Bloody eye - please help

[Mystic]

What concerns me is that the blood is not on the eye, it is IN the eye which makes me think there is some form of blunt internal trauma, perhaps a fall or what not. I would probably agree with Dawn on a xray to assess for further head trauma especially if there is blood on or coming out of his nose.

A plugged tear duct would not cause any bleeding.

Your correct about it being some form of blunt trama to his eye. That's exactly what the vet told me that it looks like to her. She said he possibly banged his eye onto something really hard or even a fall. I asked her about the dried blood on his nose and that it doesn't look like superficial scratches of any sort, that it looked like it came from inside his nose. She said that in chinchillas the tear ducts are connected to the nose and that is where the blood came from as some of it might have drained out. For his eye she prescribed me Gentamicin Sulfate Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.3% and Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate Ophthalmic Solution USP, 0.1%. She told me to give 1 drop of the 1st solution then 30 minutes later give 1 drop of the 2nd solution. Continue this every 12 hours.
I asked her about an xray and if she felt it was necessary and she said he doesn't seem wobbly and seems active and alert so no xray today. She looked at his teeth and said they looked great. When she checked his heart, however, she said that he has a slight heart murmur and given a rating from 1-6 she gave it a 2-3. I asked if that was a problem and she said at the moment it could be due to him being stressed. I go back for a follow-up visit on Sunday.
Thoughts?

 

[Mystic]

Something doesn't seem right. Once we got back from the vet's he laid down right in the open and went to sleep. I let him sleep till 7:00 then I picked him up to give him his first eye drop. Before I even gave him the drop I noticed his entire chin was wet, like he was drooling. He was also shaking and chattering/grinding his teeth while I held him. The vet did insert a thin flashlight like object into his mouth to get a look at his teeth. Could this have caused all the symptoms I just described along with the stress from the vet visit? I'm sitting on my bed cross-legged with my laptop in front of me typing this right now and he's laying in my lap sleeping, which is totally unlike him. God, I'm freaking out. I don't want to lose him....

 

[ticklechin]

I would call the vet, if she manipulated the head and mouth to look inside and she did not take a x-ray I would be worried sick he has a skull/jaw/upper jaw/ mouth/ bone injury that was not visual, drool is a head pain response, not just mouth. And the lethargy is not a good sign, either its from pain, a concussion or the heart murmur or ?????.

 

[becky12883]

If he is that lethargic you need to get him to the vet immediately!!! Chins hide their illness and injuries extremely well.

 

[Claire D]

Chinchilla bones are very delicate - I am afraid I echo Dawn's concerns.

 

[Mystic]

I called her and she said that is could very well be an under-lying injury from his eye trama. She referred me to an emergency vet if I want to take things further since their office is closing in 5 minutes. But she also said that if I don't have the funds to take him to the ER vet that I could try squirting the dexamethasone up his nose to try making him more comfortable?

 

[Claire D]

The problem is you need to know what's going on with him so he can be treated properly. If it were me I would be wanting another opinion, exam and xrays.
For all the vet knows, he may have a fractured skull or eye socket .......

 

[Mystic]

I'm trying to get ahold of this 24 hour emergency vet clinic in Annapolis, MD but the phone line is busy every time I call! I need help. Does anyone know of any other emergency clinics in MD?

 

[Riven]

Deep breath, you getting too worked up won't help. I would ask for an xray. Rarely does someone/some chin hit just their eye that hard to do that. Usually the bones around the eye take the blunt of the blow, then press onto the eye. The eye is filled with fluid and a jelly like substance which means to do this kind of trauma it would have to be a lot of pressure.

Unfortunately even with an oral exam you can't see the roots. How old is this chin out of curiosity?

I would keep trying to contact the vet and see if you can get him in. Do his eyes seem to be really buggy? What I'd be worried about is pressure in the head if there is swelling from the trauma.

 

[Mystic]

I know, I am getting very worked up, its just he's my baby...and I've never dealt with this type of situation before. Are you trying to say that his bones (especially the ones around his eye) could be broken? I just don't understand how he could do this kind of trama to himself. His cage isn't really that big. He will actually be 3 in about a week. His eyes don't seem buggy at all. Do you suggest that I keep trying to contact my regular vet and see about an appointment tomorrow or an emergency vet?

 

[Riven]

The best thing you can do is follow your gut.

That's correct about the bones around the eye. How high is his cage? It could be something as simply as a jump gone wrong and hitting a shelf on the way down.

Good news on the eyes, often swelling can create a buggy eye look due to pressure behind them. How is he doing now? Does he get up when you rouse him or just lay there? If he just seems extra tired, then he might just be that worn out, trying to heal and worn out from the vet trip. If he doesn't life his head or get up when you open the cage or touch him, then I would take him to the ER vet.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Sending you a PM with vets - unfortunately there aren't any good/available emergency exotics vets in central MD.

 

[Mystic]

The best thing you can do is follow your gut.

That's correct about the bones around the eye. How high is his cage? It could be something as simply as a jump gone wrong and hitting a shelf on the way down.

Good news on the eyes, often swelling can create a buggy eye look due to pressure behind them. How is he doing now? Does he get up when you rouse him or just lay there? If he just seems extra tired, then he might just be that worn out, trying to heal and worn out from the vet trip. If he doesn't life his head or get up when you open the cage or touch him, then I would take him to the ER vet.

His cage is only about 24"x24"x18" so its not tall at all. I actually don't even have shelving in there for him. Just a large wooden hidey house, fleece hammock, and fleece tube.
I apologize for not updating earlier as I fell asleep and had my boyfriend watching him. I just went to go see him about 5 minutes ago and he was in his hammock snoozing away. That's a good sign though because before he would barley move, let alone jump, and my boyfriend said he jumped into the hammock all on his own. Maybe he is just extra tired. He definitely lifted his head and kinda did a semi-circle scoot around in the hammock when I touched him. I'm going to wake up multiple times tonight to check on him.

 

[Mystic]

Sending you a PM with vets - unfortunately there aren't any good/available emergency exotics vets in central MD.

And thank you very much for the information. I agree. There are alot of emergency vets I called around to, but most if not all of them don't deal with chinchillas.

 

[Mystic]

At the emergency vet. When to check in on him and he was barely responsive laying on the bottom of his cage out in the open. Please keep Timber in your thoughts for a good outcome.

 

[ticklechin]

How is he?

 

[Mystic]

Still the same pretty much. The ER vet said his heart murmur is at a 5 out of a 6. So she took x-rays and said his hear t doesn't look as 'full' as it should be but it shouldn't be a cause for concern like heart disease (and some other heart disease she said that's common in animals like chinchillas) I asked if she saw any breaks in his head or surrounding area and she said no. I'm concerned why he is chattering his teeth though and opening his mouth and moving his bottom jaw side to side. She did not get a dental x-ray. Now he's not eating though and he's just laying on my chest now. For meds I got critical care, metoclopramide, tramadol for pain, and probiocin oral gel.

 

[Mystic]

Can someone please call me who is experienced with force feeding critical care? He won't take it at all, even when I squirt it in his mouth he doesn't swallow it. I need to get some food in him...

 

[Aridan]

Did you try adding a little pumpkin puree to it, to make it more palatable?

 

[Mystic]

He's gone. My poor baby died in my arms. I was trying to feed him some critical care and he actually took some. I let him chew it then gave him a couple minutes rest. I noticed his breathing was shallow then he was gone the next minute. I'm so torn. I can't believe he's gone. Please close this thread and I will start a memorial thread for him. :cry2: