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Eyes

Oasis_guineas

Oasis_guineas

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Apr 19, 2019
Messages
25
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Location
Belfast
Hi everyone!

I’ve noticed lately that my piggie cookies eye has been looking a little bit red. It also had a yellow crusty piece in it and around the outside feels quite crispy although I did it very quick so I didn’t hurt him. The other eye is fine and I haven’t noticed anything else except he is eating a little less, but this may not be related. He is quite a shy guinea pig and would be very stressed about a visit to the vet if unnecessary and was wondering if I would be better taking him. This came about a week ago and being the concerned piggie mum I am decided to ask your opinion or if your guineas have ever had this before. Tried looking it up but multiple things came up and so I was unsure.

Thanks Ali
 
He 100% needs to go the vets! My pigs have never had an eye problem this serious, just hay pokes however even getting them to the vets in that circumstance is really important as if left untreated, an eye problem can result in losing the eye. I’d get him to the exotic vets ASAP, if you call them and explain how badly his eye is then they will get you in on an emergency appointment.
 
Also, does Cookie have a friend? It’s imperative that Guinea pigs live in pairs or at least have interaction with another pig through the bars, it’s a vital part of owning a happy and healthy piggy - and cruel if not (it’s actually illegal in some places to own just one Guinea pig). You’ll also find he stops being as shy once he has a friend to bring him happiness and a sense of safety. Obviously, the eye issue takes precedence right now but a cage mate is something to seriously consider once Cookie is all healed up
 
Little Ones said:
He 100% needs to go the vets! My pigs have never had an eye problem this serious, just hay pokes however even getting them to the vets in that circumstance is really important as if left untreated, an eye problem can result in losing the eye. I’d get him to the exotic vets ASAP, if you call them and explain how badly his eye is then they will get you in on an emergency appointment.
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It’s really that serious?!
First time guinea pig mother here and so far have been fortunate enough to never have to deal with this type of thing and thought it may just have been a hat poke. I will definitely ring the exotic vet tomorrow when they open and explain the situation. Really hope this looks worse than it is because cooks is only 4 and he is the cutest piggie. Will have to dig out the cat carrier and the guinea blanket.

Thank you so much for your reply as I was going to wait until he gets his nails cut until I got it checked.

Also when I was petting his chin I noticed a large lump on it and decided to call the vets about it. 99% sure this isn’t just a bone as it wasn’t there for my other 3 piggies but again, this may be unrelated.
 
Little Ones said:
Also, does Cookie have a friend? It’s imperative that Guinea pigs live in pairs or at least have interaction with another pig through the bars, it’s a vital part of owning a happy and healthy piggy - and cruel if not (it’s actually illegal in some places to own just one Guinea pig). You’ll also find he stops being as shy once he has a friend to bring him happiness and a sense of safety. Obviously, the eye issue takes precedence right now but a cage mate is something to seriously consider once Cookie is all healed up
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Cookie was adopted with a friend Crumble but as they were rescues they are both quite shy and scared and have been trying to introduce them to my other pair but one is quite territorial so it’s been quite hard .
 
Oasis_guineas said:
It’s really that serious?!
First time guinea pig mother here and so far have been fortunate enough to never have to deal with this type of thing and thought it may just have been a hat poke. I will definitely ring the exotic vet tomorrow when they open and explain the situation. Really hope this looks worse than it is because cooks is only 4 and he is the cutest piggie. Will have to dig out the cat carrier and the guinea blanket.

Thank you so much for your reply as I was going to wait until he gets his nails cut until I got it checked.

Also when I was petting his chin I noticed a large lump on it and decided to call the vets about it. 99% sure this isn’t just a bone as it wasn’t there for my other 3 piggies but again, this may be unrelated.
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It looks quite serious to me, the hay pokes I’ve experienced are only minor lumps or have turned the eye blue - I then get them to the vets the next day to treat it. What cookie has may have started as a hay poke but then without treatment has progressed to this level.
With health problems, whilst it’s easier to wait and see, with piggies they go downhill extremely quickly so it’s vital that if something isn’t right, that you get them to the vets within a few days at most. Obviously, it’s good to check with the forum to make sure you aren’t wasting a vet visit. Sometimes waiting a week is too long and can have disastrous consequences, they are quite fragile animals in that sense and 100% rely on their owners to notice when something is wrong.
The lump really needs checking out too, the exotic vet will be able to tell you for sure what’s going on, it potentially may need to be removed.

Oasis_guineas said:
Cookie was adopted with a friend Crumble but as they were rescues they are both quite shy and scared and have been trying to introduce them to my other pair but one is quite territorial so it’s been quite hard .
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Please do not try and introduce two sets of boys together. Male guinea pigs can only live in pairs, anymore will result in chaos, girls can live in multiples in harmony however boys absolutely cannot. By doing so, you risk ruining the bond between your 2 bonded pairs meaning all four will have to be separated and found new friends to bond with. It’s absolutely not worth the risk and failure rate with male pigs who live in more than a pair is in the 90%’s.

There are many useful threads on the forum that will help you learn all of this. It definitely does come with time, we’ve all been first time owners and made mistakes, so don’t take any of it as criticism on you. We all want the best for the pigs else we wouldn’t be here :)
 
Hi there & welcome to the forum
I would get Cookies eye checked out, it looks a bit like an inflamed conjunctiva?
Or possibly pea eye?

Have a look on Guinea lynx & there are some good example pictures to give you & your vet a better idea of diagnosis/treatments
Here's the link
Guinea Lynx :: Eyes

With eyes it's better to get them checked out by a vet sooner rather than later for a better chance of a full recovery generally.

Also, sorry I'm afraid your boy quad will probably just end up as a showdown standoff & all of them will need to be separated.
Boy pairs seem to be either strong & stable with their bond or they hate each other & must be separated, there doesn't seem to be a mid ground with all the hormones /testosterone whizzing about.

Members here find generally same sex pairs do well, any amount of girls 2+ do well as long as they are character compatible. Or a neutered boy with a wife or his own little harem of girls seems to be the most relaxed & stable. ;)

So a pair of pairs if yours are all boys will probably be most successful /harmonious :)

Get the vet to check his teeth too, dental issues can cause eye problems & abscesses near the face/neck... His lump may well be a sebaceous cyst or an abscess (abscesses usually appear & grow quickly).

Let us know how you & Cookie get on.
Healing vibes from the girls & I. Xx
 
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The closest the vet could do is the 24th another 5 days away so Cookie is booked in. Asked if they could do sooner but they couldn’t so will keep an eye on cookie until then and if he gets worse I’ll just have ro Take him anyways. Was told it could be fatty eye so I will just have to wait and see.
 
Hello and welcome. It looks like it could be a torn conjunctiva. My Enoch had one that was left untreated by his previous owner and he always had problems with it.

Can you go to another vet? He really needs to be started on eye drops if it is a torn conjunctiva
 
Claire W said:
Hello and welcome. It looks like it could be a torn conjunctiva. My Enoch had one that was left untreated by his previous owner and he always had problems with it.

Can you go to another vet? He really needs to be started on eye drops if it is a torn conjunctiva
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There are only 2 exotic vets near me and one of which is a 40 minute drive. The one which is a 10 minute drive is the one they are booked in for at the minute and the other vet could only take him after the date of our original appointment.
 
Oasis_guineas said:
Was told it could be fatty eye so I will just have to wait and see.
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Definitely good with the eyes to be seen as quickly as possible, and with a lump too. My old lady Jess has the beginning of fatty eye in one eye (developed the last few months)
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A little bit hard to see, but it’s much less red than the pic of your piggy. She doesn’t have issues with it, but his does look quite irritated. I’m not an expert with eyes but have dealt with a few now :doh:
Really hope you can get him to vets ASAP and all goes well x
 
Oasis_guineas said:
There are only 2 exotic vets near me and one of which is a 40 minute drive. The one which is a 10 minute drive is the one they are booked in for at the minute and the other vet could only take him after the date of our original appointment.
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Do you have a general vet nearby? Any vet should be able to prescribe eye drops
 
Claire W said:
Do you have a general vet nearby? Any vet should be able to prescribe eye drops
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Only one more vet near me but I’ve had multiple problems previously with them. Was told I would have to make an appointment to get them so the vet could look at him but the appointment dates are terrible
 
Oasis_guineas said:
Only one more vet near me but I’ve had multiple problems previously with them. Was told I would have to make an appointment to get them so the vet could look at him but the appointment dates are terrible
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I am so sorry that you've had problems with this particular vet and that appointments to see the others are so far away :(
 
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This is his eye today. There is no discharge but I think it looks more red today. He has been under his house all day so it is quite hard to see. Very dark under there and I don’t want to use the flash on him. Will try to take a few more prior to the appointment to show the progression. If the vet has a cancellation I will certainly bump it forward a bit.
 
Ouch, aah poor little lad. I’d really push for an appointment as quickly as possible. If he’s hiding in his bed definitely a sign he’s not comfortable.
 
Claire W said:
I am so sorry that you've had problems with this particular vet and that appointments to see the others are so far away :(
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The vet he is booked in for at the moment is great and I am hoping his eye doesn’t get any worse until then and that the vet can help the poor piggie
 
alpacasqueak said:
Ouch, aah poor little lad. I’d really push for an appointment as quickly as possible. If he’s hiding in his bed definitely a sign he’s not comfortable.
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Found out that the only exotic vet there is off on holidays until Wednesday and that was the closest appointment we could Make.
 
As @Claire W said above, a general vet may be good to prescribe eye drops to help until then, would be good to help the irritation for now if you really can’t get in any sooner.
 
I am thinking of walking down to the vet and showing them the pictures of his eye to see if they could do any other clinics or if they could bring in the emergency vet. I took him out for a run but he hasn’t been doing much walking, just chattering and he also seems to have a runny nose .
 
He needs to see a vet ASAP, is there no way you can get him to the exotic vet that is 40 mins away? A lot of members of the forum, including myself, travel that distance to see our exotic vets as they can be few and far between.
His eye is bad, he has a lump, and has a runny nose. These are all things that need to be seen to now, it’s easy to wait five days however we can’t gurantee that your pig will still have an eye by then
 
Little Ones said:
He needs to see a vet ASAP, is there no way you can get him to the exotic vet that is 40 mins away? A lot of members of the forum, including myself, travel that distance to see our exotic vets as they can be few and far between.
His eye is bad, he has a lump, and has a runny nose. These are all things that need to be seen to now, it’s easy to wait five days however we can’t gurantee that your pig will still have an eye by then
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Leaving for the vet now, going to show them the pictures and get an emergency appointment for him. If they can’t do that I’m going to book an emergency appointment for the further vet. When I get back I will update you. Fingers crossed he will be alright 🤞
 
Good News!

Cookie has an appointment tonight for 6pm! Not with the specialist exotic vet, but a general one who will hopefully make him better! I will update when cookie is out of the vet.
By the pictures she suggested either a cold or an Infection but he should be good in a few weeks.
 
Let us know how it goes - please be aware that Cookie will still need to see an exotic vet as soon as possible. The general vet cannot properly diagnose the lump or the runny nose. The general vet right now is used to get some eye drops as that eye definitely cannot wait any longer.
 
The vet thought conjunctivitis at first but after feeling the lump thought they were both related. Not something to do with the lymph nodes as she could feel them both and the teeth were both great. He is a healthy weight so nothing to do with eating. He is on an anti inflammatory injection and a course of liquid antibiotics. The exotic vet is seeing him on Wednesday about the lump, but the eye should be getting better. If the lump is still as big he will have to get it removed as it is on his throat. She suspected an abscess but again, the exotic vet will see him when he is back.
Thanks for all your replies! :))
 
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