Conjunctivitis/eye problems risks?

[little_buttons]

Hi,

One of my piggies started showing signs of conjunctivitis in both eyes in early December. I took her to the vet and she didn't have any scratches etc on her eye and lives alone on fleece bedding so it wasn't immediately obvious what the problem was.

We tried eye drops (which had previously worked for a different pig who had had a fight) but it didn't clear up. We then later tried a different set of eye drops and an anti inflammatory syringe fed medication. We then gave her a bit longer on this medication as she hadn't shown any signs of respiratory problems.

Unfortunately her eyes still haven't cleared up so last week she had a swab done. The swap initially showed up negative and later developed a yeast infection which is likely to be put down as cross contamination at the lab.

Once we get confirmation that it is cross contamination the next step is getting referred to an exotic pet specialist and her undergoing a more invasive procedure to find out whats wrong where she has to be sedated and then given anaesthesia. I'm so worried about her going under anaesthesia but I'm happy to trust my vets opinion on this. However my parents are concerned I'm going to "end up killing her trying to find out what's wrong". I just really want reassurance that I'm making the right choice to keep looking into this. It doesn't seem to be worsening and I don't think it's causing her pain although I'm not sure. What would be the risks of leaving it without finding out what it is? Does the risk of anaesthesia outweigh the risk of leaving it be?

Thanks so much in advance, sorry for the essay!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

One of my piggies started showing signs of conjunctivitis in both eyes in early December. I took her to the vet and she didn't have any scratches etc on her eye and lives alone on fleece bedding so it wasn't immediately obvious what the problem was.

We tried eye drops (which had previously worked for a different pig who had had a fight) but it didn't clear up. We then later tried a different set of eye drops and an anti inflammatory syringe fed medication. We then gave her a bit longer on this medication as she hadn't shown any signs of respiratory problems.

Unfortunately her eyes still haven't cleared up so last week she had a swab done. The swap initially showed up negative and later developed a yeast infection which is likely to be put down as cross contamination at the lab.

Once we get confirmation that it is cross contamination the next step is getting referred to an exotic pet specialist and her undergoing a more invasive procedure to find out whats wrong where she has to be sedated and then given anaesthesia. I'm so worried about her going under anaesthesia but I'm happy to trust my vets opinion on this. However my parents are concerned I'm going to "end up killing her trying to find out what's wrong". I just really want reassurance that I'm making the right choice to keep looking into this. It doesn't seem to be worsening and I don't think it's causing her pain although I'm not sure. What would be the risks of leaving it without finding out what it is? Does the risk of anaesthesia outweigh the risk of leaving it be?

Thanks so much in advance, sorry for the essay!

Hi!

You are not our first member struggling with persistent/resistent/recurring conjunctivitis. While it is thankfully not common, we have had the odd member struggling with it.
@Claire W

Use of anaesthesia has made great advances in recent years, especially with vets experienced with small animals; the time and strength under GA will be kept as short as possible.

In years gone by, rodents hardly featured in a general vet's curriculum - they took up about 1 afternoon in a 4 years course. This has changed massively in recent years; there are also an increasing number of exotics vets.

If it does help you, a nearly 7 years old sow of mine had to have a large burst cyst operated out in last August; she is still with me and has celebrated her 7th birthday in September despite being considered a higher risk at her advanced age. I've since also had a boar neutered.

 

[YvonneBlue]

This may be a long shot but one of my piggies has an eye problem which the vet thought initially was conjunctivitis but it turned out to be a blocked tear duct. It might be worth asking your vet if this could be a possibility. The test for it was really simple, the vet put some coloured drops into her eyes and then waited to see if it came out of her nose (this can take up to 30 mins).

 

[Claire W]

My late Enoch had recurrent conjunctivitis in one eye after he suffered an untreated torn cojunctiva before coming to me.

What drops have you tried? My vet treated him with Chloramphenicol eye drops but you do have to apply the drops 6-8 times a day.

It is well worth finding out what the issue is as conjunctivitis can be sore and uncomfortable

 

[little_buttons]

@Wiebke Thank you so much for your reassurance and I'm so glad to hear both your piggies are okay now! My guinea pig is 3 to 3.5 years old so I'm guessing she's still young enough that the procedure won't have any added risks?

@YvonneBlue Thank you very much for your suggestion! I've had a Google and the pictures don't look much like her eyes - she doesn't have much discharge if any - she just has redness/inflamation below both her irises in her lower lids which isn't present in any of my other pigs. Do you reckon blocked tear ducts is still a possibility?

@Claire W Thank you for your reply, it's a relief to hear you think it's worth looking into still! She has tried isathal (fusidic acid (not sure on spelling) and chloramphenicol and also metacam(meloxicam) for the inflammation, however all of these were only prescribed for twice a day.

 

[Wiebke]

@Wiebke Thank you so much for your reassurance and I'm so glad to hear both your piggies are okay now! My guinea pig is 3 to 3.5 years old so I'm guessing she's still young enough that the procedure won't have any added risks?

@YvonneBlue Thank you very much for your suggestion! I've had a Google and the pictures don't look much like her eyes - she doesn't have much discharge if any - she just has redness/inflamation below both her irises in her lower lids which isn't present in any of my other pigs. Do you reckon blocked tear ducts is still a possibility?

@Claire W Thank you for your reply, it's a relief to hear you think it's worth looking into still! She has tried isathal (fusidic acid (not sure on spelling) and chloramphenicol and also metacam(meloxicam) for the inflammation, however all of these were only prescribed for twice a day.

No, your piggy is still a good age. 2-4 years is the peak of their lives.

 

[Wiebke]

PS: Here is our post-op care guide, which talks you through everything if you need it. Tips For Post-operative Care

It is part of our extensive guide collection on a wide range of topics. You can best access the guides arranged in order via the shortcut on the top bar.

 

[Claire W]

My vet always prescribes chloramphenicol drops at 6-8 drops per day so I would question that with your vet

 

[little_buttons]

Hello, I just wanted to check back in to thank everyone for their advice and let you know how this all turned out, in case anyone stumbles across this thread looking for conjunctivitis advice!

Olive ended up being referred to the specialist, and the decision was made to give her about 3 more weeks on a more restricted diet (she had been on a diet already but it was more casual) in order to reduce the risks of her undergoing anaesthetic. In the meantime, we tried one last type of eye drops which unfortunately didn't work.

She ended up having the biopsy and recovered well on the initial day. Unfortunately she struggled a bit in the few days following (pain whilst pooing, eating less despite being offered a lot more food than she had been allowed on her diet) but luckily we upped her gut stasis drug and she made a full recovery. The biopsy didn't end up showing anything despite inflammation, which was good in that it meant she was less likely to have anything systemic.

The vet then gave me one last drug in case she had chlamydia (it began with a D, having googled I think the exact word is doxycycline) to try before we would need to make the decision between stopping treatment and just monitoring her or moving into trying steroids. I was leaning towards monitoring being the better option here due to the risks of steroids. Thankfully we did not end up having to make that decision at all because doxycycline ended up curing her!

I can't help but laugh about the amount of money I spent trying to cure her and she ended up having chlamydia but in reality, we are so grateful and thankful that this seems to be over! Olive herself is like a new pig. I don't know if it was the curing of her chlamydia, the 200g of (needed) weight loss over 4 months or both, but she is so much happier and way more energetic. I don't think I have ever seen her this energetic even as a younger piggy (when we bought her she turned out to be secretly pregnant (and was probably far too young to be) and it took so long for her hind legs to recover that she kind of missed out on her own time as a young pig). I think I've seen her popcorn more in the past few weeks than I have in the past year.

Even though it didn't end up being the biopsy that cured her, I don't regret it, because it all lead to her ultimately being cured. Every time I see how happy she looks now it melts my heart! Thanks again to everyone who shared their thoughts and gave me reassurance regarding the anaesthesia! Wishing lots of luck to anyone who sees this thread whilst looking for advice.

 

[YvonneBlue]

What wonderful news. So pleased to hear Olive has made such an amazing recovery. Your persistence paid off in the end.

 

[Wiebke]

Hello, I just wanted to check back in to thank everyone for their advice and let you know how this all turned out, in case anyone stumbles across this thread looking for conjunctivitis advice!

Olive ended up being referred to the specialist, and the decision was made to give her about 3 more weeks on a more restricted diet (she had been on a diet already but it was more casual) in order to reduce the risks of her undergoing anaesthetic. In the meantime, we tried one last type of eye drops which unfortunately didn't work.

She ended up having the biopsy and recovered well on the initial day. Unfortunately she struggled a bit in the few days following (pain whilst pooing, eating less despite being offered a lot more food than she had been allowed on her diet) but luckily we upped her gut stasis drug and she made a full recovery. The biopsy didn't end up showing anything despite inflammation, which was good in that it meant she was less likely to have anything systemic.

The vet then gave me one last drug in case she had chlamydia (it began with a D, having googled I think the exact word is doxycycline) to try before we would need to make the decision between stopping treatment and just monitoring her or moving into trying steroids. I was leaning towards monitoring being the better option here due to the risks of steroids. Thankfully we did not end up having to make that decision at all because doxycycline ended up curing her!

I can't help but laugh about the amount of money I spent trying to cure her and she ended up having chlamydia but in reality, we are so grateful and thankful that this seems to be over! Olive herself is like a new pig. I don't know if it was the curing of her chlamydia, the 200g of (needed) weight loss over 4 months or both, but she is so much happier and way more energetic. I don't think I have ever seen her this energetic even as a younger piggy (when we bought her she turned out to be secretly pregnant (and was probably far too young to be) and it took so long for her hind legs to recover that she kind of missed out on her own time as a young pig). I think I've seen her popcorn more in the past few weeks than I have in the past year.

Even though it didn't end up being the biopsy that cured her, I don't regret it, because it all lead to her ultimately being cured. Every time I see how happy she looks now it melts my heart! Thanks again to everyone who shared their thoughts and gave me reassurance regarding the anaesthesia! Wishing lots of luck to anyone who sees this thread whilst looking for advice.

That is great news!

Doxycycline is an antibiotic, which is not officially licensed but safe to use for guinea pigs. It can sometimes be difficult to find exactly the right AB to address a specific problem, especially seeing that rodents are rather limited in what they can be given safely.
Guinea Lynx :: Medications