Hay poke!

[HollieS]

Hi does anyone know how to treat and prevent hay poke? One of the little ones has it she’s fine just squinting, when I looked she had a tiny piece of hay/debris in her eye where she had the little white dot but it’s come out now. I’ve been wiping it with just water to keep it clean is this a good idea?

 

[Guineapigfeet]

Eyes are delicate and it really needs a vet visit to see if there’s any damage to the eye itself. Mine went from slightly squinty to ulserated, weepy and closed overnight.

Can’t really prevent unfortunately as hay is their main food source. One of mine’s done it twice now, but neither of my other five (past and present) have ever done it.

 

[DMS260820]

See a vet to be on the safe side, there could be damage that will not show until later on

 

[YvonneBlue]

please see a vet. Eye damage isn't always visible and can usually be easily treated.

 

[Livia Rabideau]

Need a vet. I don't think you can really prevent it unfortunately . Best of luck!

 

[HollieS]

Thank you everyone I’ll be sure to phone up the vets

 

[Swissgreys]

The good news is that the vet will probably clean the eye and prescribe drops and it should clear up in no time.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi does anyone know how to treat and prevent hay poke? One of the little ones has it she’s fine just squinting, when I looked she had a tiny piece of hay/debris in her eye where she had the little white dot but it’s come out now. I’ve been wiping it with just water to keep it clean is this a good idea?

Please see a vet promptly; eye injuries and infections can deteriorate very quickly! Thankfully with prompt treatment that prevents any infection from penetrating further into the eye, the recovery rate is very good and in most cases pretty quick, too.

Hay pokes are to a certain extent a hazard that you have to live with, but you can minimise the risk by using soft hay for burrowing and by serving any stalky hay in racks rather than on the ground.