Hi guys, i need an advise please. I got a guine pig about 7 weeks old. My mums dog pulled him out from cage. Vet assessed kept him whole day. Found cheek fracture as in the picture. He is on critical care, maloxicam and tramadol drops until heal. I found he is not shutting his eye from same side either. What should I do. Anything to keep moisturising his eye ? Until fracture heal and would the eye heal? Or is permanently damage ? Thanks so much
Hi and welcome
I am extremely sorry. What a shock. Please make sure that your mum's dog cannot get into the piggy room and definitely not into cage ever again. Even if you have to lock the room.
Unfortunately, we are an owners forum and not a medical place, so we cannot answer any questions that your vet can't answer yet, either.
Please get hold of some plain carbomer based tear gel (not drops); this will help to keep the eye hydrated and from going blind. Apply 6 times a day as long as your piggy is unable to blink or close the eye; our treatment advice in this respect follows stroke/severe injury support. You will have to wait and see what happens. See your vet again if things take a turn for the worse (infection risk).
1 Important Proviso
2 First Aid Kit
- General Items
- Comfort
- Useful to have in stock
3 Illness and Recovery First Aid Tips
- Accessing vet care and when it is too late for help
- Loss of appetite and weight (Feeding support, Recovery foods, digestive aids and rehydration)
- Accident, bites and injury (Wound disinfection and bleeding)
- Eyes and ears
- Breathing
- Acute heart and circulation failure
-...
Here is our step-by-step feeding support guide with all the little tips, videos and pictures. Make sure that you insert the syringe from the healthy side if at all possible. Feeding is going to be very painful. The amount you need to feed is likely higher than you expect because hay makes over three quarters of what a piggy eats in a day and that is what you need to replace. But you should find the information helpful.
Introduction
1 Choosing the right place to medicate/feed your piggy
2 Guinea pig whispering and asserting your authority
3 Recovery products and emergency improvisation
4 Syringe recommendations
5 Weight monitoring: your biggest ally
6 Weight loss guidelines and when to step in with feeding
7 Syringe feeding amounts/frequency advice
8 Practical medication and syringing tips
9 Medicating and feeding cooperative guinea pigs (videos)
10 Medicating and feeding uncooperative guinea pigs (hold pictures and tips)
11 The line between life and...
You will also have to brace that with your piggy unable to chew the grinding molars at the back will start to grow spurs which can then trap the tongue and prevent swallowing. It is the highly abrasive silica in the hay/grass fibre that guinea pig teeth have evolved against. This is the big longer term risk that may become the ultimate decider as to whether your piggy can win through or not.
It is unfortunately going to be a very, very tough battle against the odds.
My thoughts are with you. Please keep any questions, concerns and updates to this specially monitored ongoing support thread so we can have all information together and personalise your support without having to recap the story all the all the time. You may want to bookmark this thread for this reason.
