Eye Problems

Question
Hi, one of my guinea pigs has an eye problem. It seems to be receding and the eyelid has swollen shut just a little bit. He has a slightly aggressive companion (another male) and we think he may have gotten into a fight and caused the injury, but we're not 100%. He is also more skittish. But he seems to be eating and drinking just fine, as of this morning. He has only had this problem for two or three days, and was perfectly healthy when we got him. What's wrong with him? How do we treat him? Do we need to see a vet?

Thank you!

Answer

Teramycin Ointment   It's difficult to keep mature boars together peacefully. When they reach sexual maturity they become territorial and aggressive toward one another, even if there are no sows around. It's like two stallions who've been raised together. Once the hormones start racing their attitudes change and they begin to fight.

Eye injuries can indeed be the result of a fight, and the receding eyeball is a typical sign of injury. There are a couple of things you can do. I use Teramycin eye ointment with very good results. I'm sure that the effect is more of a soothing and pain relieving effect than the antibiotic itself. Here's a picture of what it looks like. It's a very small tube.

When injured sometimes the eye stops producing enough tears to keep it moist. If you've ever had dry eyes just from allergies you can understand in just a small way the discomfort felt by the pig. Another thing that is helpful is Visine eye drops. They're avaiable in any drug store and in many grocery stores. Whether you choose the Teramycin or the Visine you must apply it a couple of times a day.

There's another trick that is commonly used by breeders and that's Vitamin A capsules. You snip the tip of the capsule and drop the Vit A oil into the eye. The effect is also one of soothing and lubricating. It helps the eye heal and also acts as a soothing pain relief for the pig.  

If the eyeball itself were injured it may or may not heal. Sometimes after healing the eye is left cloudy, indicating loss of sight. The good news is that I've seen many eye injuries that cleared up completely and returned to normal after a couple of weeks of treatment. The secret is being diligent in giving the medication.

Don't give up on him yet. He just may surprise you and heal without any evidence of trauma. I would however, get him out of danger by putting him in his own cage. Not doing so is an invitation for this to happen again and he may be more seriously injured.