I am a boarding student and left my hamster with my parents. When I got home today I found my hamster suddenly like this—at first I thought its eyes were gone, but the eyes can still open a little and a cotton swab can’t wipe it off; runny diarrhea is stuck to its rear and its weight dropped a lot, visibly very thin and severe. How should I handle this?

Based on your description, the hamster shows symptoms such as eyes that will not open, increased discharge, diarrhea, and noticeable weight loss, which may indicate a digestive disease, and most seriously wet tail. This is often caused by poor daily care; an environment that is not properly disinfected breeds bacteria, leading an immunocompromised hamster to develop a secondary wet-tail infection. Because this disease is fatal for hamsters, if possible seek veterinary care promptly—give oxygen and symptomatic treatment right away to stop the condition from worsening.

First, keep the hamster warm to avoid hypothermia and shock, then prepare glucose water and a syringe and give 1–2 ml of glucose water every half hour for energy, and use probiotics, anti-diarrhea medicine, and antibiotics for gut treatment. Once the hamster survives the critical period, adjust its diet and clean its environment, checking its food to ensure balanced nutrition.