# Eyes not open?



## SilverWings (Jan 27, 2016)

Hey guys, so to the reason I joined;

One of my current litters opened their eyes about 3 days ago. They are all now exploring outside the nest on occasion and very bouncy. One, however, only has one eye open and that one seems to squint as if its a struggle to keep it open. I have observed the other eye open a very, very tiny amount but more often than not she just potters round the cage with both eyes closed.

I have seen this a couple of times before but, being feeder mice, as soon as it became apparent there was a problem I just put them down. One was reared to 5 weeks and still her eye would not open (the other eye was perfectly fine though). I wanted to keep the current one as a future breeder though, she's the first chocolate female I've produced.

Any ideas what causes this? Can I do anything? Is it likely to be genetic (in which case I wouldn't breed from this doe), or might there be another reason?


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## PPVallhunds (Jul 26, 2010)

It could be their is something physically wrong with it like the ones you had before who's eyes never opened propperly or it could be she is just a little behind in her development if the other opened theirs 3 days ago. I'd see how she is in a week.


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## SilverWings (Jan 27, 2016)

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on her and see how she goes. I had a peek i today and she opened both eyes when she was startled but I've since seen her foraging with her littermates with both eyes firmly closed...very strange.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I get them sometimes and always suspect an underlying issue to be the cause.Like you I've grown the odd one on because it's special in some way and the stuck together eye/eyes persist.If you suspected that it was a straight forward bacterial infection they can easily be treated with chloramphenicol cream or drops but no good for those affected with a virus and maybe not worth the risk of breeding in http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/ ... leshopping


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## SilverWings (Jan 27, 2016)

Thanks for that, I might give the cream a go, can't hurt I guess? One of the eyes did look ever so slightly crusty but it didn't look like mucus, just like fur that got a little wet. I assumed she did it while grooming. If that doesn't help then I'll very likely not keep her as a breeder.


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