gerbil eye infection

Question
Hi...it's me again..lol.  I am afraid my baby gerbil might have an eye infection.  She is not keeping it open very well and looking very closely...well, as close as I can with her squirming, she looks like she has something on her lower lid.  Maybe just a "crusty"...I don't really know.  I am afraid to try to get it off fearing she might squirm and I might poke her eye out.  Someone recommended sterile water with a teaspoon of boric acid to wash it off 3 times a day.  Is that safe and what I should do?  I am not any of our vets around here do pocket pets so I would like to try and treat whatever this is by myself if possible.

Answer
hello,

i have done a bit of reading and i do get the impression that boric acid seems to be useful although i have to stress to you i am not 100% and have no evidence of this. If you decide to use this method then i would be very cautious and maybe use a smaller amount of boric acid. Bear in mind that there will be a ratio of water to boric acid, you don't want to put a teaspoon of boric acid in a drop of water as it will be too strong, and you wouldn't want to over dilute it as the effect will disappear. You may want to just call a vets and ask them on a phone for a rodent what ratio of water to boric acid acid would be safe to use, just so you know you are not harming your gerbil!!

I hope this is of some use,
Charlie.