Help please, Swollen eye/resp infection

[Chaos]

One of the pups has a hugly swollen eye. I noticed it was sealed shut, so I took a warm wash cloth and tried to clear it. Pus or something nearly started squirting out, and its clear now but the poor pups eye is nearly double the size. I think she has a respiratory infection too, she's gasping for breath and I can see her sides moving in an out. She's also making a clicking sound. I'm going to get some ornacycline tonight (would have gone earlier but its really far to petsmart) but I have no idea what to do about the eye. Also, I checked the other pups and they all seem to be breathing normally, do I seperate her? I believe they're about 19-20 days old. Seems really young, but I can hand feed if I have too.

[SpunkyMunky]

I think you should bring the pup to the vet. Eye infections can get really nasty in gerbils.

[BrandyJo]

I would say keep a very close eye on her, but don't seperate her yet.
This is a picture of one of my adult gerbils who I thought had an eye infection:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v661/BrandyAndJosh/SickBlackie.jpg

Does it looks anything like this? Also, are you positive that the pup has two eyes? I had a pup born with only one, due to inbreeding. Since pups open their eyes between 14-21 days, it's possible that (unless you've already seen two eyes), it may only have one.

That being said, other than the ornacycline, I don't know what advice to give you. I gave the gerbil above ornacycline, and within 24 hours, her eye was totally cleared up. Whether it really was an eye infection or not, I don't know. But the swollen issue is what should be the main concern (aside from the RI, of course. That needs ornacycline ASAP). There are a lot of possibilities..... Momma could've accidently scratched the pup's eye, it could've been scratched by bedding, there could be something lodged in there.....I've also heard from people, when asking about advice about my gerbil pictured above, that a brain injury can also result in issues with the eyes. Thinks like seizers, strokes, or simply head trauma can all cause them.

Anyway, to wrap this up... I say definitely keep a very close eye on her for 24 hours or so, give her the ornacycline ASAP, and if it doesn't start getting better within 24-48 hours, consult a vet. If going to a vet is an option for you (I realize not everyone has one, can afford one, etc...) you want to do it by the weekend, as Emergency room visits are quite costly. Someone reported on here before spending $350 on an emergency room visit for a sick gerbil... :eek: Yikes...

Wow, I've made this long..... :o I hope your baby girl gets better quickly. Good luck!

[callimico]

I wouldn't seperate the clicking pup from the rest of hte litter, my very first litter, ages ago, one of the pups began clicking. It lasted for two days and then stopped, never bothering the other pups, and I've never seen an RI since hten (parents were seperated by then, mom was raising the last litter, and they were on carefresh ultra- which I found out is bad for newborns as the tiny fibers can get into hteir lungs). But I would mix 1/4 tablet of Ornacycline in with 2 oz of water and refill the bottle daily for at least 10 days until the problem goes away. I haven't heard of a swollen eye before, was her eye open before it swelled shut or did it simply never open? The ornacycline may help with that to, and prevent the other pups from catching a RI. I wish I could help- keep us updated, and pictures if you can manage, good luck!

[Chaos]

Well I'm happy to say she's 100% better. I put the ornacycline in the water and gave her a tad through an eyedropper (diluted of course) and the next morning the swelling had gone down and her eye was open completely. No more gasping for breath or clicking.

BrandyJo, her eye did look like that except the gunk was green. After I wiped it away it was slightly open, but wouldn't open completely and was sort of bugged out.

I planned to bring her to the vet by Saturday if things didn't improve but I'm glad to say I don't have too. Still monitoring her and the others though.

[Jiffykat]

Yay! I am so happy for you that it looks like she is getting better now.

[freckleface]

My gerbils are a yr old now, I woke up this morning to find one of them has a real swollen eye, though it is not weeping,

Please advise.