eye problem

Question
Hi Sheila.  I have a gorgeous, active, wonderful little two year old siberian hamster (I think it is at least - small, white in winter) She has recently had a sore looking eye.  She let me look at today, and I thought at first it looked like there was a piece of wood chip in it, and i tried to gently wipe it out with a tissue, but upon closer inspection, it appears that it is some kind of pink lump or something, about te size of a pin head (the plastic ball pin head cut in half sort of thing).  Her behavior seems normal, but we are quite concerned.  Any idea what this could be?  If you want, I *might* be abe to get a close up picture of it....  Thanks !!!

Answer
Hi Jason

It is difficult to know what is wrong with your hamster's eye.  It might be a case of monitoring the situation over the next week to see if anything changes - if it does and it gets worse, then I suggest you get her to a vet straightaway.

Hamsters can injure their eyes because they are so prominent.  Is there any discharge coming from the eye?  Does the eye look cloudy?  Is the lump attached to her eyelid or is it actually on the eye?  

I would suggest you gently wash the area in warm water and as I said previously, monitor the situation.  If the area around her eye starts to look sore, or if she is scratching and clearly in distress with it, then it would be best to get her to a vet. Depending on what they find, they might need to prescribe eye drops to help this heal.

Good luck with this.

Regards