dwarf hamster advice

[hearthammies]

Hey everyone - I'm new and just wanted general feedback on my poor Campbell's dwarf hamster, Cadence.

Here is some information about her:
I've had her since July (she was so tiny when I got her from Petco (tsk tsk). I wasn't going to buy her from there, but she was getting beat up by the bigger dwarf hamsters and had a tiny scratch on her nose. That healed up fine after a couple of days. She's such a sweetheart too, so I can't say I regret getting her.

Yesterday I went to check on her and found her asleep. I usually don't wake her when she naps, but her left eye looked strange, oddly irritated and red. She wouldn't open it at all! I was scared, so I looked up hamster illnesses on this site
and have been following the instructions for "Irritated eye". I also cleaned her cage again just to be sure. I don't know what could have caused it though. Strangers rarely hold her, and I always make sure my hands are washed before I hold her. She may have scratched herself.

She acts normal, into everything, and I haven't noticed any irregularities in her nightly activity at all. The warm water helped a little bit, and at first I used regular eye drops (Cleareyes for Redness) because that was all I had on hand. It would work a little bit for awhile, but eventually she'd nap or something and the eye would close back up. Today it's looking better, though this morning it took awhile for her to open it even a little bit. I went out and bought a store-brand saline solution, which seems to have gotten rid of the redness. Her eye is still a bit more closed than the other, but it is looking much better, and generally open. She's still active as anything.

Sorry for the long post, I was curious if anyone else had this problem before and if they solved it in another way. I'm going to give her another drop of the saline solution when she wakes up for the evening.

Thanks!

[rodentz]

if your really worried about her she should see a vet, they know best!!

[hearthammies]

I would, but I really don't have any money right now and there aren't many vets near me. The ones that are available have refused to take her as a patient (they're mostly cat/dog vets, I guess). I'm a poor college student without any outside help, and all I have to my name is whatever comes to me through loans.

She's doing well now with the new saline solution, so I'll keep everyone updated.

Thanks for your reply!

[mulder]

what kind of bedding do you use? it might be a wood bit. but yeah,a vets a good iea, the eye is so close to the brain....

[Kendalle]

it could have been dust that irritated it, sence its not in the other eye its probably not an actual illness. and if you rinsed it and it was better in a day or two i wouldnt personally worry much about it. im sure you get things in your eye periotically and wash it out and it feels better but stays red for a little bit and goes away in a day or to. another thing other than bedding it could have been one of her hairs, or dust from her food. id keep a close eye on it and keep rinsing it for a day or two more

[hearthammies]

I use white Carefresh bedding. I almost got aspen, but that's what they had in the pet shop, and I noticed that she had a real tough time burrowing because she was very tiny (I'm guessing on that one). She likes the Carefresh a lot.

I'm thinking she scratched her eye. Her nails did get a bit longer since I've had her, but I'm too nervous to cut them myself. She's so little!

an old one:


I don't feed her baby carrots anymore because someone who owned a dwarf said that they can get diabetes easily

[mulder]

awww she's a cutie! i hope her eye gets better!!

[Kendalle]

you could line her wheel with a very fine grit sand paper every once and a while so when she runs she wears them down

[rockman0]

i'm glad to hear that everything's going fine. you have a cute hamster.