Elisa's Eye Removal

[Jerome Sobacki]

Hello,
Mudflap here. My granddaughter has two guinea pigs which Papa has been assign the job of caretaker, along with three cats and four parrots. Elisa and Anna are her two pigs. A couple of weeks ago Elisa was spending a lot of time in her hut. I took her out and her right eye was swollen and had a puncture in it with some crusty stuff on the surface. It looked really bad.
My granddaughter's mom is a vet so I took Elisa in. She said her eye was gone and gave some meds to apply. After about two days it was swollen and she was not eating or drinking. I called the vet and she said to bring her in and she would remove the eye. She also said it was risky putting her to sleep. She removed the eye and I brought her back home. She was really out of it until the next morning. She kept falling over when she walked. She was not eating or drinking. She was getting thinner and spend all of her time in the corner. I blended some pellets as fine as I could and added water to the mix and started feeding her with a spoon. I also took a small syringe, the one with out the needle, and started giving her water. She ate a small amount of the pellet mix but did she ever take to the water. I was going through this process three to four times a day. More often with the water. After three days she was not doing to good. It broke my heart to see the little gal in such a struggle for life. I was feeding her on the table but she kept falling over on her right side (right eye gone) . I picked her up and held her to my chest and started to feed her and water her in this manner.
She was not doing good. I mix up a little salad for the gals about every day; carrots, cucumber skins. sweet peppers, Roma lettuce, celery, diced tomatoes, & apple. I forgot to remove the bowls from the cage that night and when I got up the next morning Elisa was eating her salad. I knew we had turned it around. That was six days ago. Yesterday I took her out to feed and water her in the morning and while I was mixing her pellets she run over the bowl and got her head in it and started pigging out before I had a chance to mix it all . It brought a tear to my eye. I am 6' 1", 240 pounds and have worked as a steamfitter for 30 years, but this little gal just overwhelmed me. She is not a 100% yet but she is getting stronger every day. She is going to go through times with half of her vision gone. it is not like a human or dog losing a eye. From her nose her whole right side is blind. Put your open hand on your nose and close your right eye and you have pretty much got Elisa's field of vision.
I just wanted to share this so if anyone else is going through caring for a guinea after eye removal this is what I went through and it is not hopeless.

 

[Critter]

Hi Muflap. What a wonderful caretaker you are, and thank you for sharing Elsa's story.
I'm so glad to read that she is now on the road to recovery, and I know you will do everything you can to help her along that road.
Although I don't have experience of this, there are a few people here who have had to take their pigs in for the removal of an eye. Hopefully they will see your thread. If not then it would be worth looking through the health section of the forum and finding them.
Operation and recovery aside - guinea pigs tend to adjust well to this after a while. Even with two healthy working eyes their eyesight is limited - short range, and they rely on their other senses more than their eyes. She may bump into things occasionally though, and when approaching her from her blind side it's best to make a little noise and tap the ground a bit, let her know something is there for her to turn to and investigate before surprising her with a touch. Better still to approach her from her good side

 

[Wiebke]

Hello,
Mudflap here. My granddaughter has two guinea pigs which Papa has been assign the job of caretaker, along with three cats and four parrots. Elisa and Anna are her two pigs. A couple of weeks ago Elisa was spending a lot of time in her hut. I took her out and her right eye was swollen and had a puncture in it with some crusty stuff on the surface. It looked really bad.
My granddaughter's mom is a vet so I took Elisa in. She said her eye was gone and gave some meds to apply. After about two days it was swollen and she was not eating or drinking. I called the vet and she said to bring her in and she would remove the eye. She also said it was risky putting her to sleep. She removed the eye and I brought her back home. She was really out of it until the next morning. She kept falling over when she walked. She was not eating or drinking. She was getting thinner and spend all of her time in the corner. I blended some pellets as fine as I could and added water to the mix and started feeding her with a spoon. I also took a small syringe, the one with out the needle, and started giving her water. She ate a small amount of the pellet mix but did she ever take to the water. I was going through this process three to four times a day. More often with the water. After three days she was not doing to good. It broke my heart to see the little gal in such a struggle for life. I was feeding her on the table but she kept falling over on her right side (right eye gone) . I picked her up and held her to my chest and started to feed her and water her in this manner.
She was not doing good. I mix up a little salad for the gals about every day; carrots, cucumber skins. sweet peppers, Roma lettuce, celery, diced tomatoes, & apple. I forgot to remove the bowls from the cage that night and when I got up the next morning Elisa was eating her salad. I knew we had turned it around. That was six days ago. Yesterday I took her out to feed and water her in the morning and while I was mixing her pellets she run over the bowl and got her head in it and started pigging out before I had a chance to mix it all . It brought a tear to my eye. I am 6' 1", 240 pounds and have worked as a steamfitter for 30 years, but this little gal just overwhelmed me. She is not a 100% yet but she is getting stronger every day. She is going to go through times with half of her vision gone. it is not like a human or dog losing a eye. From her nose her whole right side is blind. Put your open hand on your nose and close your right eye and you have pretty much got Elisa's field of vision.
I just wanted to share this so if anyone else is going through caring for a guinea after eye removal this is what I went through and it is not hopeless.

You are a wonderful carer and have definitely saved Elisa's life! Guinea pigs can struggle after an operation, mostly because of the anaesthetics, especially if it is done by a general vet that is not all that practised with with small animals. You did absolutely the right thing in persisting with syringe feeding and to keep going. It is likely that it may take some time before the weight is coming back on fully, but hopefully it will eventually.
You may find our step-by-step syringe feeding guide helpful for the future, and so may your vet: Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

If necessary, speak to the vet about post-operation pain medication. Antibiotics also have an appetite dampening effect, as they kill of the good bacteria in the guts as well as the bad ones. We recommend to either give a pinch of probiotics or help restock the guts by soaking fresh poos from a healthy guinea pig in a little water and then syringing that water. Please weigh Elisa daily at the same time (ideally before her dinner) to keep an eye on her daily food intake. Fresh hay should make up to 80% of that.

Several of our members have got one eyed guinea pigs; I have had had and adopted several guinea pigs that were blind or going blind from cataracts. Thankfully, they learn to adjust quite well. The first period while the area is still painful and the other senses have not yet compensated is the most difficult. You have to train yourself to not approach them from their blind side or to at least warn them by making little noises, especially when they are asleep and are surprised.

Guinea pigs have a way of working their way into your heart... x)
PS: You are not the only large or tough guy who has a big heart for small animals. Just as a little mood booster. This link is from an Australian biker group campaigning against animal cruelty (BAAC) on their visit to a guinea pig rescue (The Fox Residence Guinea Pig Sanctuary).
Since we have got members from all the world, we find it extremely helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can always tailor any advice to what is available and doable where you are. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. From your name I assume that you are Polish? Thank you!

 

[Freela]

You're doing a great job and I'm so glad she's beginning to perk up! I hope she makes a full recovery for you! I know there are some other members here whose guinea pigs have lost an eye and have been able to recover and lead normal lives, so hopefully she will also make a full recovery. Thanks so much for sharing your story!

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

Hey, Thanks for the information on heating up the ground pellets with water. It is a lot easier to get the mixture into the syringe. Also I had thought about dropping a couple turds into some water and giving them to Elisa to enforce the bacteria in her little gut. I will take picture of Elisa and Anna together so you my see how much smaller Elisa is than Anna. Anna looks like a school bus alongside Elisa. Elisa was raising sand this morning that girl was to hungry. I have got to find the gram scale my wife has put up so I can weigh those two girls. Thanks for the links in the posts

 

[helen105281]

My Tim has one eye, it was recently removed due to a retrobulbar abscess. You would think he hadn't even realised though the way he charges about. The only issue he has is sometimes he wheeks in the wrong direction and like Wiebke says I have to be careful not to make him jump.

It sounds like you are doing a great job.

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

My Tim has one eye, it was recently removed due to a retrobulbar abscess. You would think he hadn't even realised though the way he charges about. The only issue he has is sometimes he wheeks in the wrong direction and like Wiebke says I have to be careful not to make him jump.

It sounds like you are doing a great job.

Little Elisa Falls over a lot. when she shakes her little head she will just fall over on her side. Boy the bedding does fly when she tries to right herself. Did your guinea have a similar problem. Elisa is eating a lot better and using the water bottle but she is still a weak little gal. I do not know what particular breed she is. She has real short hair and it is gray and white. She is about a third of the size of Anna. I think she was a runt of the litter. I know a lot about parrots. But nothing about guinea pigs. when my son and granddaughter brought them to our house.

 

[helen105281]

Oh bless her. No I haven't seen Tim do that. He stayed at a sanctuary for a couple of weeks after his op so he could be near the vet but as far as I know he didn't do that. It must be something unique to her. I wonder if maybe she has some balance issues.

 

[Wiebke]

Little Elisa Falls over a lot. when she shakes her little head she will just fall over on her side. Boy the bedding does fly when she tries to right herself. Did your guinea have a similar problem. Elisa is eating a lot better and using the water bottle but she is still a weak little gal. I do not know what particular breed she is. She has real short hair and it is gray and white. She is about a third of the size of Anna. I think she was a runt of the litter. I know a lot about parrots. But nothing about guinea pigs. when my son and granddaughter brought them to our house.

The falling over is worrying; it may be that the infection has gone into the brain? I would speak about it to your vet.
Thank you for adding your location; here is a link to recommended guinea pig vets in your state (courtesy of Guinea Lynx website): Veterinarians North Carolina - The GLX-Files

Here is our information kit for new owners on a fair number of topics, which you may find helpful:
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ig-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

The falling over is worrying; it may be that the infection has gone into the brain? I would speak about it to your vet.
Thank you for adding your location; here is a link to recommended guinea pig vets in your state (courtesy of Guinea Lynx website): Veterinarians North Carolina - The GLX-Files

Here is our information kit for new owners on a fair number of topics, which you may find helpful:
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ig-picture-guide-to-common-pet-breeds.121399/

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

Morning
This little Elisa really had me upset yesterday. She has lost so much weight when she went to get a drink out of her water bottle and just fell over and just laid there. It scared the hell out of me. I've have started feeding her every two hours. I got up this morning at 2:00 AM And got five syringes of pellet slurry and four syringes of water. She was so inactive yesterday l really thought she would not make it through the night. I fed her three times in two hours. She is doing a whole lot better this morning. The stitches were removed from her eye Wednesday. The corner of her eye has a little open spot with a slight discharge. I touched her between her eye and ear and she squeaked in pain. So I think I know how she lost her eye. Anna is a BIG girl and she is always going in her hut and lifting it up on one end and dropping it. I think she was playing her pick up the hut and drop it game and Elisa got hint on the head. She is going to the vet this morning about the eye.
I really hope this is not to much information. I just wanted to share whats going on with Elisa.
I read the post about guinea toys and put a box with hay in Anna's cage and she had a ball going in it, moving it around and getting on top of it. That girl is a trip.

 

[Wiebke]

I suspect she has an infection behind her eye (retrobulbar abscess), if it is that painful in that area; and that is what is likely causing her falling over. She may need a very strong antibiotic like zithromax (azithromycin) if you are to be in with a change of saving her. All the best at the vets!I am keeping my fingers very firmyl crossed!

Eye injuries, whether it is an accidental scratch or a misjudged swipe from another guinea pig or a self-inflicted hay poke, are not at all uncommon in guinea pigs. Most of them are thankfully minor ones, but others aren't and they may end with needing the eye removed.

 

[helen105281]

If it is a retrobulbar abscess the eye socket ideally needs to be left open and flushed daily in addition to the Zithromax.

Have a look at either of these threads:

Cedric's Eye Problem - A Diary

Dental - Tim - Dental Issues

 

[GPTV]

sorry i can't really provide any extra advice for you, but Helen has given you some informative threads to read & wiebkes suggestion of Zithromax seems to have worked well with other guineas on here.
Just make sure she has sufficient painkilling medications (often Metacam/loxicom over here in the UK) spread evenly throughout the day & keep up with her syringe feeding little & often is good.

You're doing a great job, keep it up.

fingers &paws all tightly crossed for a full & speedy recovery.

love the girls & I. xx

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

I suspect she has an infection behind her eye (retrobulbar abscess), if it is that painful in that area; and that is what is likely causing her falling over. She may need a very strong antibiotic like zithromax (azithromycin) if you are to be in with a change of saving her. All the best at the vets!I am keeping my fingers very firmyl crossed!

Eye injuries, whether it is an accidental scratch or a misjudged swipe from another guinea pig or a self-inflicted hay poke, are not at all uncommon in guinea pigs. Most of them are thankfully minor ones, but others aren't and they may end with needing the eye removed.

Sad day in Milton. We had to put Elisa down yesterday. I broke my heart to it but the vet agreed. She had lost so much weight. I found her laying on her side in the middle of the pen, she never does that, it is always in her hut. I buried her under the Japan Red maple with Mr. Beans & Dewy Or parrots,
She was a really sweet gal. She was the one all the kids choose to hold. When I was preparing her to be buried my parrot Darby got really quiet and still. He knew .
Now for some good news. I went on the page with information on Guinea pig toys. I got a box and cut a hole on one end and put a big hand full of hay in it and Anna went goofy over it. She slept in it last night. Her hut was to small. What I don't know about guinea pigs would fill a library.

 

[Wiebke]

Sad day in Milton. We had to put Elisa down yesterday. I broke my heart to it but the vet agreed. She had lost so much weight. I found her laying on her side in the middle of the pen, she never does that, it is always in her hut. I buried her under the Japan Red maple with Mr. Beans & Dewy Or parrots,
She was a really sweet gal. She was the one all the kids choose to hold. When I was preparing her to be buried my parrot Darby got really quiet and still. He knew .
Now for some good news. I went on the page with information on Guinea pig toys. I got a box and cut a hole on one end and put a big hand full of hay in it and Anna went goofy over it. She slept in it last night. Her hut was to small. What I don't know about guinea pigs would fill a library.

I have been very afraid of this news; it sounded like the infection had gone into the brain already. You made the right decision and don't have to feel guilty about it. You did give Eliza a chance and did all you could. She couldn't have had a more caring owner.
You are welcome to post a tribute to Eliza in our Rainbow Bridge section of and whenever it feels right for you. It doesn't matter what species, it is the nature of the bond and the deepness of affection that determines how much we grieve.

It is great that Anna is not pining and that she is happy. In the longer term you can consider getting her a new friend for happiness and stimulation; sadly there is no good guinea pig rescue in your state that we can recommend, but you could look on petfinder for local rescues or shelters that they may not provide medical care, so you would have to quarantine and if necessary treat.
We have got lots of bonding and behaviour tips at the top of our behaviour section.
Right now, you may find this thread here helpful: Looking After A Bereaved Guinea Pig

 

[helen105281]

I'm so sorry, like Wiebke says, it was 100% the right decision. Hope you are ok and Anna too.

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

I'm so sorry, like Wiebke says, it was 100% the right decision. Hope you are ok and Anna too.

I have been watching Anna. she is spending a lot of time in her hut. I take her out about three times a day. When I walk buy her pen she squeaks. It s plumb pitiful. I drove my wife out so she could finish up her Christmas shopping and while I was waiting for her in the car I clled my daughter in law, the vet. I asked her if the animal shelter in Danville,Va would have any guinea pigs up for adoption. She called me back and said they had one female that they had had for 8 months. I told my wife I was going to stop by and talk to them. They took my to see the guinea pig and I took her out of the cage. She has short hair, and is medium brown/black. You talk about a little fatty and she is about the same size as Anna. Oh you, guess what her name is? ANNA. Can you believe that? She is real sweet but a little timid. She squeaked and lot when I picked her up until I put her nose up against mine and we rubbed noses. She settled right down. I filled out a application for adoption and they told me to call them tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning. Man I am real excited. The sad thing about Elisa is I never got a picture of her. I think my son might have some but i'll need to wait until he get home from Egypt tomorrow.

 

[helen105281]

She sounds wonderful. Hope the bonding goes OK.

 

[Jerome Sobacki]

Pictures of Anna 1, Tan & white & Anna 2, Black & Tan I am letting them fellowship with each other through the wire wall of the cage. After 24 hours I took Anna 2, the new arrival, out of her section of the of the pen and let Anna 1 in that part of the pen that Anna 2 was in so she could get her sent. After about 15 min I put Anna 2 back in her pen with the divider open so Anna 1 could access that part of the pen. There was a whole lot of squeaking going on and those funny sounds they make that sounds like chattering. I think that is is a warning sign and they were both making it. They would come together and sniff and back away. Then Anna1 got ugly and jumped on Anna 2. That's all guineas I said to them and split them up. They are squeak at each other through the partition. I'll try again tomorrow.