hamster eye disease or injury

Question
Hi Charlotte Louise,
I hope you can help! My family and I left our healthy albino hamster in the care of another family while we were on vacation for a week. When we picked him up, one of his (red) eyes was noticeably smaller than the other eye. He is not acting any differently than usual, still eating normally, is very social etc. but we are worried. We know that the best bedding is Aspen and not Cedar or Pine shavings, so it's not the bedding he's reacting to...What's the best way to handle this? Maybe put a warm wash cloth on it if it's an infection? We only got him about 9 months ago from a pet store when he was 6 weeks or so old, so he's not an old man yet!

Thanks so much for any advice,
Raquel

Answer
Hello Raquel,

Does it look sore, or just a lot smaller?

I know from experience that as a result of stress the eyes can become smaller, or even stay closed until the stress is over. If the hamster has been at somebody elses house the chances are it could be the stress of being moved. Normally this should fix itself within a couple of days, if not then he may need some special eye drops prescribed by the vets to help it fix it.

I suggest you keep an eye on it for a couple of days, and see if it starts to improve, if not and it is the same or worsened i would recommend seeing a vet as it will most likely be something that needs treating. For now though, i would leave it be and observe!!

I hope that this helps you, and don't hesitate to ask me anymore questions!

Thanks,
Charlie.