Eye tears

[jennyjoy]

Help please!

My female chinchilla has an eye tear. The best way to describe it is...if you have a contact lens and it starts to tear right in the centre of it and it's a circular tear.

I noticed it a few days ago and immediately made a vet appointment for her which is tomorrow. I, also, noticed the following the day that her other eye is starting to do the same thing as well. I'm really concerned. The good thing is she's acting normal still.

Has anyone experienced such a thing before?

Thanks,
Jennifer.

I'd provide a pic but it's hard to get a pic of a chinchilla eye when they're constantly on the move.

[polly]

How old in your chinchilla?

[natnat899]

You have booked an appointment, which is the right thing to do. As long as she is still eating and drinking normally then I wouldent worry. If it's an infection she will need antibiotics - which the vet will give her; if it's something else I'm sure the vet will know what to do.

I have posted the below websites, they have more experienced chinchilla owners so if you have any questions they will be able to answer them better than I can.

www.chinchillaworld.com/forums/index.php?act=idx

And:

www.chinformative.com/topic/27-administering-eye-drops-single-handed/ -- this one I have linked you to a demonstration of administering eye drops, there is also a main forum which you can post in.

[jennyjoy]

Polly
I think she's 4-5 years old. It wouldn't surprise me if she's older than this though. I just hope it's nothing serious like the roots of her teeth growing into her eye sockets and causing pressure on her eyes.

Natnat899
Thank you for the info. I've signed up with chinchilla world so I hope someone will be able to help me out there. In less than 12 hours I'll be at the vets office to find out what's happening with her.

[polly]

I'm just wondering if it could be cataracts? My dogs has them in both eyes (she's nearly 15) and these looked similar to small tears when they first became noticable. Good luck at the vet's Jenny and please keep us up to speed with the outcome.

[natnat899]

I saw, no one has replied to you yet though :/ try the forum below if you still have any questions, they are a bit more responsive. Unfortunately chinchillaworld's more experienced member, since I joined anyway (Diane) hasn't been online for quite some time, which is a huge shame.

(Try this website here:)
www.chinformative.com

[natnat899]

And how did the vets go?

[jennyjoy]

Chompress has corneal lipid deposits on her eyes. The vet has seen them in dogs and cats. They form if the animal has a high cholesterol diet or they just sometimes appear for no apparent reason. Chompress definitely doesn't have a high cholesterol diet.

There isn't anything that can be done, it's one of those things that can get worse or it'll stay the same. The worse thing that could happen is a corneal ulcer, I'm hoping this doesn't happen as it would be very painful for her.

I just have to watch for any pawing and/or discharge of the eyes.

[natnat899]

Sorry to hear that you can't do anything about it. Will it effect her vision at all? - if so, it might be worth considering making the cage more accessible.

[jennyjoy]

Her vision will be affected a little bit... it'll just be cloudy. So I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't get worse than what it already is.

[natnat899]

It might still be worth making it the cage slightly more accessible (I.e. Ramps), it will be less traumatic incase her vision does get worse. But you can always monitor her, and if she seems to need it, then slowly move things around.