Crust on nose and eyes

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telmi

Post   » Thu Feb 14, 2019 4:32 am


Hello everyone, this is my first time here.

My pig, a heavy 1.1KG male has been with me for over 2 years. When he first came, he had clear eyes and nose. His diet includes plenty of Oxbow hayblends (timothy + orchard grass), Oxbow pellets and water. I give him cucumbers and carrots 2-3 times a week. He lives by himself and has a air purifier next to him 12 hours a day. He is on puppy pad and also on paper bedding.

Since 6 months ago he presented 1 wet nostril with clear discharge. He also started to have more crusty eyes. I have to clean the discharge daily or it starts to build up. I brought him immediately to the vet. All internals were checked, xrays taken and seen by 3 different vets. All the vets said that his lungs are clear, no molar issues and his appetite is great. He was prescribed eye drops, a green liquid for allergy, some medication for nebulising to open up his airways. None has worked to get rid of his wet nose discharge and eyes discharge. He doesn't sneeze, doesn't rub his nose, doesn't shake his head and it just doesn't bother him. He has been on puppy pad and paper bedding and the same brand of food since 2+ years.

These are experienced and cavy savvy vets and they are also quite restricted in their treatment as they don't want to pump him with medications as he doesn't have any URI symptoms.

Could this be normal?

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Feb 14, 2019 9:02 am


I'd say yes. I've seen a blue ton of pigs treated with antibiotics for crusty eyes and clear nasal discharge that weren't helped a bit by the medications.

What I would do is watch him like a hawk for any exacerbation of symptoms -- spread to the other eye, colored discharge, odor, etc., and get him to the vet ASAP if you see those.

The other thing I'd do is to very very very gently massage the inner corner of his lower eyelid with a damp cloth. Do this a couple of times a day for a few days, and see if that helps any. If he has a blocked tear duct, it might help. That's a long shot, because if he had a blocked tear duct there likely wouldn't be a nasal discharge on that side, but hey, it's free and it might help.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:04 am


Ditto on the possible blocked tear duct. Consider also changing to fleece and removing the paper bedding on the chance the dust is irritating things.

You might want to review the signs of illness on the emergency page and read over the heart page for future reference.
www.guinealynx.info/emergency.html
www.guinealynx.info/heart.html

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:30 am


That's puzzling. It almost sounds environmental to me. I like the suggestion to switch to fleece to see if it makes any difference. Some of the paper beddings can actually be very dusty. What kind of puppy pad are you using? Disposable, or one that can be washed? If it's reusable, what kind of laundry detergent are you using?

Sounds like you're already mixing timothy with orchard grass, which would be my next thing to try. Is anybody in the house a smoker? Do you use any sort of air fresheners, candles, or strong-smelling cleaners around his cage? Any other pets nearby? What might have changed in either diet or environment from when you first got him (when he had no obvious symptoms) to 6 months ago when he first presented with discharge?

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