Rat's eye is white suddenly

[caiterlin]

So I came over to my parent's house today and noticed that our rat suddenly has a white eye. My dad says that it was bleeding a tiny bit few days ago but wasn't doing anything else since then. I'm not sure what to do now. It's snowing and it'll be hard to get to a vet safely for at least a day or two.

This is a picture I saw in another post that looks EXACTLY like what his eye looks like (unfortunately the other post didn't have any info about what this is)
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h75/r ... ct24AM.jpg

 

[xxchelle]

Are you sure it was bleeding, or just porphryn?

What kind of bedding is he on? Who else is in the cage?

It could just be a cataract.

 

[caiterlin]

I'm not sure if it was actually blood since I didn't see it. I told him it probably wasn't since that's the color of the stuff normally.

We use paper bedding (the kind they recommended at the pet store).

Nobody shares his cage, just him.

 

[xxchelle]

Is there any swelling?

I'd say just cataracts. If you're very concerned, take him to a vet, but if there's no swelling, and he's acting normally, I'd say it's not urgent.

 

[caiterlin]

It doesn't look like swelling but when I first looked at him it looked like he had watery eyes (clear) and he was squinting a lot but now he's holding his eye open.

 

[caiterlin]

edit to what I just said: looks like maybe a tiny bit of swelling when I look again closely...

 

[Maple]

It could be a cataract or a corneal ulcer.

 

[jorats]

The rat in that pic is Bella and she belongs to lilspaz68 on this forum. Here's what happened to her:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1184&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=bella

I believe everything turned out ok with the eye. Hopefully lilspaz will see this and give you some advice.

 

[lilspaz68]

All white just like Bella's?

Read her post that Jorats put up first. A cataract will just be a whitish disk over the pupil that grows bigger over time.

Keep that eye moist, you cannot let it dry out, use human eye drops (NO steroids) or ointment. Watch for swelling behind the eye that pushes the eye out. Watch for drying of the eye bulb. Watch for signs of pain (there are OTC things you can use until you get to the vet), but she will need a vet. It could be a scratched cornea or more severe like a puncture which is what happened to Bella. She was VERY lucky, and the eye was "dead" but didn't cause any infection, just shrunk down and was useless. Any sign of serious swelling or infection and she would've had to have it removed.

 

[caiterlin]

So today his eye is looking like it is bulging out a bit... I don't know what to do because I don't have the money to take him to the vet until next Friday.

 

[lilspaz68]

So today his eye is looking like it is bulging out a bit... I don't know what to do because I don't have the money to take him to the vet until next Friday.

Next Friday is Christmas You could try to get infant/children's Ibuprofen into him and see if you can get the swelling down.

 

[caiterlin]

how much should I be giving him? also it doesn't look quite as swollen today but it's not really white anymore. It's kind a darkish grey color. He is able to blink and everything and he is still not acting like he's in pain.

I talked with my mother about possibly fronting me the money so I could take him tomorrow so *fingers crossed*.

 

[caiterlin]

So I took him to the vet yesterday and he said the eye was going to have to come out. Apparently the inside had started to come out slightly and there was no saving it.

Today I took him to the vet and he's back home now with stitches where his eye was.

 

[Maple]

It will only get better from here on in. Wishing your rattie a fast and speedy recovery. :heart:

 

[mamarat]

Sending healing vibes to your sweetie.

 

[Lauren_22]

I had a similar experience with my boy Ty. His eye clouded up one day and then as it progressed it started to turn white and the vet determined it was a ruptured ulcer and he had an enucleation (eye removal) and he healed just fine!

((HEALING VIBES FOR YOUR BOY))

 

[Moon]

Lots of vets wont even attempt an eye removal on a rat so it sounds like you've got a pretty good one there... and good luck to your sweetie!

 

[caiterlin]

The vet is saying that he doesn't need anything to put on the wound or anything but it's looking pretty nasty. I'm gonna take him back up there but I'm not sure if he's going to give him anything, I'm worried that it's hurting him. His face is all swollen on that side and he's being really lethargic...

My poor boy.

 

[Moon]

Sounds like he's got an infection.... you'll probably need oral antibiotics. Good luck!

 

[lilratsy43]

Swelling isn't good. But when my boy had his eye removed the stitches were not exactly pretty, so it could just be part of the healing process...I guess it really depends on what it does look like. His was rather crusty for a few days, but by the time he needed to have his stitches out it looked great! Do you have any pics?