Do Hamsters Blink?

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If you’ve ever watched your pet hamster for a while, you may have noticed that it doesn’t seem to blink. But when it sleeps, it closes its eyes, clearly showing it has eyelids. So, does your hamster blink when you’re not looking?

Hamsters do blink, as this helps them clean and moisten their eyes. They have a natural lubricant that allows them to go for extended periods without blinking. But their eyes are never closed simultaneously, as they alternate the eyes they close when blinking.

This article will explain how hamsters blink, including how often. It will also discuss different types of hamsters and whether they blink. It will also cover other eye conditions that can affect hamster blinking, so read on for everything you need to know about blinking in hamsters.

How Often Do Hamsters Blink?

Hamsters blink on an as-needed basis to clean and moisten their eyes. Due to a natural lubricant that coats their eyes, they can go much longer than other species, such as humans, between blinks. Every hamster has different requirements for how often it must blink to protect and clean its eyes. 

You’ve probably gotten the impression from your hamster that it doesn’t blink at all and is just staring at you constantly. However, neither of these conclusions is true.

While you can’t easily see them unless they sleep, hamsters have eyelids to clean their eyes. As with humans, hamsters need to blink to keep their eyes clean and reduce the chance of infections. 

The protective lubricant provides a coating of moisture that extends the time they can wait between blinks. By keeping the eyes from drying out between blinks, the hamster will remain comfortable while staying on alert for predators. 

This leads to the belief that hamsters never blink and just stare at their owners.

In reality, they are staring into space to focus better on listening to the environment. It’s a defense mechanism that allows them to listen out for predators while keeping their eyes open to be on full alert. 

Additionally, hamsters don’t see very well, and their range is limited to their direct and immediate line of vision. Anything beyond that is generally blurry to them. So, they keep their eyes open for extended periods to compensate. 

Do Hamsters Blink One Eye at a Time?

Hamsters do blink one eye at a time, in a process referred to as winking. Many believe this is a trait carried over from living in the wild, where they must take every precaution to avoid enemies. This adaptation has carried over into domestic life.

This is why people think that hamsters don’t blink, and because this is a rare occurrence, it’s difficult to catch them even winking. 

The positioning of their eyes also makes it difficult to witness their winking. Because they are on the sides of the head, if the hamster’s slightly angled when one of its eyes blinks, you’ll miss it, adding to the illusion that the animal never blinks.

Additionally, until your hamster’s used to you, it won’t let its guard down and blink around you because it assumes you are a predator due to your size. So, while it’s not staring directly at you, it won’t blink with you anywhere near its cage.

This might feel a bit creepy when you first get a hamster, but as time goes on, you’ll get used to it. 

Do Hamsters Never Blink?

Hamsters blink, but not nearly as often as humans. They blink by alternating eyes and never with both at once. Because of this combination of behaviors, it appears that hamsters never blink. However, like any animal with eyelids, they blink to clean and moisten their eyes.

You’ll never see a hamster blink with both eyes. It will only have both eyes closed when it’s sleeping because in the wild, closing both eyes, even for the brief time it takes to blink, could mean the difference between living and dying. 

Despite domesticity being significantly less hazardous and stressful than living in the wild, this behavior has carried over, most likely due to its small size compared to the world around it. 

Another reason for winking may be the hamster’s inability to see well. They are myopic, meaning they can’t see far. They are also colorblind, with some species seeing in black and white and others being dichromatic. 

They are a lot like other animal species that can only see a few colors, or those colors are muted.

Hamsters are crepuscular, which means they venture out at night, so their vision’s much better in the dark than in the daylight. As a result, you’ll find that your hamster’s much more active when you’re ready for bed than it is all day long.

Do Dwarf Hamsters Blink?

Dwarf hamsters blink the same as all other species of hamsters. However, they use the winking method to close one eye independently of the other. Dwarf hamster owners may be under the impression their pets aren’t blinking due to the length of time between blinks and how quickly a blink can occur.

Do Syrian Hamsters Blink?

Syrian hamsters blink by alternating eyes in the winking method. They can go extended periods between blinks depending on their perceived threat levels. They also blink to moisturize the ocular lens while removing dirt, dust, and debris from it. 

A study published in the American Veterinary Medical Association Journals found that Syrian hamsters blink an average of 1.2-2.4 times per minute. 

Do Teddy Bear Hamsters Blink?

Teddy Bear hamsters do blink. Teddy Bear is just another name for the Syrian hamster, and as such, it blinks using the winking method, which is required to remove contaminants from the eye’s surface, and generate tear film to rewet the eye. 

Common Eye Problems in Hamsters

While blinking might be hard to recognize in your hamster, there’s likely a severe problem when it completely stops. Despite being so tiny, hamsters are still susceptible to significant eye infections and diseases requiring veterinary treatment and sometimes even a specialist’s care.

Each condition has several signs to watch out for. 

Pink Eye or Conjunctivitis

Like humans, hamsters can get pink eye. The symptoms include discharge, swelling, and sticky eyelids. 

There are several causes of conjunctivitis, including:

  • Injuries
  • Dental conditions 
  • Bacteria
  • Environmental irritations

Only a veterinarian can explain the exact cause of the problem while prescribing a remedy. 

Pink eye isn’t a life-threatening condition, but it can impact the hamster’s ability to blink and remove debris from the eye, leaving the door open to further eye problems. 

Entropion or the Eyelid Turning Inward

Mainly a problem for Syrian and dwarf hamsters, entropion is a condition where the eyelid turns inward on your hamster. It can cause a decrease in vision, an increase in tear production, and pain and irritation. 

A veterinarian may prescribe eye drops to manage the condition, but surgery may be required to treat the eye.

Corneal Ulcers Caused by Scratching or Irritation

A scratch or irritation on the cornea can result in a corneal ulcer, which can be very painful for your hamster. There may be discoloration in the eye to give it a cloudy appearance. Additionally, the hamster may favor the eye by keeping it shut or rubbing it. The condition won’t get better on its own and will progressively worsen without veterinary intervention.

Stickiness Preventing the Eyes From Opening

As a hamster gets older, it tends to produce more fluid discharge from its eyes while sleeping, which can result in sticky eyes when it wakes up. If grooming doesn’t loosen the stickiness, you must assist with a moist, warm washcloth to loosen the eyelids. 

Proptosis or Bulging Eye

Hamsters have shallow sockets, which makes them prone to proptosis, or bulging eye. It has many causes, including:

  • Dental disease
  • Inappropriate handling (squishing)
  • Trauma
  • Cancer
  • Glaucoma
  • An abscess behind the eye

It’s critical to see your veterinarian when it’s accompanied by symptoms such as the eye completely coming loose from the socket, loss of appetite, or pawing at the face. Treatments can range from topical eye medications to eye removal in severe cases. 

When your hamster has this condition, it often won’t be able to blink or close its eye due to the protrusion.

Foreign Matter Stuck in the Eye

When foreign materials get into the eye, blinking and tear production should naturally flush them out. However, there may be some cases where you have to assist. You will need a warm sterile saline solution to rinse the eye out. 

Ask your veterinarian what’s safe to use for your hamster.

Additionally, you should never use your fingers to remove anything from your pet’s eye, as this is unsafe. You could get bacteria into its eye or cause additional damage.

Conclusion

Hamsters can be secretive little creatures. While they look like they are always staring you down, they listen intently to their surroundings while gazing into the distance, barely blinking. Their decreased blinking times and winking practices are defense mechanisms to allow them to be on full alert whenever they sense danger’s near. 

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