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my chinchilla has what seems to be an eye infection. What do I do
Optional Information: Type of Animal: chinchilla
Hello! I would like to help you if I can.
Can you describe what the eye looks like? Is the cornea cloudy or clear? Is he holding the eye open or closed?
One concern would be if he has a scratch on his cornea that has gotten infected. If he has a scratch or an ulcer on his cornea then we need to be careful about what we put in his eye. Some ointments and products can cause the ulcer to get worse, even to the point of causing the eye to rupture.
I would recommend that you get his eye checked out by a vet, who can do a simple dye test to determine if there is a scratch or ulcer that we need to be concerned about. Then, depending on whether there is a scratch or not, an antibiotic ointment which is safe to place in the eye will be prescribed which should clear up the problem.
In the meantime, if there is a lot of discharge (even gluing his eye closed), you can VERY gently hold a washcloth soaked in warm water over it to soften the discharge and then very gently again, without rubbing directly on his eye, you can clean off the discharge so it doesn't cause further problems such as irritation to the skin around his eye.
I hope this helps. If you have further questions, please feel free to ask! Otherwise, I would greatly appreciate if you could click on the green "accept" button if you feel that my advise has been helpful. I hope his eye gets better soon!
Experience: Veterinarian working with dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and exotic pets for over 11 years.