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hay poke. no vet for 3 days

Scooter Pie

Scooter Pie

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
Bethlehem PA, Northeastern USA
I'm calling everywhere. I can't get her in till Tuesday night.

Some cloudiness on one side of the actual eye and some irritation on the lids. No foreign body that I can see.

No discharge (yet). She's squinting a little. Enough that I noticed and took a closer look.

I had some BNP opthalmic ointment from another hay poke pig. Yes I put some on the eye.

Was the BNP a bad idea? Is there anything else I can do besides get in a time machine to Tuesday night?

🐷😞
 
I am so sorry for the situation you are in, eye injuries are classed as emergencies and really do need to be seen. Is there an emergency vet you could take her too?
We don't usually advise home treating but in your case and if you really can't get to a vet until Tuesday, the BNP ointment may have to do if it has been used for another hay poke pig of yours. The problem you have is if there is a foreign body (usually a strand of hay or hay seed) stuck under the eyelid
 
Thank you guys. The ointment was for a pig who had an eyelid injury but nothing on the cornea.

Claire W said:
I am so sorry for the situation you are in, eye injuries are classed as emergencies and really do need to be seen. Is there an emergency vet you could take her too?
We don't usually advise home treating but in your case and if you really can't get to a vet until Tuesday, the BNP ointment may have to do if it has been used for another hay poke pig of yours. The problem you have is if there is a foreign body (usually a strand of hay or hay seed) stuck under the eyelid
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I will try looking again. For some hay under there.

And I 100% understand the no home care recommendation. But it sounds like the ointment wont HURT? It should prevent at least some bacterial infection? It's Neomycin Polymycin B Sulfate and Bacitracin opthalmic.FBF44ACD-F0E6-4A9E-9816-22CED33FBD31.webp
 
Claire W said:
No, the ointment shouldn’t hurt. You have to do the best you can in your current situation
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Thanks so much. This is literally all I can do right now. It's so frustrating I feel like calling and saying she's a cat to get her in. An eye is an eye.

She happens to be on antibiotics for her bladder now. Think that might help at all? I know they dont give oral abx for eyes.
 
Eye ointments usially go off and need disposing of within 4 weeks and also.could transfer infection if used on different piggies- they dont temain sterile and suitable for reuse.
If you can get a lubricant eye gel suitable for humans, from a pharmacy or even online, that will ease discomfort and may stop the eye injury getting worse until you can see the vet and they can check using that fluorescent dye for any foreign objects and properly diagnose and prescribe for what is going on.
Tallulah uses Siccasan eye lubricant gel from Amazon as she has an ongoing dry sticky eye, something like that would be suitable for a short term soothing harmless treatment until you see the vet- but eye issues do count as emergencies and ideally should be seen withing 24 hours so best of luck getting to the vet as soon as you can!
 
I got prescribed isathal eye gel which is the antibiotic but we were also given something called Viscotears which is a general lubricant for the eyes and is to make piggy more comfortable. It's not a prescription thing so you might just be able to buy it, if that will help at all?

You have good eyesight - I'm not sure I would have noticed anything! :eek:
 
You can see it better here, maybe. The corner toward her nose. Definitely some pinkish texture on the surface of the eye.

She has a lot of other health problems and so I'm always staring at her and listening for sounds of pain when she goes to the bathroom. So I noticed the squinting.
 

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PigglePuggle said:
Eye ointments usially go off and need disposing of within 4 weeks and also.could transfer infection if used on different piggies- they dont temain sterile and suitable for reuse.
If you can get a lubricant eye gel suitable for humans, from a pharmacy or even online, that will ease discomfort and may stop the eye injury getting worse until you can see the vet and they can check using that fluorescent dye for any foreign objects and properly diagnose and prescribe for what is going on.
Tallulah uses Siccasan eye lubricant gel from Amazon as she has an ongoing dry sticky eye, something like that would be suitable for a short term soothing harmless treatment until you see the vet- but eye issues do count as emergencies and ideally should be seen withing 24 hours so best of luck getting to the vet as soon as you can!
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Is this it? I can get it tomorrow 💕
 

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Scooter Pie said:
Is this it? I can get it tomorrow 💕
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Yes that's it, it is identical to veterinary lubrithal but also contains dexpanthenol which is like a B-vitamin derivative that helps prevent further eye damage :)
Tallulah has this daily now to help prevent the recurring eye infections and corneal injuries her sticky eye is very prone to getting, its good stuff and piggy safe- should keep things soothed safely until you can see the vet :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Yes that's it, it is identical to veterinary lubrithal but also contains dexpanthenol which is like a B-vitamin derivative that helps prevent further eye damage :)
Tallulah has this daily now to help prevent the recurring eye infections and corneal injuries her sticky eye is very prone to getting, its good stuff and piggy safe- should keep things soothed safely until you can see the vet :)
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Thank you thank you thank you! I ordered it for tomorrow. My local pharmacy doesn't carry it.

Sorry to say around here, they are more concerned with liability than helping. I don't understand why an eye can't be part of basic emergency training.

Oh, she's also on .23 of dog (I assume because it says do not use on cats) meloxicam once a day for her bladder issue. Hopefully that helps some too
 
Scooter Pie said:
Thank you thank you thank you! I ordered it for tomorrow. My local pharmacy doesn't carry it.

Sorry to say around here, they are more concerned with liability than helping. I don't understand why an eye can't be part of basic emergency training.

Oh, she's also on .23 of dog (I assume because it says do not use on cats) meloxicam once a day for her bladder issue. Hopefully that helps some too
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Yes if she is already taking meloxicam for a different health issue that will also help- the main things are keeping the eye lubricated and comfortable enough that she doesnt scratch it and injure it further while you wait for the vet. Must be very tricky in the USA there is a real lack of cavy savvy vets x
 
One more question? .23 ml of meloxicam (again, I think it's dog because it's labeled not to use on cats). She has a standing refill for her suspected IC. Once a day. Does that sound like a normal dose? She is 1100g.

Wondering if she could have more in general, for her pain/blood in urine. And if it would benefit her eye in turn.

I'm really nervous. The abrasion on her eye looks small but it is raised. Maybe more than earlier 😭
 
We can't really advise on doses of painkiller because a vet might have spotted other things that helped them make their decision. But many people over here are prescribed their painkiller twice a day so once every 12 hours. A quick search around the forum will show that there is a really wide range of doses prescribed for a full size piggy! George is currently on 4 units of dog metacam (1.5mg/ml) morning and evening long term for his arthritis and this would be roughly equivalent to 0.3ish ml each dose. 4 year old George is 1.4 kilo and otherwise healthy apart from a bit of impaction x
 
Understand :) Well, Ive had 3 pigs of similar weights all prescribed about .22-.23ml only ever once a day, for tooth issues, and bladder issues. True infections, IC flares and irritation from high amounts of bladder sludge. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I just want her as comfortable as possible while we wait this eternity to be seen.
 
Hi,

I have a piggy who is partially blind now due to an injury...if he has a flare up of irritation we use terramycin we also have lubrathal which keeps his eye lubricated and any dust tends to come out with it...however a vet visit is advised...personally I'd keep ringing each morning to see if they have any spare appointments or cancellations that they can give you...if not maybe paying extra for an emergency vet...if they don't just keeping the area clean and trying to keep him cosy is best...and making sure that there isn't too much dust in his hay...I tend to put it into a bag first...shake it so all the smaller bits and dust fall to the bottom then give it like that...hopefully he won't have suffered too great of an injury and you will get an appointment sooner...
 
Thank you 💕 I'm sorry your piggie had an injury too. Id pay anything to get her in sooner. None of our emergency vets see piggies.

I'm scared of how it'll look in the morning 😭 and plan to call Monday hoping for a cancellation or emergency appointment.

I have something along the lines of the lubrathal on the way for tomorrow.
 
Well my husband and I jumped out of bed at 6am to see how Buttercup was doing. She was already chewing the bars for her breakfast like a mad woman so that was a good sign...😂😂😂

The eye looks ok! I have to look again when I'm more awake and the sun comes up. Looked with my watch flashlight and it’s definitely not worse this morning, might actually look better. She’s not squinting, no discharge.

Just a definite cloudy spot off center of her pupil area. She just had her morning antibiotics and metacam.

I will be back later once the eye gel is delivered to agonize over if I should try it or not.....

THANK YOU all for being here with me!
 
Scooter Pie said:
Thank you 💕 I'm sorry your piggie had an injury too. Id pay anything to get her in sooner. None of our emergency vets see piggies.

I'm scared of how it'll look in the morning 😭 and plan to call Monday hoping for a cancellation or emergency appointment.

I have something along the lines of the lubrathal on the way for tomorrow.
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Sometimes they look quite bad...thankfully guinea pigs with the right care and treatment plan bounce back...but sometimes it is the sooner the better...as long as it is kept clean and minimising dust he should be oki until Monday...ours took a week to get in...we belive if we had managed to get an appointment sooner he may not be blind now...as well as ths treatment he first received wasn't good...now he is on treatment for the rest of his life...if your piggy gets gunk sticking to him from his eye (similar looking to sleep) please remove it as well as it can be uncomfy for them...using some cooled down boiled water should be oki with cotton pads...
 
A week! Your poor little guy 😭 I’ll be watching her closely and will keep her home extra clean. I took out her fleece tunnels because I thought pushing through fabric would be a risk, so wooden bridge and corner tents only right now.

At this point she’s in for Tuesday night, and I don’t think they “have an exotic vet” there on Mondays.

I just wish ANY vet would see her. I need to understand why they can’t treat an eye emergency without being an exotic vet. Sure, they can’t do a full physical. She doesn’t need that right now.
 
Hello, I reccomend buying terramycin from the la guineapig rescue website. It’s for guinea pigs with hay poke :)

they also have a YouTube account with a video on hay poke which should help too.
 
Julesie said:
Hello, I reccomend buying terramycin from the la guineapig rescue website. It’s for guinea pigs with hay poke :)

they also have a YouTube account with a video on hay poke which should help too.
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Thank you, I love those guys! Scotty's Animals?

I'm going to need to take matters into my own hands since hay poke is so common. One of my pigs had it really bad, but the exotic vet was there and I rushed her over for an emergency. Still, it was about 3 weeks of treatment!
 
Scooter Pie said:
Thank you, I love those guys! Scotty's Animals?

I'm going to need to take matters into my own hands since hay poke is so common. One of my pigs had it really bad, but the exotic vet was there and I rushed her over for an emergency. Still, it was about 3 weeks of treatment!
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Yeah :) I’m a huge fan of their work, both him and Saskia.
gl with your little piggy :wub:
 
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