (salty water) is gentle, but be aware that this isn`t a cure, it`s only sufficient for keeping the area clean and try to make sure any bottles or dishes you use for the saline are first washed in boiled water to clean them. Where the eyes are concerned, germs need to be kept to a minimum.