Eye Drops?

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

Is there somewhere online that I can order some chinnie drops? Muffin has an eye infection and the only vet near me doesn't even know what a chin is, but they want to charge me $60 to look at her, my exotic vet is 2 hours away, and I don't want to drive that far if I already know what's wrong with her.

 

[menagerie]

Giving random drops is an extremely bad idea. You need to see a vet to determine what is wrong with your chin's eye. The wrong type of drops will do more harm than good.

 

[tunes]

You don't know what's wrong with her though. An "infection" could encompass several things. It could be a corneal scratch, it could be allergies, it could be a foreign body. Unless you are well versed and experienced in dealing with this, you need to see a vet.

If you're going to run a rescue, then this is just something you're going to have to learn to live with. Either get an exotics vet closer to you, or be prepared to drive. Either way, rescuing isn't cheap and you can plan to lay out a buttload of money.

 

[starleomach]

A vet who doesn't know what a chinchilla is can still treat something like an eye infection. Peggy is right you need to get your Stuff together better if you want to run a rescue. Some people can treat things themselves but those of us who can have been doing this a long time and experianced a lot...And go to the vet when needed.

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

You don't know what's wrong with her though. An "infection" could encompass several things. It could be a corneal scratch, it could be allergies, it could be a foreign body. Unless you are well versed and experienced in dealing with this, you need to see a vet.

If you're going to run a rescue, then this is just something you're going to have to learn to live with. Either get an exotics vet closer to you, or be prepared to drive. Either way, rescuing isn't cheap and you can plan to lay out a buttload of money.

I understand all of what i'll have to deal with when it comes to rescuing. I'm prepared to drive if it's something I can't treat myself, I have experience with treating sick animals, and if it's something simple I don't want to put stress on my chin by taking her in the car for so long. I know i've read things about home remedies for eye infections before, and I was just wondering if anyone had any advice. I'm not looking to buy "random" drops, I was looking for something that may be able to help her eye, I know a lot of inexperienced vets will just send you home with drops anyway.

A vet who doesn't know what a chinchilla is can still treat something like an eye infection. Peggy is right you need to get your Stuff together better if you want to run a rescue. Some people can treat things themselves but those of us who can have been doing this a long time and experianced a lot...And go to the vet when needed.

I understand that, but these people literally are just in it for the money. They will accept any and all animals without caring weather they have the right knowledge for it or not, and will send you home with treatments that could be more harmful for your pet than helpful, as long as they get paid.
I need to get my stuff together? I do take my animals to the vet when needed, and they are normally very healthy, but if it's something I can treat myself, I want to have the option to do that.

You say I can only treat it myself if i'm experienced a lot, like you? I'm sure you didn't start out experienced, there had to be a first time you treated something yourself. And don't get me wrong, i've treated plenty of things before with my rescues, and I take them to the vet if I can't, or am even the slightest bit unsure of what's wrong.

 

[tunes]

I'm prepared to drive if it's something I can't treat myself, I have experience with treating sick animals, and if it's something simple I don't want to put stress on my chin by taking her in the car for so long.

That seems to be the common excuse amongst folk who don't want to go to the vet. It's always "I don't want to stress the chin." How exactly are you going to stress a chin with a simple eye infection? They aren't going to have a heart attack and die from an itchy eyeball. Trust me on this.

Let me tell you something -- at 1:30 in the morning, I'm in the car driving 2 hours one way with a chin in distress. Why? Because that's the only experienced chin vet around here who doesn't have her head up her butt. I drove a female with a dead kit stretching out of her vaginal opening like a taffy 2 hours to get to a qualified vet who could treat her. You think your eye infection is going to come anywhere near to the stress level of that female? She not only survived the drive, but the kit being hacked apart to get it out, then the surgery where her uterus exploded with pus, and her bladder almost exploding.

I'm sorry, but I'm getting real tired of hearing the excuse "I don't want to stress them" when it's totally bogus.

Oh, and how did I become experienced? My chins went through it, I went to the vet, I got the proper diagnosis and prescription, so now I know it when I see it. From what I can gather from your posts, you've had chins a very, very short time, and I will flat out guarantee now, and in the future, I will and have seen more than you will come across in the entire time you have chins. If you had any idea how my week has been, you wouldn't even make such a comment.

 

[Ash]

I'm really getting sick and tired of people who don't want to take their animal to the vet. You've already been told that your "simple eye infection" could be a number of things, from a scratch to something being stuck in the eye. A vet isn't going to send you home with just anything, they're going to see what the CAUSE of the infection is and send you home with the proper treatment, be it flushing her eye or eye drops for the scratch. None of these you can tell by just looking at the animal. Stop being so cheap and take your chin to the vet. Do I ask for advice from members on here to see if it's something I can treat without going to the vet? Yeah, but if I'm told to go to the vet, I still do. Stop arguing and do what's in the best interest of the chin before she either goes blind or it turns into so bad of an infection it kills her. Yeah, 9 times out of 10 things won't get this bad, but do you really want to chance that 10%?

 

[Spoof]

I have experience with treating sick animals

Then you'd know what the standard procedure for eye infections in small and large animals is. I'll give you a hint - "drops" are rarely used in the animal world, too messy and they don't hold still.

Talk to a vet, tell them you are starting a rescue and you want to learn as much as you can, you've got a sick one. You're willing to pay full price but you want a lesson. That way if they're "just in it for the money" you'll know right away.

You say I can only treat it myself if i'm experienced a lot, like you? I'm sure you didn't start out experienced, there had to be a first time you treated something yourself.

Nope, I had the vet out and went to the vet more times than I can count. Learning is never free, and rarely cheap. College, vet bills, life... )

 

[Peep_erz]

I don't think there are any special chinnie drops. Most of the eye medications I have had to deal with are the same for all animals. The ones I got for my chins are just smaller dosages and/or concentrations. What exactly are you looking for?

 

[AZChins]

It's good to get a veterinarian's opinion on things so that you know what to look for in the future. I make sure that I only buy the different drops and medications from my vet, I won't use substitutions I can find on the internet. At least for this first time I would recommend you go to the vet so you know what to use.

My vet cuts me a break on treating rescues. In fact, he doesn't charge much for an exam and doesn't overcharge on anything. Maybe it would be better to look around for another veterinarian who may be closer? I don't know. My vet is an hour away, I'm happy to drive that far to get help for the chins. Sometimes even when I know what is wrong I like to go see him for his opinion on what to do.

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

Thanks for your advice, I got some help in the chat.
I just want everyone to know i'll be taking her to the vet on Monday, which was what I was planning to do anyway if there was nothing I could do myself.

 

[Claire D]

Good stuff - please keep us updated on her progress

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

I took her to the vet 2 days ago, he told me that it looked like something had gotten into her eye (i.e. dust). He flushed it out and gave me a bottle of drops to give her because it had the beginnings of an infection. It's looking much better today, no more wetness, still a tiny bit red and looks a bit odd, but that may be because the fur around her eye clumped up over the weekend.

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

Het eye has been clear since the vet visit, and today I gave her a dust bath (I have been holding off in case it was an infection caused by getting dust in her eye) and a few hours later, I had her out, and all of a sudden noticed thick, milky discharge coming from her eye. I wiped it away and it looked 100% fine again. I continued to watch her, and about two hours later i saw the milky stuff again, but when i got back with a tissue o wipe it up, it was gone and her eye looked fine again? Should I begin giving her the drops, or could this be something else?

 

[tunes]

Some chins get that after a dust bath. I wonder sometimes if it's an allergy, which would be really weird.

If it was me, I would put some artificial tears or some kind of rewetting drops in just before and after the dust bath, and wipe the **** out if it shows up. Make sure the sand is always clean. Get a reptile scoop and sift it out each time you use it. If it gets the little granules in it, dump it.

 

[Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love]

I just wasn't sure if it had something to do with the eye infection or not. I was a little bit worried. I haven't really payed close attention to my other chins eyes after dust baths, so I didn't know if it was a normal thing or what. I noticed she wasn't pooping as much as normal, and maybe i'm just being paranoid, but I put her in a small cage by herself so I could moniter her. I've only seen 2 poops since about 5:00 but they were pretty big and everything seemed normal apart from them being a little bit squishy. She wouldn't eat at first either, she just picked through her pellets and dropped them on the floor. Again, I may be overreacting but i will be pretty upset if the vet hadn't noticed anything else wrong.