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My Piggy With Bulging Eye

Wilwong

Wilwong

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 29, 2018
Messages
70
Reaction score
91
Points
245
Location
Walton on Thames, Surrey, UK
AE92DD14-18F9-4565-ABBF-5D5A178EADA4.webp

hi all

I have had an unwell piggy, she has been diagnosed with ovarian cyst, inflamed kidney and possible tumour with one bulging eye.

She (Cookie) weigh in at 700g at the moment (she was 900g earlier this year, and had noticeable hair loss under belly, scruffy fur and a very protruding left eye.

She still eats and drinks but occasionally I see the poor girl very sullen in the corner, presumably when she is tired of showing a brave face :(

Our Vet, who is a nice chap, has offered to put a Cookie to sleep twice now and have put her on pain medication... said it was too risky to operate and just keep her comfy till she fades away..

Is it worth asking for a second opinion?

If there is even a slim chance we can nurse her back to health I will ...

Thank you all...
 
hello, Sorry to hear Cookie is poorly. She is beautiful. Is she on pain meds at the moment?

Can I ask you for your location please?
 
Thank you

I live in KT12 area, my wife took her to the vet on the 2 occasions while I was at work so prob very distressed remembering what the vet said (my friend has taken her piggies there too, but not sure if the vet is a guinea pig specialist ...

First visit wife was told of the bulging eye and a possible growth in the head area coursing a purtrution, she was put under for further examining and to get her tooth trimmed .. we took home Septrin

She’s on further course of Septrin and as well as feeding fresh veg we give cookie recovery liquid feed on a syringe to keep her nutrients up... although weight is not going up or down

Hope this info helps and thank you for your help ...
 
Thanks for that info, it is difficult when you are at vets to take everything in especially with unwanted news :(

Septrin is an antibiotic, Is she on any pain relief? Metacam/loxicom would be the thing i'd be expecting.

Bulging eyes can be caused by tumours, retrobulbar abscess to name a few conditions, did they do xrays? that would hopefully show the cause of the eye issue.

You have a highly recommended vet in your area by looks of it
Goddard Veterinary Group
Anne O'Meara
150 Kingston Road
Elwell
Surrey, KT17 2ET
020 8393 6049

You piggy if not on pain medication at the moment needs to be on it ASAP if she is on it - then the dose needs monitoring to make sure she is being kept pain free, there are a few options normally metacam with increasing dose range and then adding in an opiate too.

She eating veg and hay okay?

Ovarian Cysts are not life threatening and can be treated by various things such as Hormone Injections by some vets. The bulging eye and Kidney is a cause for concern and the causes need to be found.

It may be that palliative care keeping your piggy pain free until you have to help her across the Rainbow Bridge is the only thing you can do, if this is the case then keeping her pain free and a high quality of life until the time comes is vital.

i know it is difficult we have had 6 piggies PTS over the years and we had to make the choice twice when it could have gone on longer, it is an agonsiing choice to have to make but one we always make out of love for our pets by putting their needs first, you know when it is time. Your vet should and will be able to guide you on it, but you know best. Have a read of this thread here
 
Wilwong said:
Thank you

I live in KT12 area, my wife took her to the vet on the 2 occasions while I was at work so prob very distressed remembering what the vet said (my friend has taken her piggies there too, but not sure if the vet is a guinea pig specialist ...

First visit wife was told of the bulging eye and a possible growth in the head area coursing a purtrution, she was put under for further examining and to get her tooth trimmed .. we took home Septrin

She’s on further course of Septrin and as well as feeding fresh veg we give cookie recovery liquid feed on a syringe to keep her nutrients up... although weight is not going up or down

Hope this info helps and thank you for your help ...
Click to expand...

Hi

Have your vets checked for a possible retrobulbar abscess, especially as she had her teeth trimmed. Has that also included premolar spurs or just the incisors? How long has she has the bulge for? Is the eyeball hardening (glaucoma)?

Septrin is the recommended antibiotic for urinary tract issues. What dosage is she on?
Has she got any pain relief? I know that it is more difficult with kidney issues, but there are pain meds that can be given as her kidney must be painful.

Please note that we are a forum with members from all over the world. It would be helpful if you please added your country, state/province and UK county to your details, we will be able to help you more efficiently as we can tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are. Just your postal area without a country is somewhat confusing unfortunately. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make and speeds things up a lot. Thank you!
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Have your vets checked for a possible retrobulbar abscess, especially as she had her teeth trimmed. Has that also included premolar spurs or just the incisors? How long has she has the bulge for? Is the eyeball hardening (glaucoma)?

Septrin is the recommended antibiotic for urinary tract issues. What dosage is she on?
Has she got any pain relief? I know that it is more difficult with kidney issues, but there are pain meds that can be given as her kidney must be painful.

Please note that we are a forum with members from all over the world. It would be helpful if you please added your country, state/province and UK county to your details, we will be able to help you more efficiently as we can tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are. Just your postal area without a country is somewhat confusing unfortunately. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make and speeds things up a lot. Thank you!
Click to expand...
KT12 postcode Wiebke so Surrey - have linked to closest cavy savy vet on locator
 
sport_billy said:
Thanks for that info, it is difficult when you are at vets to take everything in especially with unwanted news :(

Septrin is an antibiotic, Is she on any pain relief? Metacam/loxicom would be the thing i'd be expecting.

Bulging eyes can be caused by tumours, retrobulbar abscess to name a few conditions, did they do xrays? that would hopefully show the cause of the eye issue.

You have a highly recommended vet in your area by looks of it
Goddard Veterinary Group
Anne O'Meara
150 Kingston Road
Elwell
Surrey, KT17 2ET
020 8393 6049

You piggy if not on pain medication at the moment needs to be on it ASAP if she is on it - then the dose needs monitoring to make sure she is being kept pain free, there are a few options normally metacam with increasing dose range and then adding in an opiate too.

She eating veg and hay okay?

Ovarian Cysts are not life threatening and can be treated by various things such as Hormone Injections by some vets. The bulging eye and Kidney is a cause for concern and the causes need to be found.

It may be that palliative care keeping your piggy pain free until you have to help her across the Rainbow Bridge is the only thing you can do, if this is the case then keeping her pain free and a high quality of life until the time comes is vital.

i know it is difficult we have had 6 piggies PTS over the years and we had to make the choice twice when it could have gone on longer, it is an agonsiing choice to have to make but one we always make out of love for our pets by putting their needs first, you know when it is time. Your vet should and will be able to guide you on it, but you know best. Have a read of this thread here
Click to expand...

Thank you so much!

Yes I missed the bit with Metacam, she is on that too, she’s eating spinach, celery etc and hay (plus drinking and gulping liquid feed) her head does tilt when eating I noticed ...

No X rays done as far as my wife said, the Vet did the diagnosis to cookies head by feel...
 
Wilwong said:
Thank you so much!

Yes I missed the bit with Metacam, she is on that too, she’s eating spinach, celery etc and hay (plus drinking and gulping liquid feed) her head does tilt when eating I noticed ...

No X rays done as far as my wife said, the Vet did the diagnosis to cookies head by feel...
Click to expand...

It's good little Cookie is eating :) and drinking and also good she is taking the feed. Is she eating hay? I would recommenced seeing another vet, you are quite lucky to have someone like Anne O Meara close by she is highly thought of I beleive
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

Have your vets checked for a possible retrobulbar abscess, especially as she had her teeth trimmed. Has that also included premolar spurs or just the incisors? How long has she has the bulge for? Is the eyeball hardening (glaucoma)?

Septrin is the recommended antibiotic for urinary tract issues. What dosage is she on?
Has she got any pain relief? I know that it is more difficult with kidney issues, but there are pain meds that can be given as her kidney must be painful.

Please note that we are a forum with members from all over the world. It would be helpful if you please added your country, state/province and UK county to your details, we will be able to help you more efficiently as we can tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are. Just your postal area without a country is somewhat confusing unfortunately. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. This makes it appear with every post you make and speeds things up a lot. Thank you!
Click to expand...

Thank you, will sort out location on my profile

Unfortunately my wife did not get any written report on what was done (it’s a small family vet)

She is on Metacam 0.28ml daily, Septrin 0.25ml daily ..eye is showing white and weepy .. bulging only the vet noticed (Cookie always had very trapped in headlights pair of eyes anyway) Cookie went down hill fairly fast in the past 2 weeks ...
 
Has her weight always been round the 700g mark? Sending her lots of healing vibes, sorry you are going through this, i know it is hard.
 
sport_billy said:
Has her weight always been round the 700g mark? Sending her lots of healing vibes, sorry you are going through this, i know it is hard.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words ... they are such gentle and innocent creatures and I hate seeing them suffer, they are like family ..

Yes, she is one of the remaining piggy we bought from 6 months old (the other 2, Aimee and Flash, we adopted as they lost their partners too) she was a strong girl in the herd before and at her peak weigh 1kg .. she’s around 4.5 years old now ...
 
I know. Our pets are our family.

I would honestly try and see Anne O Meara if you can, she is very cavy savy can make sure anything hasn't been missed and make sure if you are going for palliative care then Cookie is kept pain free on the correct doses. Please keep us updated on Cookie
 
oh dear sorry to hear your gorgeous girl is in the wars at the moment! :(

Welcome to the Forum, even if it is a frantic entrance!

Its good that she is eating & drinking, make sure she continues to do so, especially Hay. Did the vet check for hay pokes or any foreign objects in the eye? this could be a possibility - grass seeds from the hay can go into the eye or get stuck under the eyelid/around the eyeball & cause the eye to be inflamed/change shape too. probably a better outcome than a tumour too!
but she would need to be checked for a retrobullar abscess (abscess behind the eye) if this wasn't the case.
Zithromax would be the most suitable antibiotic if it does turn out to be an abscess especially dental ones, has there been any improvement since the teeth were trimmed? as this is usually a specialist job that can cause complications if not done properly.

With the ovarian cysts i had my old girl Ellie at 6yrs old diagnosed with hers by a conscious ultrasound & was then treated with two separate rounds of HCG (chorulon) hormone injections about 7-10 days apart. this was a complete success - the cyst reduced in size considerably within weeks. the main symptom was her genital bleeding/urinary tract infections which stopped pretty much immediately, with maybe only one bleed afterwards.

i see you mention a head tilt, this could be an ear infection/issue as well as the suggested tumour/abscess.
If Cookie is fluffed up or in a corner, this often indicates pain, so her dosage of Loxicom/metacam may need adjusting too (depends also if dog or cat strength version) if she has kidney issues Loxicom may not be the most suitable, because its a little harsh on the kidney's, but there are members on here who have been giving loxicom long term with little damage being shown. Loxicom is also an anti-inflammatory so should improve her general aches & pains from all directions. If the ovarian cysts are large or growing this could be causing the other organs to be squashed up & not working as effectively as normal so needs to be addressed.
I think the quality of her life & being pain free now is more of a consideration at the moment than her long term situation.

i usually work on the good quality of life for a shorter period of time is far better than, being in pain or miserable but living for longer. you can usually tell when your guinea has had enough, it's never an easy decision, but you will know- or she will let you know when the time is right.

i think i would try for a second opinion, would you be able to try the suggested vets by @sport_billy from the vet locator?

healing vibes & let us know how she gets on. xx
 
Last edited:
@GPTV

Thank you so much and others for helpful replies ... this forum has made me felt so welcome and I hope to give back in the future too.

Just had a chat with my wife (who dealt with the vets) she hasn’t taken Metacam from the vets and only Septrin .. which we have given her a dose just now ... Cookie is munching on tomatoes, spinach, celery and pallets at the moment, we also feed her rescue liquid via syringe too.

I’m going to phone the recommended vet by @sport_billy today to see if I can get a second opinion, I’m goinh on holiday tomorrow so if I can fit something in or immediately after I’m back hopefully we can see what they can do for cookie ..

Again thanks so much and I will keep all updated...I promise once this all gets better I will post a proper introductory

Cookie (in the middle) today munching on hay..to the left is Flash and right is Aimee ...

7A698095-A7AA-4C89-9134-B7A9AD10773F.webp
 
Lovely Piggies! Welcome to the forum.we are a friendly bunch here. Hope Cookie feels better soon.:hug:sending hugs and healing vibes your way from me and my herd of 5 (Velvet, Betsy, Christian, Dennis and Meg)
 
Betsy said:
Lovely Piggies! Welcome to the forum.we are a friendly bunch here. Hope Cookie feels better soon.:hug:sending hugs and healing vibes your way from me and my herd of 5 (Velvet, Betsy, Christian, Dennis and Meg)
Click to expand...

Thank you ! I’d love to have more piggies but running out of room the recommended Vet is closed today but I’ll see if my good friend (who will be piggy sitting as we are on a family holiday from tomorrow) can take her in or call on Saturday when they are open
 
Wilwong said:
Thank you ! I’d love to have more piggies but running out of room the recommended Vet is closed today but I’ll see if my good friend (who will be piggy sitting as we are on a family holiday from tomorrow) can take her in or call on Saturday when they are open
Click to expand...
I only have five cos it was buy 2 get 3 free on April 1st 2 years ago! Velvet had a surprise shop litter 35 days later!
 
A85B94AE-742C-459D-91AA-57CD13006346.webp Ok everyone, my friend will try and call the vet on Saturday for sure (she’s an absolute saint and will sort this out) Cookie ate with gusto this morning (hay fresh veg and fruit) now got a bit sullen ... I took some pics of her bad eye too while she was still, has gradually got more milky and weeping over the few days ...
 
Wilwong said:
View attachment 83769

hi all

I have had an unwell piggy, she has been diagnosed with ovarian cyst, inflamed kidney and possible tumour with one bulging eye.

She (Cookie) weigh in at 700g at the moment (she was 900g earlier this year, and had noticeable hair loss under belly, scruffy fur and a very protruding left eye.

She still eats and drinks but occasionally I see the poor girl very sullen in the corner, presumably when she is tired of showing a brave face :(

Our Vet, who is a nice chap, has offered to put a Cookie to sleep twice now and have put her on pain medication... said it was too risky to operate and just keep her comfy till she fades away..

Is it worth asking for a second opinion?

If there is even a slim chance we can nurse her back to health I will ...

Thank you all...
Click to expand...

Poor baby! Bless her! I hope she feels better soon! <3
 
Poor little thing. Will you be going back to the vets to pick up the Metacam? She will need that as soon as possible.
 
Please get pain relief discussed at the vets and get that metacam from your other vet today, my advice would be to write a list of things to talk about. Septrin is a decent antibiotic and often more well tolerated than baytril as it does not put them off the food as baytril can do. So keep up with that although I am unsure as to the thinking behind prescribing it if the belief is a tumour and enlarged kidney. However if an abcess it may help

Please speak to new vet regarding an xray - vital to diagnose whta is happening around the eye

Love to Cookie
 
Thanks again for all the help, I have directed my friend who will be piggy sitting while we are on holiday to this site with all the details here... luckily we squeezed an extra dose from the bottle we had of Metacam (it was a tiny bottle ) and she is going to call the new Vets tomorrow to sort... they are all snug as a bug in the car on the way to stay at our friends for a bit

Both Vets are shut for Easter but I’m going to see if other pet stores sell Metacam (if they do at all)

She’s perked up before I waved her goodbye .. she’s in a big box full of comfy hay, but only 20 minute ride to my friend ...

Will keep you posted ....
 
Wilwong said:
Thanks again for all the help, I have directed my friend who will be piggy sitting while we are on holiday to this site with all the details here... luckily we squeezed an extra dose from the bottle we had of Metacam (it was a tiny bottle ) and she is going to call the new Vets tomorrow to sort... they are all snug as a bug in the car on the way to stay at our friends for a bit

Both Vets are shut for Easter but I’m going to see if other pet stores sell Metacam (if they do at all)

She’s perked up before I waved her goodbye .. she’s in a big box full of comfy hay, but only 20 minute ride to my friend ...

Will keep you posted ....
Click to expand...
Pet stores wont sell metacam it is prescription meds I am afraid. Hope the vets goes well
 
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