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Toffee's hurt his eye

LondonLady

LondonLady

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I noticed last night that Toffee didn't seem to be quite 'right'. When I went in to top up their hay before I went to bed he didn't come out of his hidey. Usually they're both out as soon they hear the bag rustling. Then again this morning he didn't want to come out but once he did he seemed fine, just as keen as usual to come and get his veggies. ~It wasn't until this afternoon i noticed there was something wrong with his eye, and now I'm really upset and angry with myself that I didn't see it earlier. I phoned the vet and they can fit him in tomorrow morning, which is great.

I've had them for 16 months and this is the first time something's been wrong. I'm not sure how serious it is and if he's in pain - I think he is because when I picked him up to get a better look he was wriggling (more than usual) and squealing. I don't know if there's anything I should be doing.

I'm attaching a photo - not sure if you can see properly. 20220119_172632.webp
 
LondonLady said:
I noticed last night that Toffee didn't seem to be quite 'right'. When I went in to top up their hay before I went to bed he didn't come out of his hidey. Usually they're both out as soon they hear the bag rustling. Then again this morning he didn't want to come out but once he did he seemed fine, just as keen as usual to come and get his veggies. ~It wasn't until this afternoon i noticed there was something wrong with his eye, and now I'm really upset and angry with myself that I didn't see it earlier. I phoned the vet and they can fit him in tomorrow morning, which is great.

I've had them for 16 months and this is the first time something's been wrong. I'm not sure how serious it is and if he's in pain - I think he is because when I picked him up to get a better look he was wriggling (more than usual) and squealing. I don't know if there's anything I should be doing.

I'm attaching a photo - not sure if you can see properly. View attachment 194368
Click to expand...

Ouch!

Try and see whether a plain tear gel from the pharmacy can help to rehydrate the eye a bit (give 6 times in 24 hours) but that looks really nasty! :(

Fingers firmly crossed!
 
Hope all goes well at the vet tomorrow and it’s something easily treatable.
Please don’t blame yourself for not noticing sooner.
Not only are piggies very good at hiding signs of something being wrong, but they can flare up very suddenly.
 
Well, the vet said Toffee has an abscess. He gave him an injection for pain and I've got antibiotics and eye drops to give him (I don't think he's going to like that - I'm just about to try and give him his first dose) I feel a bit panicky because this is all new to me, neither of them have been unwell before. The vet also said he thought there was an underlying problem, possibly cataracts. He wants to see how things go and once the abscess has been treated he'll see him again and decide if he needs to be referred. I feel a bit shocked, this isn't what I expected.

(And it's come at a really bad time (not that there's a good time) because I'm finishing up at work - I'm retiring at the end of the month and need to get so much done this week! And I'm trying to help my friend who has just been discharged from hospital after breaking her hip.)
 
I'm sorry, I have some really silly questions. Can anybody advise? I've never done this before and I'm struggling to give Toffee his antibiotic.

The vet showed me what to do but I can't get Toffee to take it. He's supposed to have .45mls once a day for 5 days. The vet gave me a syringe. First, is it really ok to keep using the same one? After my first attempt it's all mucky from whatever Toffee had in his mouth. Secondly, how do I actually get it into him? Do I have to actually squeeze the syringe? I got the impression from the vet that I should just poke it into his mouth and that's all that was needed but I tried for as long as I could but I think he only got a few drops.

I feel so stupid and so useless. I just want to make him better but I don't know how. So sorry.
 
First of all, calm down and don’t panic. You are most certainly not useless!
We all have to learn and giving a syringe of meds to a piggy isn’t as easy as some would have you believe.
I’m currently medicating my Phoebe and she has some pretty good resistance techniques.
There is an excellent guide to syringe feeding on the forum.
I can’t link it for you do to my lack of tech skills but I’m sure someone will come along and do that.
I found it very helpful but still find that Phoebe manages to get some of her antibiotics down her chin instead of in her mouth. You do have to depress the syringe to get the medicine into the piggy.
Antibiotics taste horrible apparently - I haven’t actually tried them myself.
I always have a treat for immediately afterwards - for Phoebe it’s usually a piece of cucumber,

I use the same syringe and just wash it after every use by putting it into a small dish of clean water and flushing it through a few times. I dispose of the syringe once the course of treatment is finished.

Eye drops can be fun too.
When Micah had a nasty haypoke he would shut his eyes tightly as soon as I came anywhere near his eyes.
The vet showed me how to pull the bottom lid down, very gently, and pop the eye drop in quickly. I still ended up with a much over me as in Micah’s eye.

Patience is the key - and bribes.

Hope you enjoy your retirement when it arrives and that your friend’s hip heals well.
 
Thank you so much for your reply @Merab's Slave I'm feeling a bit calmer now. I had another go at the meds this morning and he really hated it, struggling and biting, but I think i managed to get most of it into his mouth this time 🤞 Actually the eye drops are easier, and I'm managing to get them in before he shuts his eye. The eye still looks horrible, but on the plus side he's much more his lively self now so I'm hoping the eye will heal and all will be well again.
 
I think it’s on Facebook page although I have still yet to find it?
 
Poor little Toffee, that looks so sore :(
Really hope he’s feeling better soon, sending big hugs to you both x
 
Thank you everyone. If only Toffee would keep still like the piggy in the video :D
Anyway, we seem to be getting there. He's running about again this morning and seems to be pain free. His eye looks massively better today - see photo. Though it doesn't look quite normal to me - sort of dull and cloudy?
20220122_082152.jpg
 
Looking much better. When is he due for review by the vet and how many more days are you meant to give the drops and meds for?
 
VickiA said:
Looking much better. When is he due for review by the vet and how many more days are you meant to give the drops and meds for?
Click to expand...
I'm supposed to give him the meds for 5 days and the vet said bring him back next week.
 
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