Is it possible for a Guinea Pig to be allergic to hay?

[MommaPiggy]

I was wondering. Arnolds eye started acting up again and getting puffy about 2 weeks ago, the vet showed me how to clean it, so I've been doing that every few nights...It didn't work. Then I thought I'd take the hay away as bedding and only have it in a rack for them to eat. The inflamation under his eye calmed down alot and he was back to looking pretty much like normal.
Yesterday I put the hay back down as bedding all over the hay loft and surprise! His eye is looking rather puffy again today.

Could he...Be allergic to hay? Or his eye just be very sensitive to it?
I'm pretty sure now that it's something to do with the hay.

The vet wanted to put Arnold to sleep so he could have a closer look at his eye, if it continued and then said they may need to operate. The thing that worries me is he never said what kind of operation...He did say, however. "It all depends on how attatched you are to him." which leads me to worry a bit about the risks and aside from the obvious ones of having a little one put out for any op.
This was the last time I visited, back when Arnold first had this problem. If I can figure out what it is, if it is anything he's allergic or sensitive to, then I wouldn't have to risk putting him through that.

He's a biter and a wriggler and he's always chattering at me when I cuddle him but I love him dearly and don't want to put him through anything traumatic like that if I really don't have to, so I'd like to avoid a revisit to see Mr. Vet, even though he is very nice and very piggy savvy.

He doesn't seem to be in any pain and it looks nothing like it did back when it first started up, I check his eye every day now anyway because the vet did say it would most likely come back...
What do you think?

It's always poor lil' Arnold...Ralph is as healthy as you could ever hope for...Poor Arnold always gets all the problems.

 

[PingandChipy]

awe poor arnold I have a piggie with allergies. I thought she was allergic to pollen but she also sneezes with hay. I've wondered this about them being allergic to hay as well. Occassionaly when she gets really bad I give her some grape dimetapp and it clears up.

 

[charlay]

he very well could be cause i had a guinea pig that was allergic to hay and other kinds of bedding i think it iss just when they get it all over there body and i was reading the other day that youshouldnt put hay in the bottom of the cage or in thier bedding they said to only use it for thier food in thier bowl but i did have one that was allergic to hay and had the same symptoms like arnold has!! i hope this advice helps you

 

[MommaPiggy]

Thanks, I think I'll start using fleece in the hayloft...Even if it pee central :{

 

[ajb]

Guinea pigs can be allergic to hay; I was advised to soak my hay for Thisbe in case her problem was an allergy.

 

[Laura-CCC4]

Poor Arnold! What's his eye like when it flares up e.g. cloudy, swollen etc.?

 

[MommaPiggy]

Poor Arnold! What's his eye like when it flares up e.g. cloudy, swollen etc.?

When it tends to flare up, his eye droops a bit and it's all red and fleshy underneath. Normally, if you pull the skin down a bit, it's white under there on a normal day but when whatever this is seems to become aggrivated, it turns red and swells out a little. It's so hard to explain.

I'll try and grab him to get a photo. It's so hard to explain how it looks.

It's calmed down alot today but it's still a little pink. But every so often it does calm down and then in a day or two it'll flare back up again.

 

[Pebble]

Just a suggestion but has he been checked properly for ear mites?

I have just had an old guinea diagnosed with this problem (despite a negative result for same condition 10 days previously following an exam from my normal vet and nothing picked up in previous visits) and now, judging by the dramatic changes in his appearance and behaviour following a single injection from the new vet to clear it up, I realise this condition had been onging for some time, and responsible for the sporadic inflammation and dryness around his eyes and also some pretty nasty respiratory problems.

xx

 

[MommaPiggy]

Thankfully, Arnold's eye seems to have just cleared up on its own. The thing is, I'm still not sure if it was the hay or not, I've been putting it back in the hayloft over the last week and his eye has stayed fine...I bought some new fleece, just incase that was the issue...All seems well. Thankfully.

No nasty vets visits. I'm pretty sure Arnold is very pleased.

Still...I wish I knew what causes it exactly. It could come back again if I don't know exactly what it is...Then again, if it happens again, I think it's safe to assume it's his problem and not anything I'm doing or using...So I think we seriously will be going back to see Mr. Vet if it comes back.
Not really much point in taking him back if his eye is cleared up :{