The eyes have it …

Alpacas have the most engaging big dark eyes, and being prey animals eyes are usually wide open and alert. So when an eye gets watery and an animal start squinting investigation is needed.

Tosh presented a few weeks ago with one weeping eye that she kept partially closed. She’s not the most co-operative of animals at the best of times – she kicks like a mule and spits at the slightest provocation, and she is very strong.

We were able to pen her and catch her fortunately without too much drama, perhaps because we had been expecting the worst!

On close inspection her left eye was fairly cloudy and abraded at the center. Usually these sorts of injuries are caused by grass seeds that get caught at the side or back of the eye, but there were no tell tale signs of grass seeds at all. It was possible she had somehow got the seed out, or it was also possible it was caused by something else – a poke in the eye by a stick or similar.

Antibiotic ointment was applied to the eye, much to Tosh’s annoyance. But she did not spit, and was released safely without incident. We watched her closely for the next few days – if there was a grass seed hiding at the back of the eye it would continue to irritate the eye and it would keep weeping. But the weeping stopped, and the eye slowly started healing.

Today there is barely a hint of the injury – just a small pale smudge that is slowly resolving.

Good girl Tosh!