:( my chinchillas eye.....

[Skittlez]

  i dont know what happened but one of her eyes is kinda puffy and there is white discharge in taking her to the vet but i have stuff for my cat because he use to have a problem with his eyes but idk if i can give it to her then and if i could/can put neosporin on it Xp please help if you have any ideas or thing idk if she poked in on timmy hay or its her new food i dont know  

[Skittlez]

i have this stuff called vetropolycin and i was wondering if its safe for her till i get her to the vet Xp i used it for my cat and it healed his eye

[dianah]

i would take her to the vet without giving her anything. while generally the stuff they prescribe for eyes is not specifically for chinchillas, you don't know what is wrong with her eye, it could be something completely different to what your cat had and so you could make it worse.

it's possible she damaged it with hay (my guinea pig did that, several times!) in which case the vet will be able to tell if there's any damage to the eye using a special dye. it's possible it's an eye infection, respiratory infection or a tooth problem. if it is a respiratory infection, you would want to get her seen fairly swiftly.

if you want to do something for her eye while waiting to see a vet, you could gently wipe her eye with cotton wool pad or ball moistened with salt solution (boil water, mix with salt, let it cool down - i usually use it when it's still a little warm rather than cold) - this will clean off the discharge and if there is eye infection present, it could help a little.

in any case, you want to see a vet before putting any goo in, especially as it had been prescribed for a different animal, of a different species.

[Lori Ramsey Earle]

I would gently wipe the area around the eye with a clean washcloth. (I wet the washcloth with warm water). If you're going to use a homemade salt water solution, you need to get the salt:water ratio from Dianah, so the solution doesn't end up stinging your chin's eye. Check the eye often and clean as needed. Go to the vet tommorrow, and get to the bottom of the problem. Also, don't let your chin have a dustbath til the eye's cleared up.
In my experience, the cause has usually been conjunctivitis or a scratched cornea. But if it isn't, then you'll have to take a look at the possibility of your chin having dental or respiratory problems.
If you end up having antibiotics and/or steroids prescribed for the eye, I've found that eye drops work much better than eye ointment. The eye ointment attracts dust and sometimes a cagemate tries to lick the ointment off. Either way, not too sanitary! Good luck!
Lori

[Skittlez]

ive wiped her eye with warm water and then the next day it was still messed up and i looked up the stuff i had for my cat and it is used on chinchillas too (says the sites and other chinchilla health blogs i looked up) but im still going to take her to the vet im worried but not too worried if you can understand that lol im sure she poked her eye on her hay shes looking better today thank goodness!

[GrayRodent]

Using antibiotics from other pets can be a problem. If you use too little or end treatments too soon you can end up with antibiotic resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. If you already have used this on your chin please  be sure to tell the vet. Otherwise wait until you get a diagnosis and a prescription.

[dianah]

there also are a lot more antibiotics out there that are safe to cats but not to chinchillas. the dosage differs although quite often with the eye ointments it tends to be a drop. you definitely want to make sure that a/ the medication is safe for chinchillas and you know the correct dosage b/ you are confident in the diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

the salt water ratio, i don't particularly mix it accurately, but i'd say that half a teaspoon (flat) in a cupful of water should be ok. let us know what the vet says.

[Skittlez]

i took niblit to the vet the other day to get her teeth trimmed her bottom teeth cause she lost one of her big teeth on top and the vet didnt see anything wrong with her she was healthy as could be minus one tooth on top lol but shes all good i just think she poked her eye on some timmy hay or something

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Glad to hear that.

[Skittlez]

thanks you shes lovin live her teeth got trimmed and she got a bath she loves she doing great thank you all for your help