Hay poke :-(

[hannahs26]

I've not been on the forum for a while, but checked back in again today to see when my youngest piggie had a hay poke, and the meds she was given. Sadly I awoke to find my 5 year old girl, Jessie, struggling to keep her eye open, and on checking her found it looked like the dreaded signs of a haypoke :-( I only use soft timothy hay for them now, and they live on fleece, so don't know how she managed it, poor thing. Anyway, managed to get a vet appointment for this afternoon, and she was found to have a very large ulcer affecting the schlera as well as the cornea, with some hay still in there. Poor little thing has to have antibiotic drops and hyaluronic drops 3 times a day, and metacam once a day, and has to return in a few days to be checked to ensure it's improving. Unfortunately Jessie is our most timid little girl, so doesn't enjoy having to be picked up so often and medicated. Her fear does mean she's easy to treat though, as the poor little thing just freezes, bless her heart. I did take one of our confident girls with her to the vets for company, but don't think it helped her much. Do hope it heals well. My other piggie was under a year old when she had her less severe hay poke. Hoping Jessie being old won't hamper her healing process.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

Please hang on in there. If you can allow Jessie to stuff herself with fresh grass while she has her eye meds, then it it will be less of an ordeal. When piggies are absorbed with stuffing themselves, they are also less aware of their environment and what is happening to them.
Our piggy whispering tips also help to reassure a piggy that you still love them. That can also help.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

I've had a 6 year old with an even worse eye injury requiring both oral antibiotics as well the topical eye meds jessoe has been put on in order to avoid the risk of them needing an eye removal op at that age who have made a full recovery, despite needing two rounds of a strong antibiotic wiping their appetite, which amounted to 4 weeks of round the clock feeding support on top of the eye meds...

The recovery won't be quite as quick as in a young piggy, but it will happen if you apply the medication regularly.

 

[Siikibam]

I hope your girls eye starts getting better soon. I’ve got an appointment for mine as well today. Be a good girl for your slave Jessie. This is for your good.

 

[Merab]

Poor girl.
Haypoke isn’t always easy to deal with.
Hope Jessie’s eye heals soon

 

[hannahs26]

I hope your girls eye starts getting better soon. I’ve got an appointment for mine as well today. Be a good girl for your slave Jessie. This is for your good.

Thank you I hope your appointment went well today?

 

[hannahs26]

Poor girl.
Haypoke isn’t always easy to deal with.
Hope Jessie’s eye heals soon

Thank you

 

[hannahs26]

Hi

Please hang on in there. If you can allow Jessie to stuff herself with fresh grass while she has her eye meds, then it it will be less of an ordeal. .....
.......The recovery won't be quite as quick as in a young piggy, but it will happen if you apply the medication regularly.

Hi, thank you for your advice. I remember reading your link about their behaviour and getting to know them when we first adopted some, and it was good to refresh my memory, thank you.
Jessie has been very good today, despite trying to avoid being picked up she has enjoyed some extra lap time and treats each time she's had her meds. I'm hoping she's already realised that despite having to have drops she can get something nice while out too :-)
Your poor girl going through such an ordeal with her eye! She'd lucky you cared for her so well and got her though it! Medicating 3 times a day for an unknown time is a chore, but we'll do anything to make sure our girls have the best lives possible after adopting them from rescue situations. We love them deeply, and they bring so much happiness to us :-)
Have a check up appointment for her on Thursday, and will take our boney 7 year old Lola along too, as the vet said she's happy to prescribe her metacam for as and when she seems to need it at this age, to hopefully help her remain pain free. Will add an update when I can.

 

[sport_billy]

Sending her lots of healing recovery vibes

 

[piggiemummy03x]

bless her! hope she recovers quickly! my girl also has hay poke which i noticed yesterday, shes now on eyedrops every 2 hours (as well as antibiotics and pain meds for a UTI and we’ve just found she has a bladder stone) but she’s not as good with taking her meds lol so i’d say your very lucky! as long as its not too stressful for her, i think the quicker its over and done with the better it is for our babies! my Della manages to squirm out of every position i get her in, moving her head to avoid the syringe going in her mouth and jolts her head as i pop the eye-drop in so it just goes on her cheek, shes such a little monkey!

 

[hannahs26]

bless her! hope she recovers quickly! my girl also has hay poke which i noticed yesterday, shes now on eyedrops every 2 hours (as well as antibiotics and pain meds for a UTI and we’ve just found she has a bladder stone) but she’s not as good with taking her meds lol so i’d say your very lucky! as long as its not too stressful for her, i think the quicker its over and done with the better it is for our babies! my Della manages to squirm out of every position i get her in, moving her head to avoid the syringe going in her mouth and jolts her head as i pop the eye-drop in so it just goes on her cheek, shes such a little monkey!

Ah bless her, that's difficult for you! Poor thing. Our eldest struggles with probably stones now and again, but if any signs I get her on Cystease straight away, and keep her having it for a few weeks. Thankfully has always seemed to help her very quickly. She likes the flavour of it too, which I'm thankful for!
Hope your girl recovers quickly!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Ah bless her, that's difficult for you! Poor thing. Our eldest struggles with probably stones now and again, but if any signs I get her on Cystease straight away, and keep her having it for a few weeks. Thankfully has always seemed to help her very quickly. She likes the flavour of it too, which I'm thankful for!
Hope your girl recovers quickly!

it really is, i just don’t want her to be in pain but i can only imagine how scary it must be! ah bless her, thats good it helps quickly! we’ve got some meloxidyl that shes on once a day, luckily she likes this and will willingly pull the syringe close to her mouth and take it which is good bless her. at least 1/3 isn’t as stressful!
thanks so much, me too!

 

[Siikibam]

Thank you I hope your appointment went well today?

It did thank you. Quite a large part was ulcerated. She’s now on eye drops and metacam. She’s wise to my tricks now but I’ve managed to get round it. She’s a good girl really. Hope Jessie’s eye is looking better tomorrow.

 

[hannahs26]

Little update on Jessie! Back from the vets and she's healing brilliantly! Only a very small area of concern left now, but they are amazed at how well she's healing :-) Big relief! They've asked to keep her on the drops and metacam for a while week, to ensure it fully heals, then she'll hopefully be fine. So pleased! They also checked over my 7yr old, Lola, and agreed she's bony, and doesn't have good muscle tone or hip mobility so likely has some arthritis, so have said I can give metacam whenever I feel she needs it.
Hopefully that's the end of vet trips for a while!
@Siikibam and @piggiemummy03x I hope yours heals as quickly as Jessie has!

 

[piggiemummy03x]

Little update on Jessie! Back from the vets and she's healing brilliantly! Only a very small area of concern left now, but they are amazed at how well she's healing :-) Big relief! They've asked to keep her on the drops and metacam for a while week, to ensure it fully heals, then she'll hopefully be fine. So pleased! They also checked over my 7yr old, Lola, and agreed she's bony, and doesn't have good muscle tone or hip mobility so likely has some arthritis, so have said I can give metacam whenever I feel she needs it.
Hopefully that's the end of vet trips for a while!
@Siikibam and @piggiemummy03x I hope yours heals as quickly as Jessie has!

that’s fabulous! i’m so glad!
thanks so much, me too!

 

[Siikibam]

That’s very good news.