second time my hamsters eye wont open

Question
The eye I cleaned yesterday is closed again today. I used a wet qtip and cleaned his eye yesterday and his eye did open. Today when I checked on him, the same eye is closed and the other eye is starting to close. I used a wet qtip and wiped both eyes but he would turn away from me not wanting to be cleaned. He is three months old and I bought him from the pet store a couple days ago. Is he allergic to the bedding or something in his cage? I use Carefresh Natural Bedding.

Answer
Hi Alicia

Thanks for your question.

Some hamsters get this more than others. It can sometimes indicate illness but some of my hamsters who regularly have a sticky eye are fine. Wiping the area with a warm damp cloth usually helps.

It could be some sort of allergic reaction - you would need to do some detective work to find out if it is.  If you remove his bedding and just give him paper bedding for a week and see if this makes a difference. Unless there is sign of discharge and/or he behaves differently and becomes dull I wouldn't worry too much. But if there are changes in his behaviour then it would be worth getting him checked out.

I hope this helps.

Regards
Sheila