Late night emergency with Snokey.

[Rocheal]

Snokey is our white mosaic that we brought home from the SE Chinchilla functions in NC this year. This little guy has been through a couple struggles... A while ago, Rylee bit through the cage at his toe and caught it just as I was running over there to get him out of the cage. It was nasty. His toenail came almost all the way off. We were up every three hours in the night doctering him for about a week. Thank God everything healed all the way without infection, but his little toenail still sitts crooked. ( Poor guy.)

Well I think it was Sunday that Kevin noticed his eye was slightly irritated, and Monday it looked puffy and red. Monday evening, I took him out of the cage to put some solution in there in case it was just something in his eye, hoping it would flush it out. When I got the solution to put in his eye, his little eye was booger-glued shut. I got a soft wash cloth and put warm water on it to open his eye so I could see what was going on. When I was able to get his eye open, yellow/white puss came squirting out of it. I called a few vets that all gave me the same emergency number I had and told me to take him in. I got online at about 9pm (?) to ask Stephanie if I should go, but she wasn't at her computer to answer me. I asked Kevin to take a family emergency and leave work to take us all to the vet. On our way there, we got lost. But finally made it. I had called Kevin's sister to get online and get Stephanie's phone number so I could ask her what we should do and about the medication they end up giving him. Thank God we got in touch with her and she walked us through what the vet should do when we get there. When we got done at about 1 am, We called Steph and asked her about the medication they gave us, (Gentocin Ophthalmic Drops) which she said was ok.

I've been giving him the drops, and he's been such a good sport. The only thing that's upsetting me is now when I reach in his cage, he whimpers and runs from me. I felt so bad for him, at the vet, he was crying and shaking. He's such a baby sometimes.



His diet and water intake hasn't changed at all, and he hasn't been acting weird, so I'm thinking that this will be an easy infection to docter up.

Thank you so much for staying on the phone with us and helping us through everything, Steph.

[lixx]

Aww, Steph you are wonderful! I am so glad he is going to be fine!!

[Wheelie1985]

Glad the little guy is gonna be okay. Good thing you have people to call to help you out with things.

[Jade]

Glad to hear he's doing well, Rocheal.

[ckane]

I'm glad he is doing OK. Glad Steph was there to offer a helping hand.

[Chinchilla_Girl]

Steph's awsome at being there for a helping hand
Glad to hear he's going to be okay

[DirtySouthChins]

Rocheal I am glad to hear all turned out okay, and that Steph was there to help guide you through

[Rocheal]

Yepp! She's the greatest.

He's not cooperating as much as he was before with the drops. I'm starting to wonder if they burn his eyes.

[cheshirechin]

A question and a comment. Does Smokey have black eyes or red eyes?

I have a chin who get the same thing for time to time. Usually, it happens during the change of seasons. He's had his eye glom shut twice. Usually a warm compress helps. If the eye reaches the point where it gloms shut, I go to the vet, have them do a florescein dye test to make sure Max hasn't scratched his eye surface, and get the same drops for 10 days. Some vets use a salve (which is more common for cats), but since I've used the drops before, they have let me stick with what I know.

There are a couple of proposed explainations for this. The first is to rule out respiratory infection, which has never been the root of the problem. Another idea is that from time to a piece of bath dust gets in the eye and it gets irritated. Simple irritation leads to redness of the skin around the eye and a watery to milky discharge. When this occurs, I don't allow Max to bathe for several days and monitor the condition of the eye. If he is scrathing a lot and it gets worse, we go to the vet. If it clears up on its own, it is just irritation and not an infection, and I leave it be.

It is also worth noting that when I have seen this condition, it has not seemed communicable. During one outbreak, I kept Max with his buddies, due to a cage situation. Other times, I have isolated him in a crate, because it is easier if I do not need to 'catch' him every time he needs drops. And they do come to hate the drops.

So you did exactly the right thing. Continue to use the drops and avoid dust baths for the duration of treatment. When discharge and dust mix, they can cause further irritation.

Also, its only Max who has this problem, which goes back to my original question about red vs black eyes. Max has red eyes, and I've wondered if the red eyes make him more suseptible to eye irriation. I don't know. But after treatment, I would keep an eye on Smokey, because some chins may just me more prone to this problem than others.

Thanks,

Patti

[Rocheal]

Patti,

Snokey has black eyes. That would be an interesting thing to think about, though. I hope he doesn't continue to get it. Do you breed Max? Is it genetic?? Maybe Snokey shouldn't be bred..

I did take him out of Rylee's cage and put him in a small crate. He's very upset at me from putting him in a small cage and taking him out only to put drops in his poor little eye. He runs from me now.. And he whimpers when I go in to get him. I don't like him being scared for me to hold him.

[Jade]

Maybe pick up a large dog crate from wal-mart or the like? He'd probably be more comfortable in a larger space, but that'll keep him separate.

Just give him lots of love, he'll forgive you eventually.

[Rocheal]

We have a bigger crate at Kevin's house that he's bringing over here tomorrow.

I can't wait for his drops to be over with.

[cheshirechin]

As far as breeding Smokey, I wouldn't worry too much. Max had a black eyed son, who has never had a problem with his eyes. I used to own Max's dad, and he would occasionally have a small amount of discharge, but his eye would next goop shut. However, Max has many (10+) brothers and sisters and none of them have eye problems. It seems to be an individual sensitivity. Or it could be a behavior. Maybe some chins scratch their eyes more than others and thus cause the irritation. Also, Smokey could just have a one-time irritation. Max's dad only had the problem once or twice and his new owner has never mentioned it.

Good luck.

[Rocheal]

I'm really hoping it's a one time thing.
Also glad to hear that it's not a genetic thing. That would be aweful!!