Slightly runny eye- advice needed

[xkatxrinax]

Hi there,

One of my chinchillas has had a slightly runny eye the past few days, it was quite bad the first day that the fur around the eye was a bit wet but now she's just getting a bit of goo in the corner of the eye.

It's only in one of her eyes, and I know this can be a sign of teeth problems but she's still eating as normal and voraciously chewing all her toys and popcorning around like a happy chinny and looking at her teeth they seem fine. There's also no signs of a cold or anything no wheezing or congestion.

Does anyone have any idea what's caused this? could something have irritated her eye? and what should I do about it? it seems ok now just a little bit of goo like when you wake up in the morning.

Thanks for any help.

 

[becky12883]

It could be a sign of teeth issues, conjunctivitis, dust in her eye, or scratched eye. If it appears to have cleared up overnight it might have just been some dust in her eye. Watch her closely and if you think it's not getting better or getting worse, then head to the vet.

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

I agree with the above. If you have saline or can pick up some plain saline rinse from the drug store you can give her eye a good rinse 3 or 4 times a day for a few days and if there is something just stuck in her eye that will help flush it out. If the ooze and crusties don't stop it's time to go to the vet since only they can do a stain to check for scratches, proscribe antibiotics, etc.

 

[xkatxrinax]

Ok i'll pick up some saline and keep a good eye on her, it has cleared up a lot over the past 2 days so hopefully it's just dust

 

[Basket_of_Chinchillas]

Ok i'll pick up some saline and keep a good eye on her, it has cleared up a lot over the past 2 days so hopefully it's just dust

Sounds good Make sure it's a plain saline solution, as it is generally stored in the section with the contact lense solution (which contains added bonuses for lenses but not for chinchillas!). You might have to wrap your chin up like a little burrito to get the drops in, but try to get at least two in the problem eye during each rinsing sessions. Once your chin realizes the saline isn't going to kill/eat them, it should get easier