Eye Troubles

I took my chinchilla to the vet on Wednesday because his right eye would not fully open, he constantly seemed to be squinting. The vet stained the eye and did not find any corneal imperfections however his eye was red and irritated beneath his eye lids. The vet prescribed eye drops (I drop Vet Plus) to be applied 3 times a day and an ointment (neomycin and polymyxin b sulfates and dexamethasone ophthalmic ointment) to be applied twice a day. I was told to continue both for 7 days. Today is the beginning of day three and I am worried it is making his eye worse. His eyelids seem crusty from discharge and like they are swollen and puffy.

I was wondering if anyone has had similar troubles and/or has any advice. I don't want to irritate his eye further, but I am not sure if I should be soaking it to prevent it from crusting shut? It seems to open up slowly when he is out for playtime...he is eating fine, and his behavior has not changed. I know stress seems to make it worse and applying both things to his eye so often provides several moments of stress in his day.

Left a message for my vet and am waiting to hear back on if I should bring him back sooner than the seven days...

Thanks in advance for any advice just feeling a bit helpless

This actually sounds a lot like what I've recently gone through with Ruffle. Is your chinchilla starting to lose fur around the eye?

I'm not sure if he is losing fur around it or if it is just sticking together from the moisture making his skin more visible? If that makes any sense? My veterinarian said to continue application of the drops and ointment and to bring him back in if it still seems bad after the 7 days. He said sometimes it can seem to get worse before it gets better and that as long as nothing else seemed to be changing not to be alarmed...

Here is an update:
After 5 full days of drops (this evening will make 6) his eye is still not fully open and still seems puffy, however, there is no gunk or crusty ness anymore. Fingers crossed we are moving in the right direction!

If what the vet is prescribing is working well, I'd keep on with that. What I found was, when Ruffle's eye swelled, it was the result of a ringworm infection, and we had her on a regiment of anti-inflammatory (maloxicam), lactase with milk thistle (I think that's right), and tramadol for pain. She was also on an antibiotic eyedrop for a while as well, until we culture'd her eye and found the fungus. If it doesn't improve in the next few days, I'd look in that direction as well, if there's anything that can be cultured from his eye (if there's no gunk anymore on or around his eye, that's a good sign). Here's hoping your little guy recovers quickly!

Oh interesting. Is it not a zoonotic form of ringworm? Would think I would have it by now if it where the ringworm I'm used to from dogs and cats. It seems more open today but still puffy and not like his other. Hoping it will return to normal now that the stress of applying the drops will be gone. Also wondering if his fur having an opportunity to dry out will help prevent irritants from bothering his eye. Will certainly pass that idea along if we end up regressing and returning to the vet.

This is day three without drops, his eye is fully open during playtime and doesn't seem swollen, still keeps it closed most of the time though. Not sure if he is babying it out of habit? I still notice him scratching at it occasionally and it just isn't as open and bright as his other eye. Might need a follow up vet visit - going to keep an eye on it a couple more days...

Sorry for the delay. For the duration of Ruffle's illness, I haven't shown any symptoms of ringworm. I'm not sure what kind it would be, but I'm not sure it's passable to humans, but don't quote me on that. Maybe one of the vet members here could speak to that better.

Well I am going to call the vet tomorrow to see about scheduling an appointment...his eye has been shut all day. Put just the eye drops in and it has opened a little bit but during playtime he had a couple sneezing sessions which is new...no changes in appetite or behavior just don't want them to pop up on Sunday when the vet is closed.
I will post an update after the visit

I'd avoid dust baths during his treatment period if I were you, just to avoid getting dust stuck to the ointments and causing further irritation. One of my chins had a bout with bacterial conjunctivitis, and another had a punctured cornea (from a particularly sharp strand of hay), and the vet advised no bathing.

Okay - I asked the vet about baths during his first visit and he said it shouldn't be an issue but I think I will hold off. Hammond is going back to the vet Monday

It would also be a good idea to get x-rays of his teeth. Tooth root elongation can cause eye issues.
Is he still eating and drinking okay?

Yes I think I will have the x-Rays done. I am wondering if it is ringworm as previously mentioned. He scratches at his eye and then chews on his toes that he scratched with. Perhaps it is itching badly. Does seem very red and irritated. Eating and drinking normally! We are going to the vet tomorrow and I will post an update.

Here is an update after the recheck:
The vet prescribed oral antibiotics for 1 week to try and clear up Hammond's crusty eye.

He believes it is a mycoplasma issue that essentially resulted in pink eye. Since he has symptoms of an eye infection rather than swelling below the eye he is not worried about his teeth as the culprit at this time. I also asked about the ring worm mentioned and he said he isn't seeing the hair loss around the eye typically associated with it.

If after a week of antibiotics the symptoms have not cleared up he wants to culture it at that point. Fingers crossed this will do the trick!

He recommended soaking very small pieces of white bread in the antibiotic to see if he would take the medication more peacefully than as a chinchilla burrito... Has anyone tried this? I didn't have any white bread...so just used the syringe today

What antibiotic did he prescribe? Some can be very hard on a chin's gut.

You might want to get some probiotic capsules to offset the effect of the antibiotic on the chin's gut flora. You just get human ones from any pharmacy, open the capsule, the sprinkle the contents over the pellets, or mix into critical care if you are hand feeding. Discard the capsule pieces.

I've never heard of chins getting meds in bread before.... I dont think bread would be too good for the chin's digestion. Maybe someone else might chime in and help? *fingers crossed*

Having some critical care on hand might be good too, just in case the meds put your chin off his food.

The vet prescribed .5 ml of enrofloxacin liquid per day.
So far he seems to be eating and drinking normally and his droppings seemed normal when I was vacuuming earlier (in consistency and number) - so far so good up to dose 3!

So far I'm passing on the bread idea - he seems to forgive me if I do it right before playtime. I am also applying just the eye drops twice a day to keep it from crusting shut while he sleeps and it seems his eyelids are less swollen as a result.

Do you know of any stores that carry critical care? Or can I only order it online? I can try for a faster delivery...would just be nice to be able to pick it up incase he does need it.

Most vet offices can order it for you, or you can find it on Amazon.

Update: Hammond had his recheck Saturday, the oral antibiotics did not work. He has not lost weight, is eating and drinking normally, with no changes in behavior. His eye is still red and irritated and swells and seals shut when he sleeps.

The vet recommended trying the eye drops and ointment for two weeks instead of the one week we initially tried. So far his eye has stayed open and no pus, crust, or gunk is present around the eye.

If anything worsens or changes I am planning on trying another veterinarian as I have since moved. His eye seems more clear and less irritated so perhaps a longer period of dosing was required! Fingers crossed still - just want him to have a normal chinchilla eye again!

Does anyone know of a vet in the Dallas Fort Worth area?

My little guy had to be on drops forever before his eye cleared up. I think he was on drops for 6 or 8 months! I hope the longer dose helps Hammond. Sometimes eye issues can become chronic, so I hope that isn't the case for you. ZZ's abrasion/conjunctivitis was years ago and thankfully he hasn't had any problems since.

I have problems with one of my chin's eye since late Jan. I had problems with her since last year not eating. She had x-rays done and blood work. Her eye was swollen and white. He prescribed an oral medicine and eye drops. Her eye still gets crusty. I took her 3 weeks ago to try something new. What I think he did was numbed her left side of her face to put a tube from her eye to nasal and then try to flush saline down for blockage. He said he does it to rabbits. It didn't work. So I guess I will have to clean her eye out until someone else can make a suggestion or a miracle happens.