The hamster's eyes do not open (they become watery and sour)

Symptoms of the disease

Eye diseases in hamsters can be recognized by the following signs:

the hamster's eye is very swollen and does not open;
the eyelid area is always wet and sticks together;
the hamster's eye waters, a purulent fluid of a grayish or yellowish color is constantly secreted, sometimes with blood;
a stye or lump may appear;
inflamed areas become red.

These are clear signs that there is inflammation inside the animal’s small body. This is why a hamster's eyes won't open. A sick pet will behave differently - its activity sharply decreases, it becomes inactive, and sleeps most of the time of the day. During this illness, hamsters may completely refuse to feed and drink.

This may be conjunctivitis, the treatment of which is very complex and lengthy. But often the hamster’s organ of vision turns sour and festers due to other diseases, which are much more difficult to cure. For example, if it’s a cold, the hamster’s eye festers, plus he may sneeze, cough, and wheezing appears in his breathing.

How to deal with this scourge? Our tips and recommendations below will help you with this. But first, we will list the main diseases of the organs of vision in the domestic hamster.

What to do if your hamster's eye is watery?

Identify the problem in time

Examine your client daily.
The four-legged furry has a tiny body; any suspicious change in appearance and behavior can significantly affect his health in the near future. If your hamster's eye is watering, there could be several reasons for this. Often, discharge from the eyes indicates incipient conjunctivitis. This is an inflammatory eye disease, often of an infectious nature. It can easily occur if dust or dirt gets on the mucous membrane. Hamsters are very sensitive to their environment; not cleaning their cage for several days means creating dangerously unsanitary conditions for them. With conjunctivitis, the pet often scratches the sore eye. Your pet's recovery is guaranteed only with immediate treatment.

Isolation and proper nutrition

Before you start treating a hamster's eye, create suitable conditions for the little patient. Move your pet into a separate cage so as not to endanger the health of other hamsters. Choose a hypoallergenic filler for the cage floor - corn or cellulose. You can use large crumpled pieces of paper towels without a pattern as filler.
Wash and disinfect the cage and all your pet's belongings. Clean the cage every day, change the bedding, cleanliness around will help the hamster survive the illness. Wash your hands before handling your hamster.
Eliminate everything sweet and exotic from your pet’s diet. Give your baby more carrots, parsley, and grains. Give your hamster a piece of boiled chicken fillet twice a week. This will help fill the lack of protein in the body.
Move your pet's cage away from drafts and away from direct sunlight. Bright light is harmful to the eyes of hamsters. For the same reason, they do not need to be photographed with flash.
Make sure your pet has access to fresh drinking water. Please note that a sick hamster is often drowsy, inactive, and may refuse food and water.

Self-medication is completely excluded; through ignorance you can harm a fragile creature. But how should you wash your hamster’s eye before seeing a specialist?

Visible dirt and discharge in the area of the hamster's eyes can be carefully washed off with warm saline using a cotton swab or sterile gauze; a separate swab (or cloth) is needed for each eye. If you have to wait for a doctor's appointment, use this time to find more information. Consult experienced hamster owners on thematic forums about the condition of your ward. If you are interested in any advice, you can ask the veterinarian at your appointment.

For help, go to a ratologist

A veterinary veterinarian or rodentologist (this is the more correct name) is a doctor who specializes in helping small pets. Ratologist treats hamsters, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, bunnies and some more exotic fauna. It is this specialist that you need to rush to if your hamster’s eye is watering.

Why is there a need to hurry? For a small hamster, a delay of two or three days can be fatal. On thematic resources there are many sad messages from hamster owners who began to treat a sour eye with improvised means. And two days later they sounded the alarm because their beloved rodent’s diseased eye stopped opening completely. In advanced cases, conjunctivitis can lead to abundant accumulation of pus behind the eyeball; in such situations, emergency surgery must be performed to save the pet’s life.

If there is no ratologist in your city, arrange an online consultation with a specialist for your furry patient. But it is highly desirable that the doctor personally examine the hamster, order tests, and conduct additional examinations. The doctor will prescribe the necessary medications and teach you how to properly put drops into your hamster's eyes and how to apply ointment to irritated eyelids. If necessary, how to give injections to your baby. Remember that the medicine must be instilled into both eyes, because the hamster can transfer bacteria to the mucous membrane of the healthy eye while washing.

Be patient, treating your hamster will not give immediate results. Follow all the doctor’s recommendations and monitor the living conditions and diet of your furry ward. We wish your pets health!

If it doesn't open

Only the attending physician - a veterinarian - can help establish the correct diagnosis. Therefore, if the hamster’s eyes do not open, you urgently need to take your pet and take it for examination.

If for some reason you are currently unable to visit a veterinarian, you will need to do the following:

A hamster whose eyes are sour, inflamed and completely closed should be quarantined, that is, separated from his fellow cagemates.
The animal’s home, as well as all accessories that are in it, must be disinfected (a solution of potassium permanganate or soda solution can be used as an antiseptic).
At home, you can drip a rodent's eye with special Albucid drops, which are sold in any pharmacy. You need to drip every day so that your hamster's inflamed and swollen eyelids fully open.

But before instilling this medicine, you need to treat the inflamed area with saline solution. Soak a cotton swab in the warm solution and drop it onto the inflamed area. In the absence of saline solution, you can use ordinary boiled water. Its temperature should not be higher than room temperature. With suppuration, bleeding and protrusion of the organs of vision in hamsters, the drug “Tsiprovet” helps very well.

Bacterial infections

If you notice that your hamster's eyes are festering, it means that your pet has picked up a bacterial infection. Its common pathogens are spherical and rod-shaped bacteria: staphylococcus, clostridium, E. coli, streptococcus, etc. Once under the eyelid, they begin to actively multiply. To fight them, the body sends protective cells - leukocytes, various enzymes and other substances that destroy the bacterial wall. As a result, pus is formed - a viscous substance containing living and dead bacteria.

There are several bacterial eye diseases. If your hamster's eye is festering, it could be one of the infections discussed below.

Conjunctivitis

The disease is not dangerous if left untreated. The disease in most cases is caused by pathogenic microflora and only occasionally has an allergic origin. First, the animal’s eyes begin to water; at this stage, few are able to recognize the disease. Then more reliable symptoms appear:

The hamster's eye is rotting. Pus is a yellow or greenish mass that collects in the corners of the eye;
the eyelids become inflamed and may swell;
the palpebral slits narrow until the eye closes completely;
the animal becomes apathetic and may lose appetite.

If a hamster's eyes fester, it is important to start treatment on time, since pathogenic flora can spread to the eyelids from the inside and outside, the hair will begin to come out, and the pet will be very uncomfortable. As a result of advanced conjunctivitis, the eyes may close completely, and this is a huge stress for the animal.

Few people know how to treat conjunctivitis in domestic rodents and whether it is possible to use a human first aid kit. Of course, it is better to make an appointment with your veterinarian to get professional advice. But if this is not possible, you will have to care for the fluffy yourself.

Doctors do not recommend smearing the eyes of rodents with tetracycline ointment. It is better to use Albucid drops, drip them three times a day. Treatment of hamsters, depending on the degree of neglect of conjunctivitis, will last from 3 days to 2 weeks.

Important points in treatment and prevention:

A sick hamster should be isolated from healthy individuals if you have several rodents.
Every eye of the animal is treated, even if suppuration is noticed in only one. This is done so that the animal does not transfer the infection from one eye to the other while washing.
During conjunctivitis, it is better to change the litter daily.
Eliminate sweets from the diet for a while, give only grains, nuts and unsweetened vegetables.
To reduce the chance of eye infection, clean the cage frequently. Also make sure that children play with the hamster after washing their hands first.

Conjunctivitis cannot be left untreated; this will lead to the eye not opening at all, or, on the contrary, it may “pop out.”

Blepharitis

Usually a complication of conjunctivitis, with inflammation spreading to the eyelids. They turn red and itch terribly, the hamster rubs its eyes, which is why the hair quickly falls out. If you bring your pet with these symptoms to the veterinarian, he will tell you in detail why the hamster's eye is swollen. The doctor will tell you how to properly treat blepharitis.

Usually, in case of purulent inflammation of the eyelids, the same eye drops are prescribed as for conjunctivitis. In addition, it is recommended to smear the animal’s eyelids with tetracycline ointment. Sanitation and diet are also similar to those for conjunctivitis.

bulging eye

It happens that one eye of a homa becomes larger than the other and seems to stick out a little. If a hamster's eye pops out, this is a consequence of injury (for example, falling from a height) or an advanced infection. Conjunctivitis can spread not only to the eyelids. Bacteria can penetrate into or under the eyeball. There they begin to divide, a lot of pus is formed, which seems to squeeze the eye out.

The situation is very serious, you will not be able to cope with it on your own. The prognosis is also disappointing: in most cases, the animal is prescribed surgery to remove the organ of vision.

“False” eye diseases

Sometimes the reason why a hamster's eyes won't open is due to other illnesses. For example, a severe inflammatory process in one of the cheek pouches. Because of this, the animal's cheek swells and props up the lower eyelid. As a result, the hamster is unable to fully open its eyes.

To help the animal, you should take it to the veterinarian for a cheek cleaning procedure. Eye drops and ointments are not needed at all.

The main condition for maintaining the health of your pet's eyes is cleanliness. Wash the cage often and do not touch the animal with dirty hands. But if your pet has an inflamed eye, treat it with special drops. Do not forget to isolate the sick rodent from a common cage if you have several hamsters, because eye diseases are very contagious.

Redness

You can wash your eyes yourself

If a hamster has one eye closed, but has not festered, but only turned red, at first you can help him on your own. At home, you can make a weak saline solution from boiled water and wash the inflamed organ with it several times a day. Salt as an antiseptic eliminates any pathogenic microflora formed on the mucous membrane. You can also use chamomile infusion or black tea brew as an antiseptic. You need to wash your hamster's inflamed organs of vision at least three times a day.

If such preventive treatment is useless and you have not opened your pet's eyes, you need to take your pet and show it to a veterinarian.

Conjunctivitis

This disease affects not only people, but also animals - the hamster is no exception. Moreover, the treatment of such a disease is quite difficult for domestic hamsters. In some cases, if timely measures are not taken, the animal may simply die.

Conjunctivitis is the initial stage of one of the most serious pathologies in an animal. If a hamster's eye festers and does not open, perhaps some kind of infection or virus has settled inside its body. At an advanced stage, conjunctivitis can cause the development of keratitis, and then it is not far from such a pathology as protrusion of the cornea. What to do in such a situation so as not to trigger the disease?

Therefore, if a hamster’s eye is swollen, very swollen, and its owner does not pay attention to his pet, first the rodent may go blind, then die completely.

The same outcome awaits those pet rodent lovers who do not approach the treatment of their animals competently. Remember that any treatment prescribed independently can result in disastrous consequences for your own household.

With a timely response to an animal's illness, you will never have a question about why the hamster's eye popped out or why it was completely closed and festered.

Signs of eye diseases

How to recognize that your pet has eye problems?

It is advisable to pay attention to the condition of your animal every day so as not to miss the moment of illness.

You need to pay attention when you notice:

wet eyes;
swelling of the eyelids;
discharge of mucus from the eyes;
the hamster cannot open one or both eyes;
hair falls out on the eyelid;
the pupil of the eye turned white.

We suggest you read: How long do hedgehogs live in the wild and what do they eat?
In older individuals, the pupil may become cloudy, and other signs can occur in a rodent of any age; they are often symptoms of a disease.

All eye diseases can be divided into those that were formed as a result of injury and those that were caused by trauma. that arose as a result of infectious diseases.

Blepharitis

This disease may be a consequence of advanced conjunctivitis. In this case, the inflamed eyelid sticks together, and the inflammatory process spreads deeper and deeper inside. At an advanced stage, both organs of vision may be closed. This disease is accompanied by redness and swelling of the eyelids.

What to do in this case? This disease can be treated if you consult a veterinarian in time. Often the treatment regimen is identical to the treatment regimen for conjunctivitis. Often, special eye drops are used in the treatment of this disease, for example Tsiprovet or Floxal, as well as additionally tetracycline ointment.

With this disease, the hamster should be put on a diet and the cage should be disinfected.

Bulging eyes

This is more likely not a disease, but a consequence of injury to the eyeball, which has a bad effect on the general condition of the animal. A hamster can damage its eyes both in the fight against other rodents for survival and from dangerous objects contained in the cage - wood chips, sawdust, wire, etc.

As a result of injury, the invading pathogenic bacteria begins to rapidly multiply, penetrating even under the eyeball itself. Such a pet will most likely face surgery to remove the damaged organ. Otherwise, the bacterial infection can develop further, affecting the entire body. Then the rodent can no longer be saved.

Belmo

A separate case, although not uncommon, is when a hamster has a white spot on its eye. Veterinarians call this pathology a thorn. The main reason that a hamster's eye turns white is trauma, in some cases cataracts.

It also happens that a hamster has a white spot on his eye that completely covers the entire eye. Homkin's white eyes need to be examined by a veterinarian to determine whether it is an injury or indeed a cataract. But neither one nor the other is an infectious disease, so it cannot be treated with any drops or ointments. Your pet will continue to live, but with the resulting defect.

Main causes of eye diseases

Among all the causes of eye diseases in hamsters, several of the most common can be identified:

Unsanitary conditions of detention . The leading cause in the incidence of infectious eye diseases in hamsters. Rarely changing litter can provoke the development of infections. Notice with what pleasure the hamster loves to burrow into the grass. If it has been in a cage for a long time, all the parasites and bacteria in it are transmitted to the animal.
Allergic reaction of the body . Household chemicals or feeding your pet exotic treats can result in watery eyes.

Injuries . A hamster can get injured out of the blue, literally without leaving the house. For example, pricking yourself on a sharp piece of bedding.
Poor immunity . Conjunctivitis can accompany various viral diseases and pneumonia.
Age-related changes . In this case, white spots form on the cornea.

Important! If you want to preserve your pet’s vision for as long as possible and minimize the risks of possible eye diseases, you should not feed him sweets.

Eye pseudo-diseases

Monitor your hamster's immunity

Often the cause of eye inflammation in a domestic hamster can be another disease. This phenomenon is possible if the rodent’s cheek pouches become inflamed. As a result, the animal's eye hurts, waters, and the lower eyelid swells. After some time, the eye can be observed to stick together and increase in size.

In such a situation, you need to do the following - seek help from a veterinarian. There is such a procedure as cleaning the cheeks. It will not only ease your pet’s suffering, but also relieve such consequences as redness, swelling, inflammation and suppuration of the eyes.

Symptoms of the disease

The most important symptom of diseases of the visual organ of all hamsters is the appearance of cloudy white or grayish discharge from the eye. In this case, the eyelids of rodents are stuck together, wet, half-open, or close the eye completely. Your pet refuses food, and sometimes even water, runs very little, and spends a lot of time sleeping. Knowing that furry rodents often carry infections into the eyes, their owners are haunted by questions related to the eye health of their charges:

Why doesn't my animal's eyes open? The reason for this may be an ordinary draft. Have you decided to ventilate your apartment without protecting your pet from cold air and dampness? So you end up with a problem with your pet’s eyes. Hamsters have a hard time withstanding dampness and wind. The second most common cause is eye injury; if the injury is accompanied by active scratching of the rodent's organ of vision, then most likely your pet has unilateral conjunctivitis.

Let's highlight the main reasons why a hamster does not open its eyes:

allergic reaction to both food products and surrounding objects (litter, dust, tree bark, tree branches);
acute conjunctivitis;
some serious internal disease of the animal;
advanced age of the hamster.

What to do if a rodent's eye turns sour or festeres.

Suppuration of the eyes in hamsters occurs due to the fact that microorganisms enter the mucous membrane, causing all kinds of pathologies (diseases) of the eye.

With an infectious disease - conjunctivitis, the animal's eyelids stick together, the animal opens its eyes with difficulty, and often rubs its muzzle with its paws. The hamster eats without appetite, and sometimes even refuses to eat, spends a lot of time sleeping, and tries to hide from the light.

Sometimes there are cases: violations of asymmetry on the muzzle or protrusion of the eyeball outward; if the eye is injured, it can simply fall out. Eye loss is called eyeball prolapse. This disease occurs with suppuration, and if not treated in a timely manner, the animal can not only lose its visual organ, but also die.

Treatment of diseases

After the examination and identification of the disease, the veterinarian prescribes treatment for his “little patient,” which consists of several stages:

if a hamster’s eye festers, this is a sign of a bacterial infection that needs to be destroyed;
saving the eyeball, if possible;
reduce the risk of further damage to the organ of vision;
numb the painful area;
and only at the very end the specialist begins to treat the underlying disease that caused inflammation of the visual organs (glaucoma, dental disease, injury, etc.).

Diet restrictions

Consider one more point: the immunity of a sick rodent, like that of any pet, weakens during illness. Therefore, special attention should be paid to nutrition here. You can feed the animal only approved products. You should also exclude some permitted treats from your diet so as not to aggravate the course of the disease.

Dietary treatment consists of cereals, a small portion of animal protein. The animal's water needs to be changed several times a day.

If within a few days you have not noticed an improvement in the condition of your sick pet, you have no other choice but to take him to the veterinarian.

Contagious diseases in hamsters

These include bacterial and viral infections, parasites (external and internal), and fungal diseases. Such problems occur in rodents much less often than non-communicable diseases. The infection can be transmitted by other rodents, humans, parasites, food and bedding (hay).

Some infections are very dangerous and lead to the death of the animal in 1-2 days, others can be transmitted to humans. Having little idea of what hamsters suffer from, owners usually begin to worry if the hamster bites someone in the household. Whether it is worth worrying is a controversial issue: rabies vaccinations are not given after a rodent bite, but the wound must be treated with an antiseptic and remember about other diseases.

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis

Such problems are usually caused by improper feeding and management of animals. If the temperature regime is violated, the hamster faces sun/heatstroke, or the other extreme - hypothermia.

An unsuitable cage or wheel and walking around the apartment cause injuries. Shared housing leads to wounds and abscesses if the animals fight.

Preventive measures

Agree, it is better to prevent any disease in domestic hamsters than to treat it later. And for this you need to create the necessary conditions for your pet. Considering the causes of such diseases, caring owners should:

Use cage mats specifically designed for hamsters. Such material should not contain piercing or cutting objects, as well as a lot of dust.
You should not keep a large number of rodents in one cage. They can injure each other, which will result in various diseases, including eye diseases.
Genetically predisposed individuals must be immediately excluded from the general “herd.” Such hamsters can be a carrier of an infection from birth, transmitted to them from their mother or father.
During the keeping process, the cage with rodents must be placed in a bright place, but protected from the sun. Direct exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet radiation negatively affects the health of pets.
Regular examination of animals will help you at an early stage to identify not only carriers of diseases, but also to prevent the development of an already established disease in hamsters.