my hamster wont open his eye

Question
Hi Sheila,
I got home from school today and my hamster Nibbles eye wouldn't open. This has never happened before and I'm very worried about him.He is squeaking and not acting himself. I cant bring him to the vet. And as you can tell by his name he does sometimes bite.Please please help I'm soooo worried.I hope you can help soon.Thank you,Aoife.

Answer
Hi Aoife

thanks for your question.

firstly, how old is he?  When you say that he is not acting himself - what do you mean by this?

Sticky eyes is common in hamsters.  It is important that they open their eyes daily, so if he can't then you need to do it for him.  Gently wipe his eye area with a clean damp cloth and see if this helps.  sometimes the eys get a bit crusty and you might need to apply a cloth a couple of times.  As he is prone to biting, you might want to wear a glove doing this - but if his eyes are shut because of this then he shouldn't be in any pain and therefore shouldn't be any more aggressive than usual.

Hamsters have glands that produce a reddish fluid that keeps their eyes lubricated.  Sometimes their eyes just get stuck shut, but if they have a compromised immune system then they tend to produce more of this fluid, so constantly sticky eyes can sometimes mean that there is a medical problem brewing.

Is he eating/drinking as normal?  Is he coming out to play?  How old is he? What makes you think that he is not his usual self?  if you want to get back to me with some more details perhaps I can offer some more advice.

Regards
Sheila