Q: My guinea mother that i adopted gave birth 3 days ago. The babies are fine and growing. But the smallest one usually has her eyes closed with a lot of much around them. I gently clean them with water and then they stay open for a while... please help.. i can take her to the vet in about 5 days when i get paid from work. any ideas to what the problem is? Any cures? i remember someone had a similar question on here once
A: If you can, take a look at her eye lashes, do they turn in? You may need to gently lift the eye lids to get a close/proper look. If so, this is a condition called entropion, the eye lashes grow on the inside of the eye lid and scratch the eye ball causing discomfort, hence the discharge and the closed eyes. It can be fixed with a fairly simple/minor operation, (operating is the only cure though!) Carry on bathing and if possible apply some eye ointment to help lubricate, take her to the vet as soon as you can. If it is entropion it isn't life threatening but is very uncomfortable. If her eyelashes look normal then closed eyes are also a general sign that an animal is unwell and should be taken to the vets ASAP as guinea pigs go down hill when poorly very rapidly. Look up entropion on the net. Good luck with her.