chuckyduck

Hi. For the past month my gerbil Axl has had an irritated left eye. It doesn't seem to bug him, but the eye usually has a tiny bit of crusty red goo in the corner. (It's not blood. Gerbil tears are red instead of clear.) I thought that he was just allergic to a cotton pad I put in his cage for bedding because the eye problem began after I introduced him to the cotton pad. I've removed the cotton pad and have been using the recycled paper kind of bedding like I always have. I thought that his eye problem would go away, but it hasn't. I'll probably call the vet and ask if it's alright to put a drop of saline eye solution in his irritated eye. Has anyone else had this problem?

navyscuba

You may need to get some antibiotic ointment like the one the put on babies when they are born.

Dojo

Porphyrins are a natural secretion which are normal in gerbils but excessive production causing irritation can mean there is an underlying health prob. Its often triggered by stress, such as a sudden change or simply stress from feeling unwell.
Best thing is to bring him to the vet and see if there is anything else wrong with him and get meds to treat it. The vet can give you an eye ointment which can help it, I can't remember what it is called but im sure he/she'd know. You'll need to have his eye checked for bacterial infection which can happen if it is left untreated, and if it is infected you'll prob need to give him a short course of antibiotics too.
You can keep his eye clean for now by very gently wiping it with a cloth dampened with warm water. Hope he gets better soon

chuckyduck

I called my vet today. Dojo had the right idea because my vet said to just wipe off the red stuff with a damp cloth when needed. If that doesn't help after a week or so, he told me to start using clay or sand for gerbil bedding. If that still doesn't help, my vet will give me some antibiotics for my poor little guy.

Dojo

I wouldn't use clay for bedding, and although the right type of sand is ok to use I don't think it would be the best idea if he has a sore eye as it might irritate it more. If he's thinking its an allergy then the best way to test is to shred a ton of paper towels and tissue and use that as a substrate for a while to see if it gets better.
But usually allergies would be displayed primarily by a sore nose, not just eyes.

Good luck with the cleaning anyway, be careful if there's some crusty bits that don't wipe off easily not to pull at it, try soften it with the water first

Fishies-for-me

A good remedy for sore irritated eyes for humans ...dogs ...cats and most likely gerbils...lol. Take a ordinary tea bag. Brew a cup of tea with it and allow it to cool down with the tea bag in the cup. When it is luke warm use the squeezed out tea bag to gently wash the sore eye. The tannic acid in the tea is soothing and antiseptic. It works wonders on sore eyes. I have used this on myself....my kids...and my dogs before and it has never failed....good luck.

navyscuba

Yeah I agree I forgot about that one I use it a few times for myself.

chuckyduck

I don't have any unflavored tea bags, so I used a sleepytime chamomile-mint tea bag. I figured that it would help him relax while I try to wipe off his eye. Hopefully this will help.

Fishies-for-me

Gee I don't know how well the herbal teas would work or if they would be soothing to the eyes. As far as I know only plain tea would work. Maybe you know someone who drinks tea?? Or a small pack of tea bags at the store can't be to much...a lot less than antibiotic ointment. Anyhow...good luck with the little fella.

chuckyduck

I found some webpages with people saying that chamomile tea is soothing for irritated eyes. My gerbil just hates when I try to make him hold still so I can wipe off his eye. Yeah, he punishes me by pooing on me (yuck!). The warm tea bag really helped me remove the red gunk from his eye though. So far, so good.

Fishies-for-me

Ok good...sure hope it clears up ...at least he didn't bite you.. I would rather be pooed on than bit...lol

chuckyduck

Good point. The only time he'll bite me is when my hands smell like food. Yeah, I ate a warm peanut butter cookie last night and when I put my hand in his cage, he had to make sure I wasn't food.

chuckyduck

Yay! Axl no longer gets red gunk in his eye. His eyelids on that side are a tiny bit swollen, but that should go away soon hopefully. I'm hoping that this shows that he's not allegic to the recycled paper bedding. I guess time will tell.

navyscuba

awesome good job.

Fishies-for-me

Great...I would keep washing his eye till it is all cleared up if he will let you. Good Job!!

chuckyduck

Doh! The red gunk has returned and Axl's eyelids are still swollen. Later today I'm calling my vet. He'll probably give me some antibiotics.

chuckyduck

My vet gave me some Neomycin & Polymyxin B Sulfates & Bacitracin Zinc Ophthalmic Ointment (NEO-POLY-BAC) to apply to my gerbil's eye twice daily until it clears up.

Fishies-for-me

Glad to hear you got some meds..good luck.

serissime

In the future, saline solution will probably be a good idea too. I use it on myself and my horse, and would no hesitate to use it on my dog. Of course, in this situation, it was not as simple as flushing out the eye, so I think you did the right thing and saline likely wouldn't have helped here. Plus I bet it's difficult to get it in a small eye like an unwilling gerbil.

chuckyduck

I'm supposed to keep giving Axl the meds until Tuesday. Since he hates when I apply the eye ointment, I decided to get him some rewards. He now has new treats and a Hamtrac to cheer him up.

serissime

aww... well, tuesday isn't that far away, right?

chuckyduck

Actually, the meds did not help much. They would make the red gunk easier to wipe off, but my gerbil still kept getting dried tears. It turns out that one of my gerbil's tear glands is overactive. My vet said that I shouldn't worry unless his other eye gets irritated too or the irritation becomes worse. So I can still wipe off his eye with a wet washcloth, but it's not really necessary.