R
RainbowBrite
That sounds lovely! I am looking forward to seeing pictures. 
R
RobbieH
Hey guys I got some pictures of cookie for you guys but I got him out just now and I have noticed one of his eyes is partially closed any ideas as to why this could be? I tried to very gently hold a warm towel on his eye as you can imagine he was not a big fan of this because he was trying to wriggle away even bribing him with broccoli did not help so obviously I stopped trying it looks to me like he has gotten something into his eye that's annoyed it
Apart from his eye he seems completely fine he is speeding around being a little monkey trying to get to all the places in the house he is not allowed to go
Ps. Taking pictures of the little guy is hard lol
Any ideas guys?
Thanks Robbie and Cookie
Apart from his eye he seems completely fine he is speeding around being a little monkey trying to get to all the places in the house he is not allowed to go
Ps. Taking pictures of the little guy is hard lol
Any ideas guys?
Thanks Robbie and Cookie
Last edited by a moderator:
R
RobbieH
Another picture of the little guy running around
- Messages
- 23,213
- Reaction score
- 27,557
- Points
- 1,373
He's gorgeous and looks healthy! Lovely colour and a good size. They quite commonly get a sticky eye when they get older for some reason and I think Cookie is not a young hamster, is that right? Sometimes it just frees itself up again but it's not very nice for them if it lasts longer than overnight.
The easiest thing to do is just gently dab it with saline until it frees up, which it tends to do quite quickly. When I say dab it I don't mean get him soaking wet! So just the corner of a soft cloth (eg a microfibre cloth) or some people use a cotton bud and wring it out so it's only just a tiny bit wet - a bit more than damp. And gently dab it two or three times and it should start to free up.
To do this, if he's a bit wriggly, you might need to swaddle him in a blanket or something - ie wrap it round him and hold him upside down and the blanket will hold his arms and legs in place (maybe not for long!) so he can't wriggle free.
I've had to do it a few times and no they don't like it, but once the eye is freed up they seem so pleased about it that they forgive you straight away!
To make saline you just put a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiling water. But the boiling water is just to dissolve the salt and you then need to let it go cold - which can take a while. It doesn't have to be completely cold - skin temperature is ok, but definitely not hot or too warm.
The easiest thing to do is just gently dab it with saline until it frees up, which it tends to do quite quickly. When I say dab it I don't mean get him soaking wet! So just the corner of a soft cloth (eg a microfibre cloth) or some people use a cotton bud and wring it out so it's only just a tiny bit wet - a bit more than damp. And gently dab it two or three times and it should start to free up.
To do this, if he's a bit wriggly, you might need to swaddle him in a blanket or something - ie wrap it round him and hold him upside down and the blanket will hold his arms and legs in place (maybe not for long!) so he can't wriggle free.
I've had to do it a few times and no they don't like it, but once the eye is freed up they seem so pleased about it that they forgive you straight away!
To make saline you just put a teaspoon of salt in a pint of boiling water. But the boiling water is just to dissolve the salt and you then need to let it go cold - which can take a while. It doesn't have to be completely cold - skin temperature is ok, but definitely not hot or too warm.
R
RobbieH
Thank you so much that's great to hear I will use your advice and tell you how it goes and yeah cookie is coming up too about 2 years old soon I believe so he is definitely and older boy it's always lovely to see him run around at full speed even at his age! Thank you for the compliments I am sure your making the little guy blush haha
Thank you!
Robbie and Cookie
Thank you!
Robbie and Cookie
R
RobbieH
Also! I have only ever had dwarf hamsters before and that was quite some time ago so I was very surprised when cookie got as big as he is lol I had no idea that they could get that big at the time I was worried I got a little dog and not a hamster lol haha
- Messages
- 23,213
- Reaction score
- 27,557
- Points
- 1,373
Lol. I know what you mean. They can vary in size a lot. Some can be quite small - about 120g. Average is about 180g. Our first one grew so big we thought his Father must have been a guinea pig 
. He was 225g and I've had bigger ones than that too!
It also shows he's getting good care and is a healthy weight.
Yes it's usually around age 2 I find that they can start getting a sticky eye. And it's officially old sadly. They can still be very active but you maybe need to keep an eye out in case he starts struggling with climbing. They can start to get arthritis and weaker back legs and try and climb something and not quite make it. So just keep an eye on how he manages in his cage. If he starts to get like that, it can be a time to remove platforms and levels so they don't fall and hurt themselves - but I seem to remember your cage isn't too tall anyway and the level quite low so he should be fine.
Our oldest Syrian lived to 2 years 8 months and he was still quite speedy towards the end if on the flat, even though he looked a bit raggedy and he would still hop in his wheel for about 10 seconds! But he could only manage flat surfaces and level surfaces.
One thing to check at this age also is his teeth. Wait till he yawns and have a look and check his bottom teeth haven't grown too long. You would probably know if they had because he wouldn't be eating properly and would be losing weight quite rapidly.
They can get toothache or arthritic jaw as they get older, so then they avoid eating harder food and then their teeth can get overgrown. But just keep checking he's fine with everything. I'm sure you'll notice if he has any issues.
. He was 225g and I've had bigger ones than that too!It also shows he's getting good care and is a healthy weight.
Yes it's usually around age 2 I find that they can start getting a sticky eye. And it's officially old sadly. They can still be very active but you maybe need to keep an eye out in case he starts struggling with climbing. They can start to get arthritis and weaker back legs and try and climb something and not quite make it. So just keep an eye on how he manages in his cage. If he starts to get like that, it can be a time to remove platforms and levels so they don't fall and hurt themselves - but I seem to remember your cage isn't too tall anyway and the level quite low so he should be fine.
Our oldest Syrian lived to 2 years 8 months and he was still quite speedy towards the end if on the flat, even though he looked a bit raggedy and he would still hop in his wheel for about 10 seconds! But he could only manage flat surfaces and level surfaces.
One thing to check at this age also is his teeth. Wait till he yawns and have a look and check his bottom teeth haven't grown too long. You would probably know if they had because he wouldn't be eating properly and would be losing weight quite rapidly.
They can get toothache or arthritic jaw as they get older, so then they avoid eating harder food and then their teeth can get overgrown. But just keep checking he's fine with everything. I'm sure you'll notice if he has any issues.
M
Member ID2
Lovely to see photos of the handsome Cookie.
One of my boys had the occasional sticky eye when he was around Cookie's age. I was quite alarmed at first but his eye opened by itself once he had had a wash. They spend quite a bit of time cleaning their faces after waking and sometimes that does the trick. If not then you can help by bathing his eye gently as already mentioned.
I know what you mean by a Syrian's size. My first hamster was a tiny Syrian baby who kept outgrowing his wheel and cage. I didn't know that he'd grow into a 230g chunk.
One of my boys had the occasional sticky eye when he was around Cookie's age. I was quite alarmed at first but his eye opened by itself once he had had a wash. They spend quite a bit of time cleaning their faces after waking and sometimes that does the trick. If not then you can help by bathing his eye gently as already mentioned.
I know what you mean by a Syrian's size. My first hamster was a tiny Syrian baby who kept outgrowing his wheel and cage. I didn't know that he'd grow into a 230g chunk.
R
RobbieH
Thank you guys for all the amazing comments I waited one day just to see if he could clean it on his own it does look a bit better but I am gonna do the old saline trick just waiting for it too cool down now wish me luck with the little wriggly monkey lol
Robbie and Cookie
Robbie and Cookie
R
RobbieH
I gently wrapped him in a blanket and he obviously did not like it but I just gently put the saline towel on his eye. Putting it on his eye and then stopping for a little bit to let him calm down after about 10 seconds in total his eye was wide open again! And it was very funny to see that he was uncomfortable but as soon as he realised he could open his eye again he was not even thinking about it anymore lol here is some pictures of the little guy that I took after helping him with his eye.
Robbie and cookie
Robbie and cookie
R
RobbieH
Here he is!
Last edited by a moderator:
R
RobbieH
Sorry still grasping how to get the pictures to not be massive sizes. Lol
R
RainbowBrite
Aw, lovely to see Cookie. I think him realising you were helping him shows how much he trusts you.
R
RobbieH
Thank you guys it's lovely to be apart of a community that loves the little furballs 
Robbie and Cookie
Robbie and Cookie
R
RobbieH
Just wanted to give an update on his eye since helping him with it as far as I have seen so far he has had no problems with it at all!
Robbie and cookie
Robbie and cookie