Puffy eye

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Emmabeeee1996

New Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2018
Messages
4
Location
Canada Quebec
Hello! I have a bald rat who I was worried about because his eyes were leaking that red stuff (which I know isn’t blood) but I found it was excessive so I brought him to the vet, they said he was fine and just to put eye lubricant on his eyes everyday and to also put saline once a week because his eyelids turn inwards a little bit and all the gunk doesn’t come out. I’ve been doing it as they told me to but now one of his eyes is all puffy and it seems I’ve only made things worse. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
 
It’s a tiny bit more swollen this morning but I think I’ll just leave his eye alone and see if it gets better. I think the vet made a bad recommendation. I think it’s less dangerous to not put something in his eye everyday that can potentially introduce bacteria into it or maybe the product just irritates him. Hopefully he gets better soon. It’s hard to remember that some vets make recommendations to get your money and not what’s most practical. The only thing that was wrong with him was he had dry eyes and now because of all this he might have an infection!
 
Can you post a picture? Eye drops that are given to you by a vet will be sterile, so there's no chance of them introducing bacteria into the eye. I'm not sure what you mean by the eye being puffy. Do you mean that the area around the eye is swollen? Or that the eye is bulging out of the socket a little bit? What kind of bedding do you use for your little guy?

With my hairless rats, I had issues where a piece of Carefresh would get lodged in between the eye and the eyelid. When this happened, their eyes would bulge a little bit. It's a little gross to have to do, but try to lift parts of the eyelid away from the eye, a section at a time. If you see a piece of "tissue" that looks quite red, it's probably a piece of bedding and you should remove it as soon as you can. I used a wet Q-tip as well as a baby wipe to gently pull the bedding out of their eyes. It's a little scary to do at first but it helps a lot. If the debris stays in their for too long, it will lead to an eye infection. I'm thinking it's possible that the eyedrops got absorbed by the bedding and it's irritating the eye more now.
 
I’m not sure if you can see it well but his eyelids are puffy! I’m thinking he’s allergic to the eye lubricant for dry eyes?! I use fleece and change it a lot and wash it with non sented detergent. I’ve only given him three days worth of this treatment and I’m thinking it has to do with the product or maybe I touched around his face too much and bacteria was introduced. I think the swelling is starting to go down or at least I hope so! He seemed more puffy even after the vet had put them in his eyes, she was wearing latex gloves so maybe he even reacted to that. The vet also looked around in his eye and said he looked good but I’ll definitely check in case something got in there. It does seem a bit daunting to check around in his little eye I’m worried I’ll poke him by accident. Thanks for your response. Should I bring him back or wait a little longer?
 

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I completely forgot that their eyes would get squinty when they had debris in them, not bulging. Poor little guy, it does look pretty sore. Is it just the picture, or is his right paw a little swollen too?

I know, it is daunting to have to check their eyes constantly. Most of my guys would get it and I had 5 hairless rats at one point. You’ll get used to it though if it’s something that happens to him a lot. If you’re not using anything other than fabric, it probably isn’t debris. It’s still good to check though. I used fleece as level liners and CareFresh in their litter boxes.

If you check and there’s no debris in his eye, you should probably take him back to the vet. If you find something in there or if it doesn’t get better in the next few days, it would probably be good to take him in for another check. It doesn’t look infected to me though, just a bit swollen.
 
Hairless and double rex rats are very prone to eye problems. Debris collects in their eyes.
If his eye lids turn inward, that sounds painful.

Here is some info that might be helpful
http://ratguide.com/health/figures/congenital_hereditary_alopecia_figure_3.php

Hopefully lilspaz68 will respond as she has a great deal of experience with hairless/double rex rats and their health issues
 
I checked in his eye and I didn’t see much. His eyes are much better and he’s barely squinting now! I’m very relieved because it did look pretty sore. I think he was having a reaction to the eye lubricant. The vet told me that his eyes only turn in a little and she’s seen way worse. I think it’ll be less painful for him to be left alone. I will check his eyes regularly and flush them with saline every once and awhile but I’m definitely not gonna put any lubricant in them anymore. He is able to shut his eyes as well, if he wasn’t able to close them properly because of his eyelids than I’d definitely be more worried. Thank you for the replies! I think I’ll put a diffuser next to the cage with just plain water to make the air more moist and maybe that’ll help him out too.
 
I’m glad to hear that he’s feeling better! It certainly could’ve been a reaction to the eye lubricant or maybe there was some debris that worked it’s way out. Either way, hopefully he keeps feeling better!
 
For my nakies with eye issues I use either drops or lubricating gel daily or every few days depending on the issue. I didn't see any real swelling but it's possible there was a bit of debris under his eyelids and the gel helped move it out. These drops/gels are sterile so I doubt bacteria was introduced. Entropion is when the eyelids turn inwards and the eyelashes rub the eye but I doubt that's it as nakies just don't have the eyelashes furred rats have. His eyes look bright and clear and if you are concerned about the product the vet gave you, you can pick up lubricating gel drops or natural tears formula drops to flush his eyes regularly.
 
Thanks for the information! I’ll give the natural tears drops a try :) I’m very happy that his eyes are no longer puffy but still a little worried about why he reacted like that to the lubricant. I really hope nothing is in there anymore.
 
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