my hamsters eye

Question
I have had my hamster for 1 year& 2 months. i got him when he was really young from petco. he has had a very good life and has never been sick. I feed him kaytee fiesta mix and give him fresh spring water. i take very good care of him and clean his cage EVERY monday.
In the past month i have noticed that sometimes when he wakes up one of his eyes is closed and has some crusty stuff around it. this has been happening more and more. to night it happend so i cleaned it off with a wet tissue and got it open. i think it is usually the right eye. when it is open it looks clear. he runs and grooms himself every night so im sure he is very healthy. but what do i do about this eye thing?

Answer
Hi Nicole,

    This will sometimes happen in older hamsters. There isn't much else you can do from what you are already doing. I have found that a wet Q-tip works better for getting the crust off. You need to be careful, when cleaning the eye and it is best to go from outside corner to nose. Do not try to pry open the eye with your fingers, as a hamsters eyelids are very delicate and can tear easily.
    A low dust or no dust (like critter care) bedding may help some.
    If you have anymore questions, please write again.

Thank you for writing!