This piggie has had an infected eye for a while...

[Cavy-Cayla]

I've searched around this forum for answers, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.
I started working at a pet store back in March this year and they had a guinea pig with a nasty infected eye. He saw the vet and was on medication at that time (I don't remember what the first round of meds included) but it didn't get better. Fast forward about two weeks after finishing meds and we took him back for another check up because it hadn't gone away. Both eyes were infected and he had a mild upper respiratory infection...
We were given enrofloxacin, terramycin and one other med that I can't remember, but I think it might have started with an M? I go back to work Tuesday, so I can check. The eye that wasn't previously infected is now totally fine, the URI seems to be gone, but his other eye was only mildly better while on medication, but his meds are all finished now...

I guess my question here is what could possibly be causing this? He acts completely normal otherwise. Eats, drinks, poops and even does his happy dance when I clean his cage! But at the moment, he has an excessive amount of what seems to be milky white pus coming out of his eye to the point it drips down his face. The store has reached the point they're going to try and adopt him out as he is... I was thinking of taking him, but I'm worried he might be at a point the eye has to go and unfortunately with everything going on, I can't afford any kind of surgery for him...

He's such a sweet little pig and I hate to think of what might happen if he goes out to the wrong person. If there's anything I could do for the eye or if anyone has an idea of what could be going on, I would really appreciate any help I can get!

Something else I tried was taking him off carefresh and putting him on paper towels to see if maybe the carefresh was too dusty. He's been on it for almost two months, but it hasn't changed anything.

 

[rudent]

Probably a stupid question but is it definitely not just excessive cleaning fluid? I had a boar who could not, for the life of him, wipe the cleaning fluid off his right eye and so it just built up and I had to wipe it away regularly.

With that out of the way, did the vet check to see whether there was something stuck in his eye/eyelid that could be causing a persistent infection? Usually they'll flush around the eye to make sure there's nothing stuck in it. They also usually check for ulcers.

One of my sows had the exact same symptoms several months ago (eye dripping with white pus but otherwise a happy pig) and it was caused by a large cyst behind the eye -- though this was obvious because there was a big lump on her head. That cleared up with a course of antibiotics and eye drops, though I did have to regularly drain the cyst by gently compressing it and catching the pus that came from her eye, then flushing the eye with some saline. It does seem odd that antibiotics haven't cleared it up. If his eye was slightly better while he was on his meds it might be worth seeing if the vet thinks another round of eye drops is in order.

 

[Cavy-Cayla]

That's what I thought it might have been. I'll be honest and say I don't know a whole lot about guinea pigs, I'm more the reptile person, but I did a ton of researching. I didn't realize before that they used fluid from the eyes the way they do and thought that could be it since it's not really yellow, more milky discharge.

Unfortunately I wasn't the one to take him to the vet, but I know he was at the vets for almost three hours last time. I'd like to think they flushed it at least once, but since it happened to the other eye at one point, it might be fairly safe to rule out a foreign object.

I've noticed everytime I've cleaned his eye that if I press in just the right spot, it starts pouring out. But there isn't any noticable lumps or bumps anywhere I can see. You may be right about it being a cyst though, just in a spot that can't be seen. In the short time that his eye was clear, the eye itself looked fine, he just had a sagging lower lid but I assumed that was from his scratching. We don't have any piggie cones or I'd put one on him to keep from scratching... What kind of saline can I use to flush it? If they won't take him for another check up, I'd like to think at least cleaning it out and flushing it in the meantime can't hurt? I'm probably going to end up the proud owner of a piggie come Tuesday if we're being honest though! This little is too sweet!

 

[rudent]

Aww, glad to hear he's gonna be going to a home with someone who's done their research & really knows how to care for a pig! :^)

So if, as you say, you press on a specific area and it causes pus to pour out that definitely sounds like an abscess behind the eye which will need another course of antibiotics -- potentially a different type to the one he's already had. The infection likely isn't in the actual eye itself -- it's a pus-filled pocket near the eye that's just draining into the eyelid, so the saline is purely to prevent the pus causing a problem with the eye in the future. You can use any saline, it's just salt water. It's safe to very gently press on the abscess to drain some of the pus and then simply rinse his eye with water or saline while you wait for a vet appointment. This might relieve some of the pressure behind his eye and make him a little more comfortable. Don't try to flush the abscess yourself, though, just use the saline/water to rinse the pus out of his eye. Definitely worth taking him to the vets again to have a look at the probable abscess and hopefully get some antibiotics.

If you do take him home, I've heard a few other people saying that you can actually get the pet store to cover veterinary bills for this kind of thing, as it's a pre-existing condition. Hopefully someone else can provide some info in terms of that.

 

[Cavy-Cayla]

He won my heart early on, he's such a brave little pig.

Now that I have a better idea of things, I'm much more comfortable bringing him home and getting him the care he needs. He's suffered with this for way too long and I really don't want to think of what could happen if he goes to someone who just wanted him because he was "free"...

On that, I probably won't be able to get anything out of them in terms of covering vet bills because I'd be "adopting" him instead of buying him. Not that an abscess isn't serious, but knowing he likely won't need any kind of major procedure done, at least not right now, I'm much more comfortable going forward with adopting him and giving him the love he deserves. Poor guys been all by himself this whole time... I hear they should be in pairs at least?

 

[Betsy]

Piggies are so much happier with a friend. They have to be bonded carefully though, its not just a case of getting another boy and shoving them both together in the same cage. I would wait until your little boy is better before trying to get him a friend.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, you are such a kind person, it shines through on this thread. Good on you for taking him in. I hope you can get his eye sorted soon x

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

It is possible he has a blocked tear duct, possibly as a result of his original eye infecton, resulting in an infection in the duct. Antibiotics will only temporarily suppress the issue as the infection will keep coming back if the duct remains blocked. Your vet should be able to flush the tear duct using a very fine catheter (while the pig is conscious), a procedure which may need repeating. Good luck with him, it is a happy outcome that you are taking him on.

 

[Cavy-Cayla]

I did it. I went ahead with the adoption. Meet Augie!

His eye actually looks much better here than it did on Saturday. I've decided to put together a chart for him to keep track of how his eye does this week and schedule an appointment for him when I can find a good vet for him. The ones he's seen don't seem to particularly...specialize with guinea pigs. If anyone has any recommendations for vets in Ohio, please dont hesitate!

I also completely forgot to grab his vet papers and medication so I still don't know the other antibiotic he was on...hopefully they're still there in the morning!