Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pets

Join our community on the Pet forum to discuss anything related to pets.

Original poster

One of the guineas eyes has gone greyish/milky colour.

57 replies

MrsDoylesMole · 25/12/2008 23:26

From what i can determine it came on yesterday and when i googled it suggested an eye injury and stated that it was part of the healing process.When i bought the last batch of hay they didnt stock the same hay.so possibly this?
should i take her to the vet or treat myself with eye drops or something?

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 26/12/2008 09:40

I had exactly the same problem with one of my guineas a few weeks ago....turned out, after treating him for a cold and eye infection...that it was simply down to a change of hay.

I usually give my pigs meadow hay but ran out so gave them some packaged processed hay from Pets at Home...I noticed when I gave it to them that it was a bit musty and incredibly dusty. This particular guinea pig loves to run around and burrow and the vet thinks his eye trouble was down to the excessive dust in the hay.

I would recommend you leave the eye alone...don't bathe it - just let her eye clean itself...clean out her hutch immediately and don't put the same hay in - try and get some better quality hay or bring her indoors and keep her in a basket or box with a towel/clean newspapers.

The milky discharge coming from a pig's eye is the eye trying to clean itself - it could be that she has something stuck in the eye and you won't see it because it may be at the back of the eye...it may be worth you taking her to the vet tomorrow and they can look around the eye ball using a special torch but in the meantime I would definitely put in some good quality dust free hay or none at all.

whispywhisp · 26/12/2008 09:42

Where abouts do you live? If you live nearby I have still got the cream the vet prescribed my pig to put in his eye and it helped enormously.

beautifulgirls · 26/12/2008 11:54

I'm a vet here - She probably needs eye drops urgently - she sounds like she has an ulcer on her eye. Ideally try and call a vet and see if they have any urgent case clinics running today. If you have any fucithalmic at home left over for any reason then you can use this safelyin guinea pigs though you are still best to get a fresh tube from the vet tomorrow if you can not see anyone today. Apply it twice a day to the eye. If the eye is discharging at all it is ok to clean around it gently with some moist cotton wool.

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 26/12/2008 22:20

Thankyou for the replies
I am in the west mids whispy.

I do think that it has something to do with the hay going in here eye(pets at home hay btw) because she loves to burrow down in it when i put it in her cage.
I will try and get her in the vets tomorrow.
Not sure where i can get some decent hay now though? They dont stock the stuff we used to have anymore.

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 09:59

I get my meadow hay off eBay. The delivery is 24hrs. Its a half bale and it costs £7. Its lovely and lush and not dusty at all.

I started a thread on MN a couple of weeks ago about PAH hay...and a MNr posted saying its very dusty and musty due to the wet weather we've had. I'll see if I can find it and link it for you. I am never buying their hay again. It cost me over £50 in vets bills.

The cream Beautiful Girls mentions is the cream I have. How is the eye on your pig now?

Frizbe · 27/12/2008 10:04

ah now I was thinking worms, just remember a dog that an ex bf had, the poor things eyes went all cloudy/milky and it was worms, when he went to the vet.

whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 10:14

MrsDoyle ...I can't seem to link it...if you look under the pets section and I'll keep bumping the thread for you it should stay somewhere near the top of the threads....

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 19:29

Thanks Whispywisp
well we took her to the vets today(her other eye has gone milky now)and she reckoned it was cataractsnot so sure.Surely cataract would be a slow and not sudden onset thing?

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 27/12/2008 19:31

I'd have thought cataracts would be a developing problem, not sudden. Has the vet prescribed you with anything? I would definitely change her hay anyway - just to be on the safe side. How is she in herself?

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 19:39

The vet didnt give us anything for her but said there was no infection (dont trust them tbh)
Have been and bought some different meadow hay which looks better than the other stuff.I will have a look on ebay as well.She seems ok in herself so far as i can tell,she is eating and drinking and moving around with her sister.

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 27/12/2008 22:39

Mrs DM - is the whiteness affecting the whole (front of) the eye, or just through behind the black hole that would be in the middle of the eye and you can see some normal eye in front - if you get what I mean? Cataracts would usually only be seen through that hole, milky white of the whole eye at the front is usually a sign of severe inflammation or pus in the eye. If the latter then you need a second opinion. Cataracts would be unlikely to form that quickly....
Did the vet put any orange dye into the eyes at all? If they did then at least they checked for an ulcer on the eyes. If not then

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 22:44

Hi the white is in the centre of the eye so there is a ring of black around it.No the vet did not put any dye into the eye she just looked with a torch/magnifying glass thing.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 22:45

The whole centre of the eye.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 22:54

We changed vets because no one at the last place knew anything whenever we went with the guineas and now it seems this one may be the same.
One vet actually told me that unless it was a cat or a dog then it was purely guesswork.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 23:06

Ah ok i think i may have the answer here.
have just googled cataract in cavies.
our guineas are Abysynthians and the one which has developed this eye problem has had chronic wet bottom and has been seen many times by vets.Noone could really offer me any definate answers so i suggested that it may have been diabetes as her symptoms matched what i had read online.This idea was dismissed and i was told that even if it was there was no way of treating it in such a small animal.
Hence the change of vets.
I have just read that sudden onset cataract is possible if the guinea is diabetic.

Could you advise me please?

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 27/12/2008 23:13

I am never buying another animal.
we cant afford all these potential vets bills.

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 11:34

Oh dear....I really don't know enough about guineas to even try to help...I'm bumping this for beautifulgirls who is brilliant on animals being a vet....let's hope she sees this....

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 11:35

Mrsdoyle...how is your guinea today?

beautifulgirls · 28/12/2008 20:09

Diabetes is a possibility yes and certainly cataracts are a common complication of diabetes. I'm afraid to say I have no personal experience of treating a G.pig with it though. I would imagine it would be easy to rule out if the gp was not diabetic - we have urine dipsticks that should pick up glucose in the urine among other things. If that was negative then the piggie is not diabetic. If positive then it would need to be checked via blood test (maybe just a pinprick test?) and then decided how best to manage it. If your vet is proactive they can probably get hold of the right advice from specialists and work with you on this, however they may not be comfortable doing so in which case you may want to consider asking your vet if the guinea pig can be referred to an exotics vet for further advice/treatment.
Is your guinea pig female? Just another thought that they are very susceptible to cystic ovaries and that the hormones produced by such cysts could in some individuals cause diabetes. Spaying her may then solve the issues, but that can not be certain as it will depend what sort of reserves her pancreas has for producing insulin once the affecting hormones are removed. There will probably not be an easy way to tell that before you spay unfortunately, but is well worth considering. The vet should be able to palpate her abdomen and get some idea about cysts - an ultrasound scan would show it one way or the other if palpation were not that revealing.
Sadly what all this does come down to is ££ if she is diabetic. I cant give you accurate costs unfortunately but your own vet should be able to tell you the spay costs and any referral centre should be able to estimate you before you see them once the vet has spoken to them with an idea of what the problem is - so ask your vet to do that.

Best of luck

whispywhisp · 28/12/2008 20:16

Wow! BG...what a great post! Let's hope it helps MrsDoyle.

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 28/12/2008 20:41

Thankyou both so much for taking the trouble to return to the thread and for the great replies.

Today i am sure her eyes seem even whiter and She has been knocked down in the pecking order in the cage
Yes she is female beautiful girls.
I really dont know what im going to do we cant afford continual pricey vets fees if she is diabetic.

We dont have any luck with pets you know.When we had our dog he was ill for 7 out of his 9 years and we had to visit vets every week and pay the insurance excess of £70 Per week.

we dont have insurance for the guinea.

We really look after our pets too

OP posts:
beautifulgirls · 28/12/2008 21:49

So Sorry MrsDM - I would see if you can collect a urine sample from her - get her running about in a non-absorbant box for a while till she wees, then tip it into a clean pot and ask the vet/vetnurse to do a dipstick on it - I'm sure if you just take it in they will not refuse if you explain why you want it done - especially as you already paid to see the vet recently. It may at least rule out diabetes if nothing else and will not cost very much. If it is positive for glucose then you need to make choices - you can leave as she is while she is happy enough and then make the decision to put her to sleep once her quality of life is getting worse, or you can look to see if treatment is possible. I would start with the spay if you do go down that route and see if that alone solves it or not. After that well then it does get a lot more involved I would imagine and probably more expensive. It comes down to a lot of hard decision making.

Original poster
MrsDoylesMole · 28/12/2008 22:23

Thanks beautifulgirls

Would it be cheaper to go and buy some Diasticks from the chemist maybe? and test myself?

I need to discuss the spaying and costs with the vet? do you have any inkling of how much the spaying would cost?

If we decided to put her to sleep how would this affect her sister do you know?

OP posts:
whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 00:13

As regards how would the sister cope without her sister...I'm sure she'd be fine. You could always get her another female friend - girls are much easier to put together than boys. I'm not sure about spaying and costs...but the smaller the animal the larger the risk with anaesethic.

whispywhisp · 29/12/2008 00:18

I would also strongly suggest you get a second opinion from a vet. I have found in the past that one vet says one thing, and another says another. I know its another vets bill but getting a second opinion might help you to decide which way forward you go with this. Atleast if you do have to make the awful decision to have her pts you know you have had her examined by two different vets and especially if you have had doubts with vets before. I would also suggest you take up BG's suggestion that a vet atleast put the coloured die into the eye balls just to make sure there isn't any ulcers/foreign bodies stuck in/around the eye, especially at the back of the eyes that neither you nor a vet can see. I had a pig who got a piece of sharp hay stuck in the back of his eye ball....it could only be seen with using the dye and a special torch - unfortunately the hay left an ulcer which then caused an abscess just below the jaw line. We had the abscess drained and all went well until he developed a secondary abscess. Unfortunately with the vets bills mounting up to almost £200 at this point and with the pig clearly not well we had to have him pts.

Have you checked for lumps in/around the jaw/neck area? Abscesses are quite common with pigs too and usually form due to an infection/injury and fill with puss.

Swipe left for the next trending thread