Fur loss around eye/weeping

[Chinchillas#1]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting here. I have had my chinchilla Hamlet for about a year (he's about two years old). He was a rescue, and when we first brought him home he had a wet eye that cleared up on its own. In the last few weeks, however, he developed the wet eye again. It did not get better, and we took him to the vet two weeks ago for the eye and also for another mysterious problem that Hamlet had. His fur around his neck seemed to be chopped clean (not bald, just considerably shorter than the rest of his fur). It subsequently all grew back and I suspected a fur slip from someone else in my family handling him while I wasn't there. About a month later, however, the fur was gone again! At the time of this post, however, the fur has nearly grown back AGAIN. Has anyone had experience with a problem like this?

At any rate, we took him to an exotic vet. I was very disappointed with the vet, as he didn't seem very knowledgeable about chinchillas. He basically said that he didn't know what was causing the fur loss and he wasn't sure what the issue with the eye was either. He didn't check for a corneal scratch or abrasion and barely glanced at Hamlet's teeth. He said that it was probably conjunctivitis and gave us Gentamicin drops.

Unfortunately, and I'm really ashamed to say this, I was not religious in giving the drops. I missed a day or two, or maybe only gave him two or three drops a day rather than the necessary five. Also, I continued giving him his dustbath, as the vet had not said to discontinue it and I didn't know that I should take it away during treatment. His eye seemed to improve slightly, then return to its previous state. Now, two weeks after the vet visit, the eye is still damp AND Hamlet has been scratching it like crazy, resulting in fur loss. He's also scratching and biting the rest of his body too, especially his ears. The vet checked for parasites and mites, however, and Hamlet didn't have any. I don't know if he checked for ringworm, however. The skin is not red or scabbed, it looks quite normal, just balding.

Before I take him to a (different) vet again, I was wondering if anyone had any similar experience and could help me out. I love Hamlet and I feel horrible about not being consistent with the drops. It was a bad mistake. He is still eating and drinking, active, and chewing like crazy. He doesn't have a damp chin or any other classic symptom of maloccusion. He is scratching a lot, though, including his eye. I'm really concerned.

 

[tunes]

It sounds as though you need to find a vet who will do a more thorough check. With him digging at the eye, it's obvious that it's irritating him, possibly causing him pain, and the vet needs to find out why. I'm surprised the vet you went to didn't check for a corneal abrasion, as that's pretty common with these guys.

If you still have enough drops, continue to give them. Don't give him his dust bath for a while, until you know what is causing the eye issue. It's going to be a judgment call whether or not you take him to another vet. It may be that with consistent application of the drops and the dust bath behing held, that he'll clear up. Or, it may be that he needs an oral antibiotics as well as a topical, or maybe different drops altogether. The fact that he's eating, drinking, and exhibiting his normal behavior is great.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Could he have fungus? And be scratching at the neck making the fur come out? Or chewing his fur? I would check on that and also get x rays to rule out malo. I agree with finding a new vet, this one sounds like a dud.

 

[Chinchillas#1]

Update!

I just got a call from the vet after I posted this and his eye swab came back, and it's NOT conjunctivitis. There was no growth in the culture. I guess I don't need to give him the drops then. Would a culture like that also be able to check for a fungus like ringworm?
I also took away his dust bath a few days ago and I am going to keep holding off on it for the next week. I've heard him sneeze a few times (though by no means constantly) and he wipes his nose sometimes also, though I felt it and it doesn't seem to be too runny - could it be a respiratory infection? Mainly he keeps scratching the eye and himself.

I just really hope he gets better because I really do love him dearly. If his eye doesn't begin to clear without the dust bath, I'm going to take him to a different vet next Monday.