Care for hay-poke until vet visit?

[Pantalaimon]

I noticed yesterday that one of my guinea pigs, Ratter, was spending more time in her bed and taking longer to come for food. She is a month away from being seven and has gone quite deaf over the last six months. She has no other signs of health issues and was eating normally so I thought I would just keep a close eye on her. I’d did notice that she had a slightly closed and watery eye but thought nothing of it as she has ongoing respiratory issues that can sometimes cause that when they flare up.

Today seeing her in daylight I immediately saw she has a hay poke! I feel bad now for not noticing it yesterday.

She will see a vet hopefully today or possibly tomorrow morning if they have no spaces left today. I can see the end of a big piece of hay in her eye, I am wondering whether I should attempt to remove this to make her more comfortable? I would be quite unsure about doing it as I wouldn’t want to hurt her but she is in a lot of discomfort (she attacked my hand when I went to get her out of the cage which is totally unlike her).

Is there anything else I can do in the next hours to make her more comfortable?
As I type this she has buried herself in a big heap of hay and is eating it from the inside out, so there’s not much of a question as to how this occurred!

 

[VickiA]

I would call your vets and ask them to see her as an emergency today. Any vet can see an eye emergency. I would also ask whether you should try to remove the hay or leave it for the vet. I only attempt removal myself if it’s very obviously protruding and loose and will simply wipe away. If it’s caught then I would leave so the vet can see whether it is embedded. If you have metacam perhaps give her a dose to make her comfy. But other than that it’s down to the vets to get it out and treat her. Good luck

 

[Wiebke]

I noticed yesterday that one of my guinea pigs, Ratter, was spending more time in her bed and taking longer to come for food. She is a month away from being seven and has gone quite deaf over the last six months. She has no other signs of health issues and was eating normally so I thought I would just keep a close eye on her. I’d did notice that she had a slightly closed and watery eye but thought nothing of it as she has ongoing respiratory issues that can sometimes cause that when they flare up.

Today seeing her in daylight I immediately saw she has a hay poke! I feel bad now for not noticing it yesterday.

She will see a vet hopefully today or possibly tomorrow morning if they have no spaces left today. I can see the end of a big piece of hay in her eye, I am wondering whether I should attempt to remove this to make her more comfortable? I would be quite unsure about doing it as I wouldn’t want to hurt her but she is in a lot of discomfort (she attacked my hand when I went to get her out of the cage which is totally unlike her).

Is there anything else I can do in the next hours to make her more comfortable?
As I type this she has buried herself in a big heap of hay and is eating it from the inside out, so there’s not much of a question as to how this occurred!

Hi

Eye injury diagnosis and medication is the same as for cats and dogs. Any general vet willing to see guinea pigs will do. Key is being seen as soon as possible over specialisation. As the vet for what they would recommend if you cannot be seen within 24 hours, which is the recommended appointment window for any non-bleeding eye injury or infection. A stuck piece of hay can cause considerable damage to the cornea and can cause in infection so it also comes under that category.

All the best.

As to the removal of the hay, I have the same rule of thumb as @VickiA .

 

[Pantalaimon]

Thanks for the responses. I will leave the hay for the vet as it is a long way in. She has an appointment just before 5 this afternoon which means waiting a while but I need someone to take me and that’s when someone is available. Frustratingly all of the metacam I have is out of date, the most recent one I have was opened at the beginning of the year for my other pig and the last bottle I had for Ratter was nearly two years ago.
I will just keep her warm and comfortable for the rest of the day. She’s been eating happily and is now in one of her favourite beds begging for food so I don’t think she feels absolutely awful, just a bit uncomfortable. Hopefully the irritation isn’t made too much worse by waiting a few more hours though.

It’s good to hear that the injury can be treated by any vet, I am always concerned about seeing a different vet and them doing something they don’t realise is not suitable for guinea pigs.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the responses. I will leave the hay for the vet as it is a long way in. She has an appointment just before 5 this afternoon which means waiting a while but I need someone to take me and that’s when someone is available. Frustratingly all of the metacam I have is out of date, the most recent one I have was opened at the beginning of the year for my other pig and the last bottle I had for Ratter was nearly two years ago.
I will just keep her warm and comfortable for the rest of the day. She’s been eating happily and is now in one of her favourite beds begging for food so I don’t think she feels absolutely awful, just a bit uncomfortable. Hopefully the irritation isn’t made too much worse by waiting a few more hours though.

It’s good to hear that the injury can be treated by any vet, I am always concerned about seeing a different vet and them doing something they don’t realise is not suitable for guinea pigs.

Hi

Just leave be and do not fret yourself to shreds with the blind need of 'having to do something now'. It's only a few hours when it will be taken care of properly and you will be given the appropriate meds to prevent an infection and repair the cornea.

The pain is in more in the region of discomfort rather than acute pain.

 

[piggieminder]

Poor piggy. I'm glad you managed to get an appointment today. I've just dealt with 2 hay pokes in my boys, they healed up really quickly once the offending hay had gone. Sending her healing vibes.

 

[VickiA]

Hope all goes well this afternoon

 

[Claire W]

Glad you’ve managed to get an appointment for today. Both my Ella and Esme had grass seeds stuck deep in their eyes earlier this year. The vet managed to remove them with twizzers. It’s best to leave it to the vet as eyes are very delicate. They had corneal ulcers from where the grass seeds had been scratching the eye but they both healed well with antibiotic eye drops and corneal repair gel prescribed by the vet. Their eyes actually started looking a lot better once the grass seeds were out x

 

[Pantalaimon]

Thanks for the many helpful responses. Just got back from the vet, the piece of hay was one of those seed head thingies and was about 2-3cm long!

Her eye is already opening much better, she has been given remend gel and isathal drops. The only problem is, the vet hasn’t said how much to give!

How much should I be putting in the eye? I think the vets have now shut, so I can’t ask them.

 

[Claire W]

Glad the grass seed is out. She’ll feel much better now. That’s what happened to my two. The isathal drops need to be given twice a day. One drop in the eye twice a day morning and night and the remand needs to be given around 3-4 times a day, again one drop at a time. But remember to give the ramand at least an hour after the isathal to avoid washing it out.

 

[Pantalaimon]

I was told to give the isathal at least 5mins before the remand. And give remand twice daily. I would assume this means to give both twice daily. I just wasn’t given a dosage. I have given her her first dose because I think she really just needs to go back to her cage right now, I gave her one drop of each so hopefully that’s ok.

 

[Claire W]

In that case follow your vets instructions but yes, it’s one drop of each. I was told to give the remand 3-4 times a day but my girls corneal ulcers could have been more severe?

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for the many helpful responses. Just got back from the vet, the piece of hay was one of those seed head thingies and was about 2-3cm long!

Her eye is already opening much better, she has been given remend gel and isathal drops. The only problem is, the vet hasn’t said how much to give!

How much should I be putting in the eye? I think the vets have now shut, so I can’t ask them.

Hi

One drop each.

Gently pull the lower lid down a little and aim into the gap with any drops. With gel you dab a tiny bit on the eye surface without touching it while you hold the eye open.

It is a matter of practice but can be easier with somebody else holding the piggy and also allowing your piggy to get absorbed in eating their veg or pellet breakfast/dinner while out. Piggies don't multitask.

Please always for at least half an hour to allow any drops to be fully absorbed before giving other eye meds.

 

[Pantalaimon]

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond. She’s just eaten her dinner quite happily and is wandering around and chewing the (mostly destroyed) hay cube, just removing the irritant seems to have made her much more comfortable.

I have already given her the first dose of each, though I only waited 10 minutes between the two.

For the next few days I will be able to do the separate drops more than half an hour apart but after that it will only be 5-10 minutes apart as I have to leave early in the morning. Hopefully it will be much better by then, from why I’ve heard eyes heal very fast for the worst of the injury but take a while longer to get completely better.

I was quite familiar with doing ear drops efficiently but that was five years ago so I will probably have to regain the skill!

I am always impressed with how quickly and helpfully people respond to urgent questions on here! It can really help when worrying about something. I never used to get so stressed with an issue like this but I’ve had Ratter for nearly seven years and through lots of different things so I get quite scared that something could happen to her, though I know she will have to go at some point but hopefully not by any illness!