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[Jenova]

Hiya,

As I said in a previous post, my baby, Snake got an eye infection. Her eyelid was really swollen and there was a little, what I called, gunk. I took her to the vet after the weekend and she was checked for all sorts of things (but not her teeth - my vet who deals with exotics moved to another practice and although the vet I saw was very good she didn't have the experience I would have like with chinchillas). She said that it was a foreign body in the eye. She gave me some eye drops and I've been using them since Monday.

The swelling has gone down loads. Her eye lid has started to turn grey around her eye again but she has lost fur around the area, I assume this is because I've been cleaning the area. The only thing I'm worried about is that her tear duct looks quite swollen. I just wanted some advice on whether this is normal or if I should take her back to the vets. She has been eating fine and pooing fine.

Cheers.

[Edit] Some more info added in latest post:
After a week of treating the infection in the eyelids has subsided greatly, although she has saggy skin there now. The only thing that has happened is that her tear duct, or that area, has swollen up. I thought it was just the residual infection that would take a little longer to clear but it didn't seem to be going down. My boyfriend and I gently rolled a finger over it and white pus 'squirted' out into the eye. She didn't seem to phased by this, it didn't seem to hurt her. And today it looks a little better.

Anyway, I am taking her to the vets as soon as I can, just to be sure. I've had a lot of experience with eye infections because my rabbit has a birth defect which means his skull is deformed and this squeezes his tear ducts closed. Due to this he has constant runny eyes. At first they tried to flush the infection out of his tear ducts and I'm wondering if they might suggest this for Snake. I would be happy if anyone could give me some advice on the normal procedures for clearing this sort of infection in chinchillas because I am so scared of her wriggling if they try and do that and injuring herself. She is a wriggly chinchilla by nature (I have scratches all up my arms just from treating her with eye drops). I'm afraid they might want to sedate her to do it which to me is a last option.

Anyway, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Harleychin]

Call them and tell them whats going on .They should be able to tell you if you need to bring her in again.
 I Hope all goes well with little Snake!

[Jenova]

Thank you.
You've given me an idea and I've no idea why I didn't think of it before, I could just ring my old vet, even if I can't see her and ask for some advice...

[Jenova]

After a week of treating the infection in the eyelids has subsided greatly, although she has saggy skin there now. The only thing that has happened is that her tear duct, or that area, has swollen up. I thought it was just the residual infection that would take a little longer to clear but it didn't seem to be going down. My boyfriend and I gently rolled a finger over it and white pus 'squirted' out into the eye. She didn't seem to phased by this, it didn't seem to hurt her. And today it looks a little better.

Anyway, I am taking her to the vets as soon as I can, just to be sure. I've had a lot of experience with eye infections because my rabbit has a birth defect which means his skull is deformed and this squeezes his tear ducts closed. Due to this he has constant runny eyes. At first they tried to flush the infection out of his tear ducts and I'm wondering if they might suggest this for Snake. I would be happy if anyone could give me some advice on the normal procedures for clearing this sort of infection in chinchillas because I am so scared of her wriggling if they try and do that and injuring herself. She is a wriggly chinchilla by nature (I have scratches all up my arms just from treating her with eye drops). I'm afraid they might want to sedate her to do it which to me is a last option.

Anyway, any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Jo Ann]

   Did you ring your old vet?  If, so, what did he/she say?

Yes, I would think that the vet needs to see her ... any signs of infection (pus, swelling, redness) is a warning something is wrong/is still wrong and needs to be addressed.  a.s.a.p.

The swelling is usually infection in the tissues or inside a natural opening or injury opening.  My vet always told me: "Remember: The solution to pollution is dilution."  (pollution being infection and dilution meaning to get rid of as much of the pus as possible via flushing while introducing an antibiotic to kill what is causing the infection)

To keep your chin from scratching you, and to maintain safe control of her while trying to treat her, I have found wrapping them in a soft cloth like a little Indian papoose or swaddle them like you would a baby, in a small blanket or light weight cloth, to gently restrain them, usually works pretty good.  This action also allows the chin to feel safer, should you have to hold her at different angle to examine/treat her, that is not a normal/natural angle for your chinchilla.  When treating/caring for your little one, always, try to hold her close to you and continually talk softly to her.  Afterwards, give her a treat for being such a good girl.   

   Jo Ann

[Jenova]

Thank you for the information. I will definitely use the towel method. I took her back to my usual vet but saw someone else. She was very good, checked her teeth and everything. She had two injections, one of antibiotics and one to reduce the swelling and she wasn't happy about them. I've also been given some antibiotics (as well as the eye drops) to be given orally. That's where I imagine the towel will come in really handy.
It's looking sooooo much better since we squeezed some of the infection out so I'm hoping that this is going to get rid of it completely. And I'll be getting her some pro biotic yogurt to replenish her good bacteria. Just wondering if the others can have some too because you know how jealous chinnies can be.
She shouldn't have to have it flushed if this clears it up.

[Jo Ann]

   Yogurt given to the other chins will not hurt them ... it would actually help any that you might not know is beginning to have a problem with it's digestive system.  Live culture yogurt is good to replace or replenish the flora for any chinchilla.   

*** "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." ***
I always offer all my chins some yogurt, when using it for one of my sick chins ... they do get jealous!  I have one chin that dearly loves the yogurt.  I always give her hers first and last ... if I don't, she will cry (literally, tears will flow) if she does not get some yogurt, too.  I give it to her first, so she will not be upset, and again last, so the other chins don't realize she is getting a double share of it.   

Gently rolling your finger over the eye lid (expelling the pus) was as close as I would want to get to actually flushing an infection around the eye that is not an open wound. 

The shots and oral antibiotics should take care of the problem. 

Some chins need more than others, so even if it looks fine, keep a close eye on her for quite some time to come.  It can come back full force if it is not 100% cleared-up.

Keep us posted on how she is doing.   

   Jo Ann

[Jenova]

Cheers for all the help. I'm not used to treating such a small thing. My rabbit is massive lol.
Anyway, apart from looking hideous (I'm just kidding she still looks gorgeous to me) the swelling went right down after her shots. I'll be giving her oral antibiotics for a week, ten days if it's not cleared. She looks so much better now, her skin is back to her normal colour, but it's still a little saggy.

She won't touch the yoghurt and neither will any of the others. I may syringe feed her a little to give her the tase of it. Depends on how she is tonight.