Minky's Eye is Still Poorly - Any Advice Appreciated

[Stewybus]

I posted about Minky's eye just over a week ago because all of a sudden her right eye went a cloudy white.

I took her to the vet 8 days ago & she was prescribed 2 drops of Fucithalmic a day, one in the morning & one in the evening. She was also prescribed Metacam. The eye appeared to be getting better on Wednesday but this was short-lived. I took her back on Friday & the vet said to keep giving the drops & Metacam.

The eye just doesn't seem to be responding to this treatment. Minky seems to be OK otherwise, eating & moving around OK & she doesn't appear to be in pain. I'm just a little worried that she maybe needs something else. I'm add photos of her good & bad eyes so possibly another member may have experienced this with their piggy.

Good Eye:


Bad Eye:-


I hope someone out there can advise. Thanks in advance.

 

[Bekki]

Get well soon gorgeous minky x

 

[pig in the city]

This usually happens in response to trauma, a poke in the eye with a hay stalk, or a scratch, or even a piece of hayseed under the eyelid. The antibiotics will treat any infection, the metacam will treat any pain and inflammation. The milkiness should eventually clear once the eye heals but may take some time. Hope Minky is better soon! x

 

[Wiebke]

It is clearly an infection; please see the vet as the medication is not working. Perhaps the irritant is still in the eye?
I would also recommend to ask the vet for some antibiotic and painkiller (metacam), as it looks pretty painful to me!

 

[Stewybus]

The Fucithalmic is an antibiotic medicine (see:- http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/eyes/medicines/fucithalmic-eye-drops.html ) which she has been prescribed one drop twice a day in her poorly eye.

She's also been prescribed 2 drops of Metacam (dog type) per day. I'm pretty certain she's not in pain as she's eating & moving about normally. She's been out on the grass with the other girls for an hour a day since Saturday & happily munching away.

I think it was most likely caused by a hay prick but when the vet applied stain to her eye nothing showed up. I'm just trying to find anyone else who's piggy has experienced this & what the treatment & outcome was.

 

[Rodentopia]

I had a simular problem a few weeks ago Merlin got an eye infection but not to the extent Minky has, i had the same drops but i was giving 0.4ml of metacam a day, it cleared up then came back so i continued for an extra week with drops and metacam. His has cleared up thankfully but keeping a close eye on it. Minkys looks like a trauma to me and the eye protects itself to heal, a good indication is if it hurts to touch around the area of the eye when you bathe it, if its hurting her then go back to the vets as could be start of ulceration but if its not hurting her then continue with the drops for a while longer before going back to the vets as eyes do take time to heal

 

[Stewybus]

I had a simular problem a few weeks ago Merlin got an eye infection but not to the extent Minky has, i had the same drops but i was giving 0.4ml of metacam a day, it cleared up then came back so i continued for an extra week with drops and metacam. His has cleared up thankfully but keeping a close eye on it. Minkys looks like a trauma to me and the eye protects itself to heal, a good indication is if it hurts to touch around the area of the eye when you bathe it, if its hurting her then go back to the vets as could be start of ulceration but if its not hurting her then continue with the drops for a while longer before going back to the vets as eyes do take time to heal

I'm pretty certain she's not in pain because her behaviour is just the same as normal.

I don't know how to work the Metacam doseage as my vet said 2 drops a day, I'm using Metacam for dogs. You used 0.4ml, what is that in drops?

 

[Rodentopia]

I'm pretty certain she's not in pain because her behaviour is just the same as normal.

I don't know how to work the Metacam doseage as my vet said 2 drops a day, I'm using Metacam for dogs. You used 0.4ml, what is that in drops?

I have the same stuff in a purple box? I was given a small syringe and i use the large syringe that came with it to draw some out then use the small syringe to take 0.4ml out. I ain't a clue in drops though as my vet always gives me a syringe.

 

[Stewybus]

Thanks for that, I've just been dropping a drop on a piece of lettuce which Minky then just eats out of my hand. I'll use the syringe to get a measured amount then drop it on the lettuce. I find that when using a syringe, some of the liquid comes out of her mouth & ends up under her chin. I'm maybe imagining thinks but her eye does seem to be slightly.

 

[Rodentopia]

If its any help just looked on syringe that came with metacam and its the dash under the 10 that 0.4ml equates too

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

metacam comes in 2 strengths (but with the same active ingredients), one for cats and one for dogs, both are in purple boxes, the one for cats is in a darker purple. most vets prescribe the one for dogs which is stronger and so only a small dose is needed, which is usually 0.1ml twice daily for a 1kg guinea pig. i have only ever used the one for dogs and 0.4ml souds like way too much and most probably relates to the metacam for cats. please be sure which metacam you have and check with your vet if you are uncertain.

the cloudy eye looks to be infected, fucithalmic is a very good medication and is the eye drop i like the best but if the eye is not improving i would speak to your vet about giving oral antibiotics as well as sometimes eye drops alone are not enough.

although your piggy appears to be acting normally, with an eye trauma/infection it is best to assume there is some degree of pain, piggies are much more histoic than us.

hope Minky gets better soon

 

[Stewybus]

With also having a cat & dog we had both types of Metacam in. When Mousey injured her foot last month the vet said 4 drops of the cat Metacam then when that ran out we started on the dog Metacam & she said just 2 drops.

In the morning I'm going to have a real good look at her eye through a magnifying glass. I'm feeling more inclined to take her back to the vets or at least speak to them on the phone.

 

[Rodentopia]

metacam comes in 2 strengths (but with the same active ingredients), one for cats and one for dogs, both are in purple boxes, the one for cats is in a darker purple. most vets prescribe the one for dogs which is stronger and so only a small dose is needed, which is usually 0.1ml twice daily for a 1kg guinea pig. i have only ever used the one for dogs and 0.4ml souds like way too much and most probably relates to the metacam for cats. please be sure which metacam you have and check with your vet if you are uncertain.

the cloudy eye looks to be infected, fucithalmic is a very good medication and is the eye drop i like the best but if the eye is not improving i would speak to your vet about giving oral antibiotics as well as sometimes eye drops alone are not enough.

although your piggy appears to be acting normally, with an eye trauma/infection it is best to assume there is some degree of pain, piggies are much more histoic than us.

hope Minky gets better soon

Its the one for dogs and my vets cavy savy a recommended vet on here and she knows what shes talking about as questioned her in length about loads of stuff I worked it out this morning and relates to about two drops from the bottle so Minkys on a simular dose to what i was prescribed

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Its the one for dogs and my vets cavy savy a recommended vet on here and she knows what shes talking about as questioned her in length about loads of stuff I worked it out this morning and relates to about two drops from the bottle so Minkys on a simular dose to what i was prescribed

As metacam comes in 2 strengths and the syringes it comes with are do not count in mls but in mg/ml things can become very confusing and i would hate for anyone to end up over dosing their piggy my vet always removes the metacam syringe and replaces it with a normal 1ml syringe. they also remove the dropper but i think 2 drops would be close to 0.04ml (rather than 0.4ml)

 

[Phoebe-PP]

Has your vet ruled out the possibility of it being a cataract that's formed? From my very limited knowledge, apparently they do happen very suddenly and don't really affect the piggie much. This link from guinealynx may be of some use to you:
http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html#cataracts

Hope Minky feels better soon!

 

[Stewybus]

Has your vet ruled out the possibility of it being a cataract that's formed? From my very limited knowledge, apparently they do happen very suddenly and don't really affect the piggie much. This link from guinealynx may be of some use to you:
http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html#cataracts

Hope Minky feels better soon!

Funny you say cataract, that was the first thing I suspected but vet ruled that out. I got another prescription today for a one-off eye drop called Atropine Sulphate. This is for single use only & any unused should be discarded. It comes in a small pipette. I've got to use this then wait a few days. Anyone used this before?