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Now Piglet has a bad eye!

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Gaile

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This is a very hard decision to make, as this is the same problem as I had with her brother Boris who died just 8weeks ago.....
I noticed that her eye was a little swollen.....but then yesterday I was cleaning the guinea pigs out. Piglet's eye was very swollen and red!!
I took her to the vets this morning but the only option is to remove the eye! I personal think that is a big op for a nearly 4year old guinea pig!! She is still eating and alert but has lost a little weight!
This is what I've decided to do.................this is my 8yr old daughter's guinea pig we have had Piglet since she was 5weeks old..................... Jaye knows what happened to Boris so is very upset that Piglet now has a bad eye! The vet said she'd put Piglet to sleep this morning. But I asked if I could take Piglet home until Saturday...with pain meds etc Just so that Jaye can get sort of use to the idea....we have lost alot of pets in a year so its not going to be easy!! Wha t do you think!
 
I'm very sorry to hear about Piglet although if i was you i would go with the surgery,4 years old is still young enough to recover from it and i find it a little extreme for the vet to want to do that,i know a few pigs who have had eyes removed at 4 years and older and all recovered well,i hope you reconsider as it may be worth a shot,goodluck,hugs for your little girl sent as this would be so hard on her xxxxxxx
 
I have had a number of pigs with swollen eye problems. One or two had the affected eye removed. The others recovered even though the sight was damaged. Treatment consisted of eye drops and antibiotics. It took possibly 3-4 weeks for the swelling to subside. I was more concerned than the pigs!
Don't give up, if need be get a second opinion.
I would not even consider having the pig put down at this stage.
 
I've been through this with Boris he had lots of antibiotics and pain meds it lasted nearly 3months!....he got so thin and died before I could take him to the vets!
 
I've been through this with Boris he had lots of antibiotics and pain meds it lasted nearly 3months!....he got so thin and died before I could take him to the vets!

thats why i would think about the op before she loses to much weight,different pig so maybe differnt outcome?its worth trying to save her xx
 
DON'T PANIC (not yet anyway) Kizzy has just recovered from what sounds like something very similar. Her eye was very swolen and red. She had two weeks of baytril, metacam and fucithalmic (spelling) eye drops. In the end a hay seed came out of the corner and she was given the all clear after nearly three weeks. The vet also was quite sure she would need it removing and was very happy to be proved wrong. Unless your vet has confirmed that it is the only option due to something behind the eye, try a course of meds for a while first. It may get a bit worse before it gets better but don't give up hope yet.
Kizzy also lost some weight but as soon as she was on the mend she put it back on and then some :)
 
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Just talked to my OH who googled this for Kizzy and it is a really common cause of eye swelling to have a hay seed in it. Lots of people have apparently had a vet say the eye needs removing but it turns out just to be a hay seed. At the mo the eye will be too swollen to see any seed but it is when the swelling goes down that it will be visible and hopefully work its way out.
 
I will try and get a photo of Piglet's eye but this was what Boris's eye looked like....but Piglet's is worse!
23-07-09_1513.jpg
 
Kizzys was cloudy like that but it went much whiter it was also swollen like that and was puffed out and felt hard to touch the top of her eyelid. She had 0.7ml of baytril, 0.12 ml of metacam once a day and the eye drops twice a day. If Piglet doesn't respond to the meds then more drastic action might be needed but it's worth trying.
We also bathed Kizzys eye with cooled boiled water and cotton wool twice a day.
 
It is difficult to tell exactly, from a photo, how bad Boris's eye was. However, on a scale of 1 to 10 I would put that at 3, possibly 4.
Don't give up on her behalf!
 
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