Help! My hamsters eyes are closed and have dried blood around them, today he clawed at his nose too! Why?

My hamster has two cages connected to eachother by tubes so I only clean his cage once a month and I've had him for a year and three months now. I've always done it this way. He's a chinese dwarf. The other day I found his eyes were sealed and I wasn't sure what to do so I confined him to one cage and cleaned it; but today he clawed at his nose too. He's always been the sweetest thing but today he nipped me! Also he's gone through half a water bottle in one day, but he won't eat. Actually he seems to have his food confused with his bedding. I'm taking him to the vet monday, but I really wish I had something to comfort me right now. One of his eyes open an hour ago but it seems cloudy and the crust is still around it. I thought it might be infected, but the crust is clearly a red color like dried blood. I really hope he isn't dying :[

he could have some kind of worm or virus in his body, make sure the vet sees him asap if you want him to live, he/she will know. but for the meantime, try giving him some bread with milk, this usually always helps because they love it! And just an F.Y.I dwarf hamsters and any hamster needs their cage cleaned once a week atleast, so there might be some fleas, or mites, or insect/ bacteria in his cage that could be affecting him, so i would do a thorough clean of his cage, feed him some bread dipped in milk, and start cleaning his cage once a week. also make sure you clean out the tubes well, because they like to pee in them and if they are not cleaned then that creates amonia and bacteria. also, the reason he might have bitten you today is because, if he is not feeling very well he doesn't want to be disdurbed a lot, i wouldn't hold him a lot, but i would hold him to make sure he is eating, drinking and to check his eyes. Also, go over his whole body and see if there is anything else wrong with him, cuts, bruises, tumors, swelling. if you need my help, just e-mail me, and if you can e-mail me some pics that would help. I am more than welcome to help you save this little guys life!

He probably isn't dying so don't worry. What you need to do is get a towel and wet it with warm water and clean around his eyes. Make sure he is warm and if you see him scratching his eyes stop him.

You definitely need to clean the cage out once a week. It may not appear dirty, but when your hamster poops, there is a lot of bacteria in the poop. This bacteria can grow in the cage and cause your hamster such things as respiratory infections and whatnot.

I don't have a hamster, but I do have 2 pet rats. I've read that rats' saliva and mucus have a reddish tint to it, so it may be secretions from the eyes (such as tears or mucus) instead of blood. When Oliver (one of my rats) had a respiratory infection, it made his nose look bloody, but it was just runny. I took him to the vet, got him some drops, and he was fine within a couple of days. If your hamster bit at you, it's probably because he couldn't see what was approaching him, and he got spooked. :)

Just take a warm wash cloth and wipe the crust away and see if he's able to open his eyes. :)

We have several hamsters, and have seen a lot of sickness, it sounds like he is sick, because hamsters usually do not bite if they are tame, unless they are hurting. Our hamsters upon waking, will always have crusty eyes, it may not be anything. However, I would take him to the vet because I have never seen red colors like blood around the eyes, and the fact that he's so thirsty. Also, have seen sick hamsters bring their food to their beds, so that they have easier access to it . Good luck at the vet! Hope he's okay!