Eyes/Non-crusty Little Bear's ouchie eye

[4boipigs]

Altho he was running away from me today, Lbear was breathing harder than normal. His suspected URI may be back. Will call the doctor tomorrow to get in. As for his eye unless the vet thinks there is some issue I can't see, I am not concerned. He will never blink again but daily eye drops works great. I am even able to order them on amazon for cheap.

I have done baytril and something else for it...its a long name I can't recall which we did for 21 days. Hopefully nothing serious

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Have you tried azithromycin? It saved Scooter after 3 months of fighting his first illness after trying numerous rounds of both Bactrim and Baytril, which he had serious reactions to. It may even have saved Punkin too if it had been tried soon enough. It also saved Simon, after a severe sinus infection that both bactrim and Baytril failed to get rid of.

 

[4boipigs]

Not yet. I think just baytril and maybe the brand name for the other one was bactrim. It was a sulfa something. Very long name. I'm sure the vet will know.

I did weigh him and his weigh hasn't changed. At our last vet visit over a month ago he was 680. He was 700 today. He acts normal of course and races around the cage and acts happy. But I see the discharge on his nose.

Not sure if it's even contagious. Gimbly seems fine but he may have some invisible issue since he likes L Bear's butt so much even with probiotics.

 

[4boipigs]

He doesn't like our picture time. Always looks away at the right time. This is his bad eye. Varies between lots of discharge or none at all.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Trimethoprim Sulfate is the generic name for Bactrim. If he does have an URI he will show symptoms very quickly. I would definitely encourage you to try the azithromycin. In my.opinion it was a miracle for Scooter when everything else failed. Not only did it save Scooter, but neither he nor Simon experienced ANY disruption in appetite.

 

[4boipigs]

We got an appt on Tuesday with the dr who saw L Bear last. We REALLY like that doctor.

Little Bear has done well with all meds. I don't have to force him to take them either. He will bite the syringe since he can't see and eat the meds. I know this vet has Critical Care so hopefully I remember to grab some.

 

[4boipigs]

Is there anything I can do for his congestion? One nostril is clearly full of snot (same side as his bad eye) while the other is clear. This is also the side his head tilts towards...I wonder if it could all be related?

I can hear him struggling to breath out of that side. Regardless he is happy as could be, eating and running around.

 

[bpatters]

He probably has a sinus infecion on that side.

I know it's not easy to do on a guinea pig, but if the vet could get a sample for a culture and have a sensitivity test done, you could find out what organism is causing it. It might be fungal, not bacterial, in which case no antibiotic would do anything for it.

 

[4boipigs]

Will it be okay if they don't have any snacks in their crate when we go to the vet? I usually give them hay, but when the vet tried to assess L Bear's teeth (he used a tool that let him see inside and displayed it on a screen next to us) it wasn't very easy since he had been eating hay. We'll only be gone a couple hours.

 

[bpatters]

He'll be fine. Just take something to feed him as soon as the vet is finished.

 

[4boipigs]

So we finally went back for that follow up. The doctor says the eye is looking much better, and we should be fine doing the daily eyedrops. For his URI, I was given baytril and metacam. So previously I did do baytril, but that was me self-dosing Little Bear with leftover baytril that I had for Amigo's UTI. Hopefully with the doctor directing us, it will work this time (was using .4 vs .7 ml). Otherwise if it doesn't help, the doctor thinks we should do some dental xrays to see if there's teeth causing problems.

 

[heftysmurf]

I wish you the best and hope it all pans out.

 

[4boipigs]

A note so I remember - weight during his first visit after Bruin died was 750 grams. In March it was 687. Yesterday it was 705. Vet gave his body condition a 4/9 (where 5 is ideal).

 

[4boipigs]

I scared Little Bear...assuming I didn't hurt him. It was Baytril time, and as usual he yanked the syringe away so he could escape with it (the Baytril smells like rotting wet spinach). He got into a house with the synrnige, and I guess the way it got stuck on the entrance scared him. He started to run around from house to house in a big panic. I tried to give him the rest of the meds, but he didn't even chew it when I put it in his mouth. I gave him his eyedrops with no protest but he wouldn't let me move his head to the side like usual. Right now he is hiding and not eating. He did have a bit of a banana. I put hay in front of the house, and Gimbly is eating the hay and Little Bear isn't.

I'm hoping I just scared him really bad, and that his mouth didn't get hurt when the syringe caught on the house. I'm sure that with being blind, everything is a lot more scary.

 

[heftysmurf]

Poor little guy and poor you. Try to make sure you both relax. Maybe just hold and pet him for a while and don't do anything with him till he totally calms down and than check him out more.

 

[4boipigs]

Poor little guy and poor you. Try to make sure you both relax. Maybe just hold and pet him for a while and don't do anything with him till he totally calms down and than check him out more.

It makes me feel bad that I scared him. He truly loves taking his meds. Right now he is eating a carrot but he hasn't left the house. I have never scared him like that (granted I've only had him 7 months) or seen a pig act so bizarre after being spooked.

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Simon got spooked by something a few months ago. It was in the middle of the night and I have no idea what it was, but it was 3 days before he was normal again.

Pigs get spooked by the strangest things. He'll be fine.

 

[heftysmurf]

Papa is right. He freaked and with a bit of time and care he will be a ok.

 

[4boipigs]

Papa is right. He freaked and with a bit of time and care he will be a ok.

Honestly, I dread every moment will be his last. I got fairly nervous when he wouldn't chew/take the meds and it just sat in mouth. To see my happy old man start being fearful is sad. I've spent so much money on them and love them so much that I don't want anything to them.

 

[heftysmurf]

Hugs bud. Guinea pig life when they are sick is hard. You are a great gp patent.
Just love him the best you can.