Klinger's Eyes & Dust sensitivity

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mishellyshel

mishellyshel

Chin Slave
Joined
Mar 16, 2009
Messages
4,633
Location
New Jersey
Since Klinger has been with me I noticed periodically he would get a watery eye. His owner let me know he was checked & there was nothing wrong.

It got worse last week, so I took him to my vet & she said it was irritated but not infected.

I thought it might be from his cage not being cleaned often enough for him (i clean it EVERY nite & change fleece 2 x per week)

Anyway I noticed this morning he had watery eye again and the only thing different is that last night he had playtime and DUSTED!

Could he be allergic to the dust OR is he not closing his eyes while in there??

Is there anything I can do? I have a small bag of the sweet pdz that i tried to use in their litter boxes but they all pretty much rolled in it!
Does anyone else have a chin with a dust sensitivity???
 
I just noticed this last night but i have used the saline. Not sure if I am using it correctly. I saturated a cosmetic cotton round and wiped his eye. He hated it.
Should I do that after every dust bath?

Yes I use Blue Cloud and I do have the PDZ that I can try. He now has his own dust bath, so that would work well.
 
How often does he dust? Maybe try cutting back or try another dust as Tiffany suggested. It was mentioned to me when ZZ was having eye problems to cut back on his dust baths, and that did seem to help.
 
He only dusts about 2 times a week, sometimes 3 if i have extra time for play.

I could always take the bath out & let him dust only 1 time per week. He doesnt look greasy or anything.

Thanks. I will try all these ideas. ;)
 
Sometimes blue sparkle irritates my girl's eye. Lately it's been better though. If I notice it getting bad I give her like a week with no bath. After this batch, I'm gonna try switching to something else.
 
You could also try Kaytee dust. It is a coarser dust and doesn't irritate their eyes as much. The problem with it is that because it is coarse, it doesn't do as good of a job dusting.
 
True, I did use Kaytee for a year and my chin never got irritated. I hate Kaytee though, and they're generally overpriced for such a "low quality" dust
 
I have six chinnies and my standard girl, Ozzie, gets irritated eyes from dusting. She always has. I have taken her to the vet when it first started happening and there is no infection. Whenever she dusts, she has a watery eye for a day or so. I use Blue Cloud dust but I have used Kaytee dust and the same thing happened. I can't explain it, I don't know why it happens but it does. None of the other girls have any problem after dusting, just Ozzie.
 
eroomlorac said:
I use Blue Cloud dust but I have used Kaytee dust and the same thing happened. .
Click to expand...

Lily responds the same way. The fur around her left eye has grown in funny due to a vet giving us the wrong treatment for an eye infection long ago. Now the fur seems to trap the dust more so then the rest of her body and it works its way into her eye and irritates it. We've had a lot of success by letting her dust in an open punch bowl (verses a dust house) we also give her less dust (maybe 2-3 spoonfuls). Her fur looks clean and healthy so it seems to be enough dust to do the job, there's just less for her to "face plant" in and irritate her eye. Occasionally we'll accidentally give her too much dust and she'll get some goop around her lower eye lid, then I just gently flush it out with some non-medicated drops.
 
I tried the sweet PDZ last night and this morning he looked okay. When I get home, I will check again but hopefully that was the problem the whole time.
 
I have given Klinger another dust bath in the PDZ and I am happy to report he has been bright eyed & bushed tailed since I stopped using the Blue Cloud on him.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am so happy that he doesnt seem to have any issues other then a dust sensitivity.
 
Glad Klinger is doing better :) and thanks for the up-date, I think my chin is experiencing similar dust problems, so will take the same route as you and try switching up the dusts!
 
just a follow up to this thread:

Klinger is doing amazing! the PDZ has made SUCH a huge difference. no more watery eye. he is also so much more alert and playful. last night for the first time since he has been with me he actually jumped on my arm for playtime. he has always been very skittish and it has taken me over 8 months of working with him to get him in this place and i am just thrilled. i think he may have even gained some weight! when he first arrived he was under around 375 grams and last time i weighed him he was holding steady at 450, which is the most he has weighed in my possesion. I am hoping for a little increase. sorry to ramble......but he has been the chin i have been so worried about because of his size. he is such a little doll too. love him!
 
Another Update:

I weighed Klinger the other night and he broke 500 grams! I am so thrilled. His eye still seems wet every now & again but it doesnt seem to really have any effect except that it annoys ME! I am not sure what has attributed to the weight gain, I have moved his location and since I have, he is always out of his house now and seems much happier.
 
If you don't mind my asking, where does one find PDZ dust? I've been using Blue Cloud with Blitz for awhile and lately it seems to be irritating his eyes every single bath. I wonder if switching brands would help him as well.
 
Quality Mutation Chinchillas sells Sweet PDZ by the pound. I don't recall off the top of my head who else does, but I'm sure others will crop up with suggestions here before too long.
 
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