• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea pig eye ulcer

V

Vicky2021

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jul 14, 2021
Messages
49
Reaction score
28
Points
200
Location
Kent
Hi all,

My almost 5 year old guinea pig got haypoke.

Unfortunately we went away for 3 days, we had someone coming in to feed and care for them but when we got back the following day, I noted one of them had a very cloudy eye. (One of our previous has had haypoke before).

I took her to the vets that day, and I felt awful as we couldn’t say when it had happened. The lady looking after them hadn’t noticed it either, and I understand it’s not particularly easy in guinea pigs given they show little sign of pain. So we had no idea if it was new or happened a couple of days before.

Dye tested her eyes and it was a relatively large ulcer.

The vets prescribed metacam and antibiotic eye drops which we have given religiously and treatment finishes today, but she appears a little less active and still half closing her eye but eating and drinking normally. She has a check on her ulcer tomorrow morning to see how it is healing.

My question is in these circumstances if it hadn’t healed, what has been your experience? As awful as I feel asking this - she is almost 5 years old and if there is talk of removing her eye do you put a guinea pig through this at this age? They spoke of an ultrasound first if needed. I feel like sometimes this is just also money making.

It could be as it was quite a severe ulcer it’ll take longer to heal but I’m conscious it’s not healing like my other guinea pigs did, I don’t want her to be in pain but also putting her through surgery seems quite unfair as she is older.

Any advice appreciated
Thank you
 
Vicky2021 said:
Hi all,

My almost 5 year old guinea pig got haypoke.

Unfortunately we went away for 3 days, we had someone coming in to feed and care for them but when we got back the following day, I noted one of them had a very cloudy eye. (One of our previous has had haypoke before).

I took her to the vets that day, and I felt awful as we couldn’t say when it had happened. The lady looking after them hadn’t noticed it either, and I understand it’s not particularly easy in guinea pigs given they show little sign of pain. So we had no idea if it was new or happened a couple of days before.

Dye tested her eyes and it was a relatively large ulcer.

The vets prescribed metacam and antibiotic eye drops which we have given religiously and treatment finishes today, but she appears a little less active and still half closing her eye but eating and drinking normally. She has a check on her ulcer tomorrow morning to see how it is healing.

My question is in these circumstances if it hadn’t healed, what has been your experience? As awful as I feel asking this - she is almost 5 years old and if there is talk of removing her eye do you put a guinea pig through this at this age? They spoke of an ultrasound first if needed. I feel like sometimes this is just also money making.

It could be as it was quite a severe ulcer it’ll take longer to heal but I’m conscious it’s not healing like my other guinea pigs did, I don’t want her to be in pain but also putting her through surgery seems quite unfair as she is older.

Any advice appreciated
Thank you
Click to expand...

Hi

Which eye drops have you been given and how often a day do you have to dispense them? How much metacam and which concentration (0.5 or 1.5 mg/ml) have you been prescribed and how often?

In addition to the antibiotic eye drops or gel we also recommend that you get hold of some plain human eye gel from a pharmacy or online as the hydration not just helps with irritation on the eye surface (eye drops seem to dry out the eye and make it more uncomfortable) it also provides an improved healing environment further inside the eye where the antibiotic cannot necessarily reach. This can help to noticeably speed up the healing process, as I know from my personal experience with plenty of eye injuries, including more severe ones and from experiences from other forum members. The eye gel is not a medication and is therefore not dispensed by vets.

Please also take a deep breath. More advanced or severe eye injuries that have penetrated deeper can take over a month to heal fully. Eye removal is only the very last resort. If your vet hasn't prescribed it yet, they may want to switch to the stronger antibiotic and they may also consider giving an oral antibiotic for the deeper areas additionally if there is an indication that the infection has penetrated deeper now that the ulcer has hopefully cleared enough for your to assess the full extent.

However, your vet will surely check whether there is still something stuck in the eye or under the lid.

PS: It's the first time I have heard of a scan being used for an eye injury but since I am not party to your vet's thoughts re. damage deeper down or order from above so I cannot comment

All the best for tomorrow.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Which eye drops have you been given and how often a day do you have to dispense them? How much metacam and which concentration (0.5 or 1.5 mg/ml) have you been prescribed and how often?

In addition to the antibiotic eye drops or gel we also recommend that you get hold of some plain human eye gel from a pharmacy or online as the hydration not just helps with irritation on the eye surface (eye drops seem to dry out the eye and make it more uncomfortable) it also provides an improved healing environment further inside the eye where the antibiotic cannot necessarily reach. This can help to noticeably speed up the healing process, as I know from my personal experience with plenty of eye injuries, including more severe ones and from experiences from other forum members. The eye gel is not a medication and is therefore not dispensed by vets.

Please also take a deep breath. More advanced or severe eye injuries that have penetrated deeper can take over a month to heal fully. Eye removal is only the very last resort. If your vet hasn't prescribed it yet, they may want to switch to the stronger antibiotic and they may also consider giving an oral antibiotic for the deeper areas additionally if there is an indication that the infection has penetrated deeper now that the ulcer has hopefully cleared enough for your to assess the full extent.

However, your vet will surely check whether there is still something stuck in the eye or under the lid.

PS: It's the first time I have heard of a scan being used for an eye injury but since I am not party to your vet's thoughts re. damage deeper down or order from above so I cannot comment

All the best for tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Ah thanks so much, this is so helpful.

So 0.5mg concentration of Metacam at 0.4ml once a day for 5 days

Drops are Chloramphenicol 0.5% - two drops once a day for 5 days.

I think treatment needs to continue for longer than the 5 day period.

Thanks for the guidance as to human eye gel - is this just eye drops like standard hydrating ones (I wear contact lenses so use hydrating drops as I get dry eyes) - so similar to this?

Many thanks for your help
 
Vicky2021 said:
Ah thanks so much, this is so helpful.

So 0.5mg concentration of Metacam at 0.4ml once a day for 5 days

Drops are Chloramphenicol 0.5% - two drops once a day for 5 days.

I think treatment needs to continue for longer than the 5 day period.

Thanks for the guidance as to human eye gel - is this just eye drops like standard hydrating ones (I wear contact lenses so use hydrating drops as I get dry eyes) - so similar to this?

Many thanks for your help
Click to expand...

I have been precribed 1% choramphenicol gel up to 3 times daily with more severe injuries. So there should be leeway for your vet to up the number of time you can give it if the healing process is slow. It is the stronger of the two antibiotics that are used in the UK for eye injuries.
The cat metacam (0.5 mg) is still on the lower side but at least not outright cosmetic so your vet has safe leeway up if needed. Unfortunately, cat metacam is the one that is officially licensed for guinea pigs even though they metabolises differently and don't have the kind of kidney problems that other pet species have.

PS: You can give the eye gel up to 3 times (eye drops up to 6 times) daily but you need to wait at least half an hour after any other application to the eye in order to allow it to be fully absorbed first.

You may also find our revamped First Aid guide helpful (good for bookmarking in case of an emergency): First Aid: Immediate Care Measures and Non-medication Products
 
Sometimes a bad Haypoke can take a long time to heal.
When Micah managed to get haypoke I had him at the vet the same day but it still took about 4 weeks to heal.
Hopefully your girl’s eye will heal soon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top