Clotted blood on eye?

rjespicer · Post » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:16 pm

I just got a call at work telling me that Chunky appeared to have dried blood on one of her eyes.

However about 5-10 minutes later I got another call telling me teh blood had gone and she seemed to running around and eating as normal.

Does this look like a possible hay poke or could it be a sign of some other condition? Does it need a vet visit and if so how urgently?

I checked the medical info but couldnt see anything that looked like this. Her eye seems to be fine and undamaged. I will give her a more thorough check when I get home.

Thanks for your help

bpatters · Post » Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:33 pm

Eye injuries are painful, and infections can spread to the brain. It's probably a hay poke, but I'd want a vet to see it.

Post » Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:30 am

A vet will flush the area and try to figure out what is going on. Does look like there may have been an injury.

rjespicer · Post » Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:07 pm

I contacted the vet and sent pictures but we have not heard back from them yet. Her eye seemed fine last night but it did seem like she was blinking and squinting a bit more with that eye but doesn't seem to have any problems seeing with it. The daughter is on Standby to take her to the vet today.

rjespicer · Post » Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:59 pm

The Vet checked her out and couldn't see any issues. She did an eye stain and said there was no cornea damage. She suggested we keep an eye on her and if she seemed to be having issues they could give us eye drops but that she didn't seem to be having issues during the visit.

After the $115 bill I could use some pain killers though.

Sef · Post » Thu Mar 07, 2019 8:54 pm

It's better to err on the safe side, though, even though that was an expensive trip. I'm glad to hear things looked okay. Chunky is ADORABLE!

Post » Thu Mar 07, 2019 11:37 pm

She is indeed adorable!

Eye injuries can be serious. I'm with sef on checking them out. You did good (but I always understand the pain of the bill).

rjespicer · Post » Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:16 am

The vet did also do the usual regular yearly health check and other than Chunky being a little overweight (1220g on out scales and 1150g on the vets scales) she said she was otherwise fit and healthy.

I guess the high bills are part of the joys of living in the Bay Area with the stupidly high rents landlords seem to want. The vet has to be able to pay their bills like the rest of us.

WICharlie · Post » Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:21 am

Am I the only one that thinks that bill is in line with what is typical? I'm in Wisconsin and a general well check is usually around $45 to $60. Add the eye stain to that and it seems about right. My dog just had a dental (got 3 teeth pulled) and it was $740. That included a well-check (with kennel cough preventative and another inoculation) and pre-dental blood panel. Oh and pain meds for afterwards. I basically plan that anytime the dog or cat goes into the vet for any reason, the bill is going to be $100 or higher. Of course, a lot of people think that it should be less expensive for a guinea pig because the pig is so small. But the vet is still giving the same amount of time and expertise and use of the facility as for a larger pet.

Sef · Post » Sat Mar 09, 2019 10:41 am

It's not too out of line. We took Amos in yesterday for a follow-up visit on his bladder stone. General check-up and another set of xrays, and the bill was $98.25. That included another bottle of Metacam. I thought that was very reasonable. We're in Southern Indiana, though, where a routine visit usually only runs around $35. I guess it all depends on where you live, but I wouldn't have expected an eye stain to run quite that much. As I said, though, worth it for piece of mind; you can't risk blindness.

rjespicer · Post » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:07 am

It was $75 for the check up, $44 for the eye stain, and would have been another $34 if we needed the eye drops. In the past we have paid $200- $400 for X Rays and metacam has cost us $37

A quick question though the vet asked if we had their hay in a feeder or just a loose pile. We have both, they seem to prefer the pile however the vet said that was more likely to cause hay pokes. I would have thought the opposite as the hay is free to move if they brush in to it whereas in a feeder if it is fixed it will have more resistance. Unless the issue is that they or another piggy might move hay that then pokes them.

Has anyone found hay piles to cause more or less hay pokes?

Sef · Post » Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:07 am

Ours have a tendency to stick their whole face into a pile of hay, whereas they are slightly (only slightly) more delicate when it comes to a hay dispenser. I offer it both ways, though.

Ouch, $200-400 for xrays. How much Metacam does $37 buy?

rjespicer · Post » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:55 pm

That was for 10ml/cc enough for a 7-10 day course with about 6ml left over

SSLee · Post » Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:43 pm

I used to take my piggies to the same vet that rjespicer uses but has since changed to the VCA All Pets Hospital on S. Van Ness. I find the additional items charged by vets in our area quite pricey. Rjespicer's vet quoted $45 for nail clipping, on top of the $75 check up, and VCA charges $43 for the nail clipping service. On our recent visit, VCA billed $25 per pig, for putting a drop of Revolution. I've read on various posts that other vets (not in our area) include the nail clipping as part of the check up process.