Possible Conjunctivitis?

Peyton · 05-09-2015, 06:37 PM

My hybrid dwarf hamster had been itching his eye a little more than usual for the past few days, which I noticed, but there was nothing else wrong. However today he woke up about thirty minutes ago and his eye is wet around it and slightly pink and puffy.
My hamster, Clyde, had a brother who passed away in October. His brother had conjunctivitis a month before he passed away and it went away just a week before his passing, so I don't think that's why he died. The vet gave me an animal eye drop solution which we used once or twice a day. Like I said, it went away completely.
It's 9:34 at night right now and tomorrow is Sunday and my family has plans so we couldn't take him to the vet. Is there anything I can do in the meantime to clean his eye? I've read online to use warm water and a cotton ball. Is saline solution safe? Is there anything else I should do?
Thank you!

Teddy001 · 05-09-2015, 08:35 PM

I'm not sure what home remedy would be helpful for your hamsters eye- the only recommendations would be to get his eye checked by a vet, and proper medicine from the vet, since it looks swollen and red, maybe infection.

My hamster has had Sticky eye, which is when the eye gets stuck shut- with sticky eye, I boil water, let it cool, then clean the eye with a cotton ball.

racinghamster · 05-10-2015, 12:29 AM

Hi Peyton. He may have an irritation which gentle wiping with warm water and a cotton pad will help clean and help with the itchiness. Having an itch can be annoying and if the itch response isn`t dealt with, the redness you see could be the result of him scratching at it constantly. There may be an irritant that has caused this like fine dust or something actually in his eye that could be annoying him.

Do you see any small cysts or anything other than redness? It`s possible that the eyelid is irritated and not the eye itself, but if the behaviour continues or worsens, I would get to your vet for a proper diagnosis and any medication required, but try wetting a cotton pad with boiled, cooled water in the meantime and see if this helps ease things. x