Just discovered our pig's eye looking very sore. A piece of hay was sticking out. We removed that about an hour ago and it's already looking a lot less sore. She is behaving and eating normally. I'm aware of the risk of ulcers but do we have to go to the vets now? Is there anything we can do at home (saline eye drops?) and see how it is in a couple of days? Thanks.
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Hay poke
- Thread starter linzee
- Start date
Pantalaimon
Junior Guinea Pig
Eyes become infected and can be permanently damaged very easily.
She does need to see a vet urgently, in the next 12 hours.
It does sometimes fell like they intentionally choose the most inconvenient moments for these things!
She does need to see a vet urgently, in the next 12 hours.
It does sometimes fell like they intentionally choose the most inconvenient moments for these things!
Hi
Oh, dear. Decidedly not the time of the year for hay poke!
If there is no blood, please see a vet within 24 hours. There is an out-of-hours holiday cover (google for it for your area) although it is not cheap; try for the slightly less expensive daytime opening which is still eye-watering enough unfortunately.
Eye injuries deteriorate very quickly; this is why they are are treated as an urgent problem in the UK. The sooner it can be seen, the easier it will heal again. Ulceration can happen very quickly within a matter of hours.
The good news is that eyes are the one thing where any general vets will do; guinea pig eyes are assessed under UV light with a special dye (to show the whole extent of the damage, which is usually much larger than visible to the naked eye) and treated with the same medication as cats and dogs - they are not any different to other common pet species. With eye injuries speed comes before qualification.
All the best.