Gandalf has watery eyes

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Gandalf19

Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2019
Messages
5
Location
Canada
Hello, I am a new member and have 1 chin, Gandalf. He has had watery eyes for the last couple of weeks, and the vet told me she thinks it was his bath dust irritating his eyes. I took his bath away and his eyes still are runny after a week.
The vet said to try switching his litter, and I just did today. I'm switching him from pine to paper material.
He is not drooling, he eats and drinks, and doesnt seem to be in pain when he eats, so I'm hopeful it isnt a problem with his teeth. The vet said if this new litter doesnt work, she wants him to go xrays on his teeth in 2 weeks.
Any ideas what this could be? I would attach a picture but I cant figure out how to do that.
 
How's the ventilation in his room? There are times that when they have the fur lay down around their eyes and it looks wet, that it's a ventilation/humidity/heat issue. Maybe try getting some air circulating in there - aim a fan at the floor to disperse the humidity.
 
I live in an apartment with a boiler for heat and we aren't allowed to have the windows open in the winter time. I'll try cracking one once a day anyway and see if it helps
 
I had a little fan going by his cage all night, and his eyes looked the same. I'm thinking it might have something to do with the humidity from the boiler heat. Will this harm him in anyway?
Other than his watery eyes, he is still very active, eating, drinking, bathing when I give it to him, and chewing on all of his chew toys.
 
You want the temp in the room below 20C and the humidity needs to be below 50%, ideally 40% or below. If the humidity is too high they can get mold and fungal problems, not only on the chin but also on/in any wood in the cage. If his eyes stay watery the fur can end up falling out and also it leaves the area damp and warm which is perfect for ringworm fungal infections to get a hold. Ringworm fungus is highly contagious to humans too just so you know, meaning not only is a risk to the chin it's a risk to you too.

You many need a dehumidifier if the humidity is too high, and you may need to crack a window if the temp is too high and you can't turn down the heat, dehumidifiers give off heat. Just make sure there is no draft from the window blowing on the cage and the fan isn't actually blowing on the cage. The idea of the fan is to get air circulating, and ideally redistribute the humidity to other rooms.
 
Thanks for all your help. I'm going to buy a hygrometer when I'm off work today. If I know the humidity level in my house, at least I can start eliminating things off my list of possible causes. I'll keep you posted.
 
I bought one and the humidity has been sitting at 30-32% and the temp is 19.9 C. At least I know it's not the humidity that's causing him problems. I read on here someone else who had a similar issue on here, and they said it wasnt actually wet, it was tears that had dried after an irritation. I took him out of his cage and felt, it is not actually wet, its dry. I wonder if it's an irritation from a couple weeks ago? I think I'll take her up on the eye drops she offered and see how that goes.
 
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