eye stuck shut with goo?snot?

[perabalaofmystery]

so ive had my chins for 4 months now (theyre 6 months)
when i went to clean the cage a bit ago i found my white chin Gummi's eye glued shut with snot? goo? i removed her from the cage and quickly cleaned out her eye.which was a little swollen but that makes sense. i also trimmed the fur around her eye shorter. she seems perfectly fine other wise (she kept trying to go and play when i was fixing her up)
does anyone know why a chins eye would goo up or how to prevent it or treat it? is there anything else i should do?

 

[tunes]

Keep a close eye on her. Often times eye issues are a precursor to other illnesses, i.e., respiratory issues and malocclusion. It can also be from something as simple as dust getting in there resulting in a scratched cornea or even an infection.

Keep an eye on it and her. Make sure she's eating, drinking, peeing, pooping, normal activity level. If you have a gram scale, weigh her to make sure she's not losing. If you don't have one, you should. It's a really good way to monitor your chin. Chins are prey animals and don't show illness until it's many times too late to save them. If I notice a chin dropping weight, then I know we've got a potential problem that needs checked, even if there are no other symptoms.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

thats what i thought. thanks for the info

 

[Tagna]

One of the rescues I had at one point had her eye sealed shut one day. I took her to the vet and she had an eye infection. I had drops to give her and did saline flushes. It cleared up in a few days.

 

[fanofdmb84]

One of my chin's eye did this after a dust bath. I didn't notice it until the following morning. I wiped it clean and carefully opened the eye and by the next day I couldn't even tell anything had happened. We got lucky, it was just dust or something that irritated it.

 

[greychins]

I've had the same experience as ^ once or twice. One day one of our rescues had her eye closed. Wiped the eye, flushed the eye with saline, and she was fine. Now, had the eye sealed up again and not immediately improved (she kept it wide open like normal after the saline flush), there would have been a vet visit, but sometimes they can just get a speck of something irritating in their eyes.

 

[~@Pokemon@~]

my chin had something like that when i first got him. I used polysporin eye drops and it cleared up real fast. Could be her teeth oooor the dust your using try Blue Cloud Dust ive read its really good for chins.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

it apears that she just had a spec of something in her eye. a bit ago i had checked on her again and cleaned her up again.
shes doing really well now her eye looks alot better and she seems happier.
though on an amusing note she used to never like being held/picked up/or sitting/playing on us.
after we fixed her up she has been jummping all over us and climbing into our hands. its a complete 180 from how she used to act.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

I woke up this morning to a a pitiful sight. gummi would up gooing the other eye shut. i flushed it out to find she had gotten a chunk of hay stuck in there. i wound up having to trim the fur around that eye as well.
she is better now but i plan to take her into the vet if it happens again.
she shows no other signs of malo and other than the eyes she is a perfectly healthy chin. shes an avid chewer whos fondness for willow sticks often irritates me when i buy her a huge twig hut and in 2 days she somehow manages to gnaw it in half.
though just as precaution if i have to take her in im going to have xrays done to to either confirm my worries about malo or to put them to rest.
i really hope its not malo. but if it is ill make her life as comfortable as possible for as long as i can.

 

[ticklechin]

This chin needs to see a vet and not be self vetted, you don't mess with eye infections unless you want a blind chin.

 

[Claire D]

This chin needs to see a vet and not be self vetted, you don't mess with eye infections unless you want a blind chin.

Seconded.

Please take your chin to a vet & get a full assessment. If there has been trauma to the eye it can lead to a scratched cornea which can do all sorts of damage & is painful for the chin.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

i know that in fact i have an apointment for her in thirty minutes.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

the first time this happened (eye problems) it wasnt infected and cleared up right after i flushed the debris out but this time its clearly infected. today ill hopefully find out why this keeps happening.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

vet trip

so i took my chin gummi who has been having eye problems to the vet. they checked her out tested her eye cleaned it out. no infections. checked out her teeth (which are fine as far as they can tell with out xrays) it turns out my chin probably doesnt produce enough tears to properly clean out her eyes if dust or something gets in there. i was given eye drops (anti-inflamitory and anti biotic). i was also told to buy saline or eye drops to give to her when needed.
i was told to watch her and take her in again if she shows any signs again and they would do more tests and give xrays.
they were very knowledgeable about chins and other exotic pets. so i feel comfortable in her assessment of gummi. (the last week ive been hunting for a suitable vet to take her too.) plus due to the time i took her i got both of their exotic vets to look at her. second opinions are always nice.

on another note its been a very long day. and i think im going to join gummi in taking a nap.that is if my other chin lunch would stop being jealous of all the attention gummi has been getting and stop banging a stick on the food bowl for more attention -.-

 

[Claire D]

How did you get on at the vets?

 

[ticklechin]

Your vet did you a disservice, vets who know chins would take a x-ray if there is a eye issue without infection, and escpecially if your vet told you the chin was having issues with tears, the tear ducts get blocked off by elongation of the tooth roots-elongation can be silent until advanced and your vet should know this information and should have continued with the diagnosis.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

well i guess im off to the vet again for xrays. (i just called them i can get in today if i leave now) lucky me. this time armed with printed off xrays of malo chins to compare to gummis xray.

 

[perabalaofmystery]

just got back from the vet and xrays. she doesnt have malo or root elongation. or
the xrays are normal. i wish i had a scanner or something to show yall but i don't.
but between the vet looking at the xray and me and my boyfriend comparing her xray to pics of malo chins/chins with elongated roots over and over again. i can safely say as of now she doesnt have tooth problems.
also 250 in vet bills in one week is expensive though i got a discount on the xray due to me pointing out the vets previous mistake. guess theyre not getting the fn cage i was going to get them for another month or so.

 

[ticklechin]

So what is the diagnosis? If its not a infection or injury, its not teeth and it can't be genetic since the chin just now is having symptoms, what does the vet say it is?

 

[perabalaofmystery]

-.- there really wasnt a diagnosis other than she keeps getting minor/moderate eye irritation due to either geting something in her eye or scratching her eye possibly. they couldn't find anything. they gave her an xray examined her eyes, checked her respiratory system and found nothing.

im going to shop around for a different vet if something happens again. theres bound to be one back in the twin cities and i dont mind mini-trips if its for my babies.
im just currently glad to know its not anything to do with teeth. but my saga will probably continue till i know for sure whether its chin stupidity or something wrong with her. which means more vet visits in my future.
but as of now shes happy, in no pain, has no symptoms and seems perfectly fine. which means im going to be watching her like a hawk and swooping in to take her to the vet if she shows symptoms again.