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Arnolds Eye looks sore!

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MommaPiggy

MommaPiggy

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I haven't been around for a while and I'm sad to return with a problem. :(

I noticed the other day that Arnolds eye seemed to be sagging. He seemed fine, so I just left him and watched over him. A few days passed and his eye began to go red at the bottom on in the bottom corner of his eye, it looks like the gland is swollen.
I think that's a gland, at least. It's better if you see for yourselves.

His left eye: "Normal"
DSCF0296.jpg


His Right Eye "Sore"
DSCF0301.jpg


You can see the difference.
My brother came over and looked at him for me and we both found that it really didn't seem to cause him any pain or noticeable discomfort. But all the same.
What is it?
My brother said he'll drive me to see his vet on Saturday if need be. His vets specialise is small animals.

I need your opinion.
What do I do? Does anyone know what this is?
 
awwww hopefully someone will be on with suggestions soon, does look like he needs vets to me though id guess at an eye infection but I'm useless.... hope he gets better soon though he is adorable
 
I'm afraid I have no idea either but wanted to wish you luck. Hope you can find out and get it treated soon. I agree with debbie ann - Arnold's a gorgeous looking piggy!
 
Maybe he has debris in his eye, possibly from hay. A small bit of hay could be lodged in the membrane causing the swelling. Poor wee man. Hope he gets better soon..
 
I'm thinking the same as Angie babes (Farquhar) at the moment, such eye problems can be caused by something stuck in the tissues under the eyelid. That's the first thing I'd check for.

There is a chance it could be an infection but what would the cause of that be? Often a foreign body having been in the tissues as some point or something still stuck in there. Treatment for an infection would generally be chloramphenicol-based eye drops or Fucithalmic (fusidic acid) eye drops.

Along with the swelling underneath the eye, I also notice the small lump in the inner corner of that eye. I've had a couple of pigs with this; one pig just has very fatty tissues under the eyelids and on occasion, a small lump like the one in the photo appears then disappears of it's own accord. Pig is completely unbothered by it. The other pig, who is no longer around, he was diagnosed with "cherry" eye; he had this lump in the inner corner of his eye for many months before I took him to the vets; I only took him when the lump finally started to interfere with the draining of fluids from the inner corner of the eye, he was otherwise completely unbothered about the lump being there. He had surgery to remove the lump and his eye was back to normal.

I would be inclined to visit the vet so someone can look at this in person. The drooping of the eye I've found ties in with age sometimes, must admit I don't know if it would tie in with something like mild trauma/injury or infection.
How old is Arnold? Is his eye draining fluid as normal (i.e. it's not weeping or spilling onto the fur below the eye)?
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
I would be inclined to visit the vet so someone can look at this in person. The drooping of the eye I've found ties in with age sometimes, must admit I don't know if it would tie in with something like mild trauma/injury or infection.
How old is Arnold? Is his eye draining fluid as normal (i.e. it's not weeping or spilling onto the fur below the eye)?
Click to expand...

I keep checking and I can't see anything in his eye anywhere. Although he doesn't sit still long enough for me to be sure.
I was thinking it could be a hair or something. He spends alot of time inside his fleece tunnel, he just sits in there and the thing is covered in his hair.

Arnold is about a year and a half old now, I think. I'm not entirely sure how old he was when I got him.

I watched him yesterday for a while and he had no trouble draining fluid. He doesn't seem bothered about it at all. Not that I can tell. Which is good but I'm going to take him to the vets anyway.
I need to call and register with them, which I'll do now and then hopefully they can squeeze me in tomorrow.
 
I took him to the vets this morning.

These guys were great. Arnold normally bites the vet but I went to see some small animal specialist today.
He was amazing. He was so in charge that both Arnold and Ralph (Ralph got a complimentary checkup :) ) just sat there and let this guy examine them.

Arnold didn't even flinch when the vet gave him some eyedrops. It was great.

turns out that he has conjunctivitis. :(
The swelling has gone down a little, which is great. I have a 5 day course of eye drops to give him.
I've just been told to watch him after the course and then take him back if it gets no better or if it gets worse and to especially go back if he gets "cloudy eyes".

But so far, we hope all is well :)
He's back in his cage, bothering Ralph and causing trouble and he actually sat still long enough for me to give him his eye drops earlier, too.
I thought I'd have problems but he sat there and let me get on with it.

Thanks so much for the help guys.
 
So good to hear you have a decent vet, one that both you and the piggies are happy with! I hope the eye drops work.
 
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