Old dwarf hamster eye ...

[Rbmckinlay1]

Hi guys,

My dwarf hamster pixie has been with me since May 2017 so she is a pretty senior lady these days. She doesn't get up for long anymore and hasn't used her wheel the last few months, tonight I caught her awake briefly and noticed her eye is looking swollen and bloody. There's no crust, no puss and she was happy to be in my hands and was cleaning herself and eating treats despite a pretty awful looking eye.
My first instinct is of course to take her to a vet, but for her age and routine, considering she doesn't appear to be in pain, I feel this could be more stressful and detrimental to her than just leaving her be for the time being.
She is on megazorb bedding so doubtful she has anything stuck in the eye causing irritation.

What are your opinions? It's almost 10pm so no availability of a vet tonight anyway but could potentially take her tomorrow evening if needed?

Thanks for any advice,
Roisin

[cypher]

I would bath the eye with saline if you can, if it's bloody it sounds as though she may possibly have scratched it, are her nails long at all?
If it's not that then it may be an infection of some kind & probably quite painful (they are very good at hiding signs of pain) so it might be better to take her to the vet.

[Rbmckinlay1]

Thanks for the reply, currently in the vets waiting room. This little lady is not happy with me for waking her but better safe than sorry.