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[LindyLu]

Last weekend I moved my female into the same cage as my male. They had been side-by-side for 3 months and getting along well at playtime. The first day or 2, he was really interested in mating, but she wasn't all that interested.
Then I started noticing his left eyes squinting....now, a week later, it's basically sealed shut. His right eye looks fine. And he's eating/drinking/pooping/gaining weight NORMAL. He seems happy & playful as usual.
I can only assume in her attempts to keep him from mating she must have scratched his eye and now it's basically "swollen shut" (although it doesn't appear to be puffy or red....just shut).

Is this common?
Should I leave him alone and allow it to heal on it's own?
Do I need to clean it & put some eye drops? (I did this last night)
Or do you think I need to have him see a vet about it?

[LindyLu]

Hmm... nevermind. It seems he has opened it back up this afternoon and it looks fine. There is a small amount of white goop, but otherwise it looks perfect. Weird.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes any kind of little scratch or fleck of dust can irritate the eyes.
I would flush it with saline, or some kind of eye drop. If it gets worse you may need a prescription drop.
Even wipe the eye with a handy wipe to keep it clean.

[chinclub]

You might try some Lipton Tea bags.  Make a cup of tea just as the directions say.  Let it cool until it is comfortably warm.  Dip a cotton ball in the tea and try to hold it over the eye for 5 mins.  ( I know getting a chinchilla to sit still for that long can be tough)   Do this several times throughout the day.

[flynhawaiian]

I noticed they get some dust particles in their eyes.  Watch them after they take a bath, it is usually in a corner.

[LindyLu]

Thanks everyone. This chin has clogged tear ducts as well... so I'm not that surprised. I've been using some drops the vet gave me, and he seems to be doing much better.
Now I've noticed their roles have reversed....instead of him chasing her around all the time...SHE is chasing him! They're really cute together though. 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Well if the tear duct is blocked you will always notice eye irritations. They have no tears for natural flushing.
I have used True Tears & plain saline with the 2 I have had with blocked tear ducts.