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Is this Hay Poke?

Meerschweinchen_Blackforest

Meerschweinchen_Blackforest

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello,

I've noticed this evening that Pumpernickel has a cloudy right eye with what looks like pus.

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I can't get her to the Vet until next week at the earliest as our exotic vet is on holiday and the others won't see her because they have no experience with Guinea pigs. Is there anything I can do to tide her over until Wednesday next week?

I also unfortunately cannot bring her to a vet further away due to my illness flare up at the moment.
 
Yes it does look to be.
I’m afraid next week is too long away - eye injuries need to be seen within 24 hours. They deteriorate quickly so need to be prioritised.
It doesn’t need an exotic vet - eyes are the same across all species so any vet can deal with it
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes it does look to be.
I’m afraid next week is too long away - eye injuries need to be seen within 24 hours. They deteriorate quickly so need to be prioritised.
It doesn’t need an exotic vet - eyes are the same across all species so any vet can deal with it
Click to expand...

Thank you. I didn't like the look of it, the other vets have refused to see her so I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I may have to bring her back to the rescue and see if their vet can do something.

I'll try to get it sorted ASAP.
 
Hi

This looks looks like an ulcerating eye injury; please have it seen by the vet who can see you soonest within 24 hours. Eye injuries can deteriorate very quickly in a matter of hours (yours is already on the slide); the sooner treated the easier and better the recovery. In the UK, any eye injuries are one of those issues that are squeezed in as soon as possible.

Diagnosis with a special dye under uv light and medication is exactly the same as for dogs or cats so any halfway decent general vet will do; you do not have to wait for days for an exotics vet. Please give the clinic a call and see how quickly they can fit you in by latest tomorrow; ideally tonight.
 
Just offering support- I've dealt with plenty of hay pokes too, and as the others have said, any vet will have the knowledge required. You might have to be a bit forceful when it comes to booking an appointment, and tell them that it is an emergency.
 
Glad you have managed to get her seen, that’s a nasty looking hay poke
 
Glad to hear you’ve managed to find a vet who will see her this evening. That looks very sore and needs prompt attention. Well done.
 
I'm sorry to hear that- how traumatic for the owners.
 
All the best for getting her seen tonight.

For any drops please gently pull down the lower lid and aim a drop into the gap between lid nd eye. For gel you just dab a little on the eye (which you may need to pry apart); make sure that the gel melts on the eye surface and doesn't stick to a lid without being direct contact with eye surface.
It may help to do this with two people initially and it may take a bit of practice to get it right; especially if you have a wiggler.

All the best!

(PS: I hope that the dog makes it.)
 
Wiebke said:
All the best for getting her seen tonight.

For any drops please gently pull down the lower lid and aim a drop into the gap between lid nd eye. For gel you just dab a little on the eye (which you may need to pry apart); make sure that the gel melts on the eye surface and doesn't stick to a lid without direct contact. It may help to do this with two people initially and it may take a bit of practice to get it right; especially if you have a wiggler.

All the best!

(PS: I hope that the dog makes it.)
Click to expand...
Hi sorry jumping in here one of my guinea guys is on drops and gel at the moment three times a day. Is it really bad if the gel goes on the eye lid? Also how do you put the gel onto the eye it is quite thick and I ended up putting it onto my finger first perhaps not ideal but didn't want the tube to end up in his eye 🤔
 
CTWC said:
Hi sorry jumping in here one of my guinea guys is on drops and gel at the moment three times a day. Is it really bad if the gel goes on the eye lid? Also how do you put the gel onto the eye it is quite thick and I ended up putting it onto my finger first perhaps not ideal but didn't want the tube to end up in his eye 🤔
Click to expand...

No it’s not bad, it just won’t be doing any good on the eye lid as it won’t get into the eye itself where it needs to be.

As long as your finger is clean then I don’t see that that’s a problem. You probably have more control that way
 
CTWC said:
Hi sorry jumping in here one of my guinea guys is on drops and gel at the moment three times a day. Is it really bad if the gel goes on the eye lid? Also how do you put the gel onto the eye it is quite thick and I ended up putting it onto my finger first perhaps not ideal but didn't want the tube to end up in his eye 🤔
Click to expand...

As long as the gel is still melting into the eye, it is not a problem if it sticks to a lid. If the lid is pushing the gel away from the eye surface, then it is a problem because the gel is not getting where it should - into the eye.

I prefer to give the gel directly from the tube myself but I sometimes have to use the tip of a finger to chivvy a dollop of gel catching on a lid back onto the eye surface. I use my other hand for prying the eyelids apart.
For that reason I always thoroughly wash my hands with special attention to clean nails and fingertips before any eye treatment.
 
I forgot to give an update to the situation. It wasn't an ulcer or even a hay poke, it was a piece of apple that got stuck to her eye and was causing an infection. The vet removed it and she had eye drops for a few days until it cleared up. She's right as rain now.

Pfannkuchen on the other hand is a different story, she's becoming less mobile as the weeks go by. The vet checked her over too and has put it down to old age. She's still using the ramps and climbing everywhere, just a lot more slowly.

And she's turning into a bit of a fatty, so they've had pellets removed from their diet and hay and vegetables upped a little bit.
 
I'm glad it wasn't hay poke, Sir George had his first and hopefully last experience with that today.
It's good that she's all better now, was she a good girl for her eye drops?
 
CTWC said:
Does having softer hay limit the chances of hay poke? 🤔
Click to expand...
If you asked Basil- nope!
Think it’s just one of those things. Basil’s was our first in 4 years of looking after these little hay experts!
 
Meerschweinchen_Blackforest said:
I forgot to give an update to the situation. It wasn't an ulcer or even a hay poke, it was a piece of apple that got stuck to her eye and was causing an infection. The vet removed it and she had eye drops for a few days until it cleared up. She's right as rain now.

Pfannkuchen on the other hand is a different story, she's becoming less mobile as the weeks go by. The vet checked her over too and has put it down to old age. She's still using the ramps and climbing everywhere, just a lot more slowly.

And she's turning into a bit of a fatty, so they've had pellets removed from their diet and hay and vegetables upped a little bit.
Click to expand...

I'm glad she is ok - nobody would have suspected Apple!
Might start referring to it as foodpoke rather than hay poke just to cover all bases!

I hope Pfannkuchen is ok
 
fluffysal said:
I'm glad it wasn't hay poke, Sir George had his first and hopefully last experience with that today.
It's good that she's all better now, was she a good girl for her eye drops?
Click to expand...
She was fantastic. The vet gave me a demonstration on how to do it. I was quite surprised that they recommended Echinacea eye drops but to be fair they worked bloody fast.

I hope Sir George recovers well and quickly
 
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