Red-Eyed Hamster – How to Care?

What is a Red-Eye Hamster? What are the characteristics and care of a red-eyed hamster? Health notes when caring for a red-eyed hamster for anyone looking to adopt this type of hamster.

What is a Red-Eye Hamster?

Red-Eyed Hamsters or white albino hamsters, whose eyes are red or slightly pink, cause mixed and conflicting emotions in people. But, despite the strange and even scary appearance, the red-eyed hamster, except for the appearance, is almost no different from the other brothers.

Is the Red-Eye Hamster a separate breed?

Some opinions that hamsters with snow-white fur and red eyes belong to a separate breed are false. After all, albino are found among the Hungarians and among the representatives of the Syrian breed.

It is quite difficult to see albino hamsters in the natural environment, because of their pale fur, the animals are not adapted to survive and often become victims of predators.

To create rodents with white color, breeders took several years of hard work, and such experiments did not always end successfully. The first white hamsters, artificially raised, showed no difference in good health and longevity. In addition, albinos are aggressive and often bite their owners when trying to pick them up.

Finally, after a long breeding process, scientists have found hamsters with white fur, no serious health problems and friendly, peaceful natures.

Miniature rodents with snow-white fur and bright red eyes are rare even now, that's why breeders are especially appreciated and loved by fans. unusual pets.

Why do hamsters have red eyes?

If we talk about albino hamsters, then the red or pink eye color of these animals is considered normal and is due to the lack of the pigment melanin, which is responsible for the color of the fur and iris. In rodents whose bodies do not produce melanin, the hair is colorless and therefore snow-white, and the eyes are bright red, because their skin is transparent and through which the vessels can be seen. blood.

However, if it is not an albino mouse, and their eyes are still red, this is unusual. Why are red-eyed rats considered abnormal? Why does this happen and what treatments can be used to help hamsters?

What causes red eyes in hamsters?

1. Blindness

Red eyes are characteristic of rodents with congenital or acquired blindness. Identifying a hamster that has been blind since birth is easy: the baby barely moves, doesn't respond to movement, and doesn't play with its fellow humans.

A healthy animal can go blind from an eye injury or infection. If owners notice their pet's iris is red and oozing pus from it, you should contact your veterinarian and not start to develop an illness, which can lead to total blindness.

2. Dust irritation

The cause of the redness may be due to dust getting into the rodent's eyes. This usually happens when the hamster is allowed to roam freely in the apartment. In this case, you need to wash your pet's eyes with a solution of potassium permanganate or a decoction of chamomile.

3. Infection

Alternatively, a hamster's red eyes can be caused by an infection. Especially this often happens if the owner forgets to change the litter in the rodent cage and does not perform general cleaning in it. A frivolous attitude to the health of a pet can provoke the development of conjunctivitis in it, and then it will require complex long-term treatment.

In case the animal has red eyes and pus, you should not self-medicate your pet. Especially don't let the hamster's eyes drip that is intended for humans. Only a qualified therapist can prescribe appropriate treatment and help your pet cope with illness.

Common health problems with red-eyed hamsters

Regardless of the breed of white and red-eyed hamster, they are susceptible to eye and skin diseases. Albinos are more likely to get cancer than rodents with normal coat color. In addition, white animals can form sores or papillomas on the skin.

The eyes of people with albinism are very sensitive, especially to sunlight. Therefore, it is advisable to place cages with small animals there, where there is no direct sunlight.

You can not come into contact with unusual and stressful animals. Scientists have found that albino animals suffer from more stressful and fearful situations than their normal coat color counterparts.

It is quite difficult to give an exact answer to the question of how long hamsters live, with their white fur and red eyes. It is believed that the lifespan of these animals is about 2-3 years, provided they are properly cared for.

Instructions for taking care of a red-eyed hamster

Caring for a snow-white hamster is almost no different than caring for the rest of the rodents. But there are some features of their content that need to be considered in order to make the pet feel calm and comfortable:

Animals with white fur do not like to live with other hamsters, so you should keep them in a separate cage. This is especially true of miniature albino forests, which are often aggressive towards the rest of the rodents.

Owners will have to regularly change litter in their pets' homes to prevent infections in their pets' sensitive eyes.

Cell size is also important when rearing these unusual animals. The cage should be spacious and equipped with running wheels, racks on different floors and swings.

Snow-white rodents like deserted places where they can hide from people. For example, the Syrian albino hamster needs a home where it spends most of the day hiding from light and sun.

It is impossible to bathe hamsters with snow-white fur. That their fur coats look groomed enough to put in a special sand bath.

These animals are very shy, so you need to protect them from loud noises and sounds.

It doesn't matter what breed you have, a white hamster or a white bear hamster, the most important thing is that you give enough time and attention to your unusual pet, because each They all need the love and care of their owners.