Are crusty eyes in guinea pigs normal?

[Elliottbee4728]

I have two Guinea pigs dumbo has a little bit of crust in the corner of his eyes every so often and ludo has it every day. Ludo has pea eye aswell so I’m not sure whether that’s what is causing him to have so much crust in the corners of his eyes. It’s every time he secretes the white liquid from his eyes that they usually clean themselves with but he never seems to do anything with it. Is this normal? Is there anything I need to do. I gently wipe his eyes with a q tip and lukewarm water every day. Just a bit concerned. They do sneeze aswell, mainly when they are wiping there face with there paws and after they have been in the hay pile or when there in the hay pile but they do sneeze sometimes for no reason. I’ve got a air purifier and I’ve noticed it’s helped a bit. Gone to the vet twice. First time they said they looked fine went again bcs they started making a coughing sound and saw a different vet and they said it might be something similar to kennel cough? They were on baytril for 7 days twice a day and the dose was between 0.4 and 0.5. And the coughing went away but they are still continuing to sneeze . They rock a little bit back and forth when there breathing and make a crackling sound sometimes. I buy small pets select hay and it’s not dusty. Stopped giving them Timothy hay and then gave them orchid grass instead just in case they were allergic and nothing seemed to change. Not sure whether I’m thinking too much into it and whether this is normal? They’ve never been off there food. Ludo is nearly 11 months old and is 1342g
Dumbo is nearly 7 months old and 1385g
I’m not sure whether there at a healthy weight for there age either? I’d rly appreciate whatever advice u can give me

 

[Wiebke]

I have two Guinea pigs dumbo has a little bit of crust in the corner of his eyes every so often and ludo has it every day. Ludo has pea eye aswell so I’m not sure whether that’s what is causing him to have so much crust in the corners of his eyes. It’s every time he secretes the white liquid from his eyes that they usually clean themselves with but he never seems to do anything with it. Is this normal? Is there anything I need to do. I gently wipe his eyes with a q tip and lukewarm water every day. Just a bit concerned. They do sneeze aswell, mainly when they are wiping there face with there paws and after they have been in the hay pile or when there in the hay pile but they do sneeze sometimes for no reason. I’ve got a air purifier and I’ve noticed it’s helped a bit. Gone to the vet twice. First time they said they looked fine went again bcs they started making a coughing sound and saw a different vet and they said it might be something similar to kennel cough? They were on baytril for 7 days twice a day and the dose was between 0.4 and 0.5. And the coughing went away but they are still continuing to sneeze . They rock a little bit back and forth when there breathing and make a crackling sound sometimes. I buy small pets select hay and it’s not dusty. Stopped giving them Timothy hay and then gave them orchid grass instead just in case they were allergic and nothing seemed to change. Not sure whether I’m thinking too much into it and whether this is normal? They’ve never been off there food. Ludo is nearly 11 months old and is 1342g
Dumbo is nearly 7 months old and 1385g
I’m not sure whether there at a healthy weight for there age either? I’d rly appreciate whatever advice u can give me

Hi

Is the crust water/translucent white, thick milky white or thick yellowish/greenish and kind of gluing the eye shut?
The first is from water fluid that washes irritations out of the eye. Has your vet checked whether there is something stuck under a lid ot is the hay very dusty?
The second is normal eye cleaning liquid (guinea pigs don't blink like us to clean their eyes); it can sometimes spill over a little and is not reabsorbed by the tear duct.
The third is mucus from an un - or undertreated infection in the upper respiratory tract.

Please check for possible irritants in your house piggy room; this can even include any perfumed skin products of yours.
Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs

Have you considered changing the hay brand altogether to see whether that can help?
The quality of dust extracted hay can vary a lot.
A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

How long has your vet treated for a potential URI (bacterial respiratory infection)? If they are concerned about bordetellosis (kennel cough), which is generally fatal for guinea pigs, have they proposed a test?
Guinea pigs do not have an equivalent to kennel cough, I am sorry to day but they have either got a sensitivity to something in their environment or a URI that has not been properly treated.
PS: Yours have obviously not got it as they would be either seriously ill or dead by now.

Here is our list of recommended vets: Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[Elliottbee4728]

Hi

Is the crust water/translucent white, thick milky white or thick yellowish/greenish and kind of gluing the eye shut?
The first is from water fluid that washes irritations out of the eye. Has your vet checked whether there is something stuck under a lid ot is the hay very dusty?
The second is normal eye cleaning liquid (guinea pigs don't blink like us to clean their eyes); it can sometimes spill over a little and is not reabsorbed by the tear duct.
The third is mucus from an un - or undertreated infection in the upper respiratory tract.

Please check for possible irritants in your house piggy room; this can even include any perfumed skin products of yours.
Irritants to Avoid Around Guinea Pigs

Have you considered changing the hay brand altogether to see whether that can help?
The quality of dust extracted hay can vary a lot.
A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

How long has your vet treated for a potential URI (bacterial respiratory infection)? If they are concerned about bordetellosis (kennel cough), which is generally fatal for guinea pigs, have they proposed a test?
Guinea pigs do not have an equivalent to kennel cough, I am sorry to day but they have either got a sensitivity to something in their environment or a URI that has not been properly treated.
PS: Yours have obviously not got it as they would be either seriously ill or dead by now.

Here is our list of dumbo hardly gets crustys. It’s mainly just ludo that gets it quite a bit. The crustys are translucent white and it’s milky white that secretes from his eyes. His eyes never get closed shut just rly it’s in the corners of the eyes. I don’t ever spray or having any sort of lotions or hair products in my room. If I ever spray anything it’s in a separate room. I’ll try changing the hay brand. They are eating, doing popcorns and running around. Do you think it’s spilling over the eye a lot more then usual bcs he has pea eye.

The crustys are translucent white. ludo is the only one that rly gets it alot of the time. He has pea eye, his eyes are quite droopy. Would that cause the liquid to overflow quite a bit? The eyes never glue shut, just gets it in the corners of the eyes. He’s treated for kennel cough for 7 days, got rid of the coughing. I’ll try a different brand of hay. They always doing popcorns and run around the floor, eating well.

 

[Wiebke]

The crustys are translucent white. ludo is the only one that rly gets it alot of the time. He has pea eye, his eyes are quite droopy. Would that cause the liquid to overflow quite a bit? The eyes never glue shut, just gets it in the corners of the eyes. He’s treated for kennel cough for 7 days, got rid of the coughing. I’ll try a different brand of hay. They always doing popcorns and run around the floor, eating well.

See whether a different brand of hay helps. I think the Hay Box club is currently our UK members' favourite.
(I do get my own locally sourced hay from a local independent pet shop).

The symptoms may all be related to the hay or other environmental irritant but I would most definitely continue with any antibiotic to make sure.

 

[Elliottbee4728]

See whether a different brand of hay helps. I think the Hay Box club is currently our UK members' favourite.
(I do get my own locally sourced hay from a local independent pet shop).

The symptoms may all be related to the hay or other environmental irritant but I would most definitely continue with any antibiotic to make sure.

Okay thank you