Hamster Eye Surgery- EMERGENCY

Basil_18 · 12-15-2018, 07:43 PM

My 2 month old hamster's name is Chewy. I got her 10 days back and she seemed very healthy and has lots of energy. Last night i played with her and she seemed perfectly fine... But this morning when i went to check on Chewy her eye was budging out of her eye socket and it had dried out and hardened. She was still active and eating and drinking. The eye didn't seem to bother her but i rushed her to the Veterinary clinic. The doctor said that the eye has dried out and the eye cannot be saved so she went in for surgery straight away to remove the eye. The surgery was successful and she came back home fine. But the major issue is that she is wearing a cone around her head so she doesn't scratch the eye. She hates it so much but despite having a cone around her head she is still running on the wheel, making her nest and drinking water. However she can't eat food because her hands can't help her grab the food. What should i do??? I feel like i should remove the cone and hope that she doesn't damage the eye stitches because she really needs to eat. She hasn't eaten all night. Please help me...

cypher · 12-15-2018, 10:13 PM

Really sorry to hear your ham has had to have surgery but really good to hear she came through well.
I haven't actually ever seen anyone mention a ham wearing a cone after surgery, although it obviously serves the same purpose as with other animals given the way in which they eat & pouch it does sound as though it wouldn't work & she would do better without it.
You could phone the vet & ask them but I would be inclined to just remove it.

Basil_18 · 12-15-2018, 11:09 PM

I just got home from the Veterinary clinic and they have removed the cone. Chewy is much more comfortable and she is back to her normal routine... The doctor said that we just have to hope she doesn’t scratch the stitches off. He gave chewy an anti-inflammatory and a painkiller to reduce the chances of irritation in that region so she doesn’t scratch. Apparently there is a hematoid formed behind her eye because she may have injured herself. The doctor during surgery had actually cleaned out the eye and noticed that they might be able to save the eye ... so he pushed it back in and stitched the outside and started chewy on medication to get rid of the hematoid. Once that is gone the stitches will be opened to see if the eye can be saved or not.

cypher · 12-15-2018, 11:16 PM

Good to hear that she's able to eat & get back to her normal routine now.
Hope the eye will be ok, fingers crossed for her?
Did you mean a hematoma btw, not sure what a hematoid is.

buttercuplols · 12-16-2018, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

Good to hear that she's able to eat & get back to her normal routine now.
Hope the eye will be ok, fingers crossed for her?
Did you mean a hematoma btw, not sure what a hematoid is.

Musta been haematoma as bruising makes sense if there was an injury. Haematoid means something is blood-like so unless there was an unknown clot or something then I'm pretty sure you're right. And if it's anything like a person then hopefully the prognosis will be good for little Chewy!

(P.S. I trained as a nurse and worked in a hospital for many years.)

cypher · 12-16-2018, 02:38 AM

Thanks for that buttercuplols.

buttercuplols · 12-16-2018, 08:03 AM

No worries cypher

Basil_18 · 12-17-2018, 08:00 PM

Hey so just as update on chewy’s eye. Since I have been traveling I have people at home as well as friends who have been updating me on how Chewy is doing. Turns out last night she removed the stitches holding her eye shut but surprisingly within 2 days time her eye has opened up to look like any other normal and functioning eye. It is not budging out and chewy seems to be perfectly fine and the least bit bothered. However my house helper was telling me that the skin under her eye is slightly red. I don’t know if that’s because her eye just opened so it is sensitive or it’s leading to an infection. Just to be on the safer side my friend is free tomorrow to take her to the vet to get it checked. Hopefully till then Chewy’s eye stays alright. Thanks for all the help cypher and buttercuplols !

cypher · 12-17-2018, 09:47 PM

That's really good to hear, hope she doesn't have an infection, the redness may just be a post op symptom but if it is an eye infection they do usually respond well to antibiotic eye drops.

Basil_18 · 12-17-2018, 10:54 PM

I called the doctor and he said the redness around the eye may be there because of the remains of the stitches. The thread that was use to stitch the eye has not been removed and so that must be causing some sort of irritation on the skin around the eye. Tomorrow Chewy is going to get those properly removed and her eye cleaned and the area disinfected. I just hope it’s not an infection because I only got her 2 weeks back so she isn’t tamed yet. Giving her medication would be extremely difficult because she is very skittish. And after the surgery and constantly going to the vet and getting an injection she absolutely hates the idea of a human hand. Earlier she was much more friendly and wasn’t as afraid but now she tries to bite because of how things have been the past few days.