# Possible entropion



## rthomas (Jan 22, 2009)

I have a young hairless male with severe eye problems, and I'm at a loss as to what to do.

He's probably 6 or 7 weeks old, and very petite for his age. Since his eyes first opened, he's always been a little "squinty". He was healthy in every other way, so I just kept an eye on it and didn't think much more about it. However, over the past week his eyes have gone from simply a little squinty to swollen, red, and oozing. Today his eyes are so swollen I can only see a little sliver of his eye opening, and what little bit of the eye I can see looks cloudy and irritiated. The lids and area around the eyes are bright red, and for the past two days they've been oozing a slightly cloudy goo. I had my suspicions about entropion, but I was hoping it was simply a reaction to the bedding. So, I put him in a 10 gallon aquarium on plain newspaper. Today is day 3 of newspaper, and his eyes are worse instead of better. I've also been spraying his face down twice a day with Vetericyn, but it's still getting worse.

I'm really quite certain it's entropion. I've seen it before in several dogs and it looks just like it. If I pull gently upward on the top eyelid, I can see the lid straightening out and sitting normally against the eye, but the second you let go it curls back in. From research I have done online, this seems to be very rare in rats, but not impossible.

My problem is that I'm really unable to help him. At the very least, I'm guessing he'll need antibiotics to clear up the infection. If it's a continuous problem, I'm guessing he'll need surgery to correct the eyelids, or at worse even remove the eyes. I am in a really tight spot financially, and I cannot afford a trip to the vet, let alone any type of surgery he might need. I also can't keep him... I already have two females and cannot afford a second rat habitat. If he was a female, I could possibly add him in with my two, but I don't want or need baby rats (wish I could get him neutered)!

So, does anyone have any experience with this type of issue? Any ideas/suggestions of other things I could try? Otherwise, does anyone have recommendations for a rescue organization I could contact? So far, all I'm finding is Happy Endings/EARPS, but I don't know anything about them. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

I can't really suggest anything other than a vet trip, so where are you located do people can help you find rescues?


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## rthomas (Jan 22, 2009)

Oh, woops, I should have mentioned that. I'm located just east of Indianapolis, IN.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Could be entropion but its more likely he's got things stuck under his eyelids (bedding, lint, fur from furry companions, etc). Nakies are prone to this issue and I am going to link you to a thread of 4 young nakies i took in who have this issue to an extreme. They will require special care all their lives.

You can follow their sad story on Goosemoose (you don't need to be a member to read all the threads).

initial post
http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?topic=4093161.0

continuation (along with Cecil my old man who had a tumour removed updates)

http://www.goosemoose.com/rfc/index.php?topic=4093235.0


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## HighwayStar (Aug 20, 2010)

I live in Kokomo, Indiana and I have a vet who looks after my ladies here in town. I'm just an hour or so north of Indy. If it comes down to it you could have him take a look. His name is Doctor Vernengo and he is a vet at the Kokomo Animal Hospital.


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## rthomas (Jan 22, 2009)

Lilspaz, that could be what it is. I'm researching rescues to find some more info, plus I happened to think that the wildlife rehabilitator I know might know someone to contact too.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

rthomas said:


> Lilspaz, that could be what it is. I'm researching rescues to find some more info, plus I happened to think that the wildlife rehabilitator I know might know someone to contact too.


These are my 5th nakies with these particular eye issues, and my vet has seen many many more.


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## Soya (Dec 6, 2011)

This makes me really sad to think of him in such discomfort & unable to get help.. I think you should definatly get him to a rescue *asap* 
Can you not find a friend/partner/parents to borrow money from to pay for a vet in the meantime... before he looses his sight, or becomes even more sick from having an infection go untreated. :-(


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

EARPS is a very reputable rescue, I would contact them first.


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## rthomas (Jan 22, 2009)

Update: His eyes looked better today... still swollen and red, but no more oozing like they had started doing. I'm continuing to use the Vetericyn and keeping his environment clean and lint-free. I wasn't sure about EARPS (had a bad experience with a ferret "rescue" not too long ago, so I was a little leery of sending him off to someone I didn't know... glad to know they're a reputable group!!), so I spoke with the wildlife rehabber first, who has several different resources to try too. She has antibiotics she can start him on if she feels it's necessary until one of her vets can see him. Not sure if she'll be able to get him tonight or tomorrow, but we'll work out a meeting time as soon as I hear back from her.


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## rthomas (Jan 22, 2009)

Update: I talked with the lady caring for little Squinty Magoo (I tried not to get attached and didn't want to name him, but my nickname kind of stuck lol!) and he's doing well. His poo is a little runny today, but she believes that's from the antibiotics. He has an appointment set with her vet on Thursday, although there's a chance he can squeeze him in tomorrow instead. Fingers crossed!


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