A weepy, tired-looking eye

[s]

Hello!

My 1yo Daewoo has, as the title suggests, a weepy, slightly closed eye. The stuff coming out of it is mostly watery but in the morning there was a cumulation of white stuff around the rim of the eye.

Other than having a weepy eye, he's in good health, hasn't lost weight and is behaving normally.

I cleaned it with boiled (and cooled) water this morning.

I read that this kind of thing could be a passing infection or due to something in the eye. Based on these possibilities, I'm wondering how long I should treat it at home before heading to the vet, and if there are any other warning signs I should look out for. (Also is it okay for him to have a sand bath?)

Any advice much appreciated!

[moletteuk]

I would go to the vet fairly soon just in case there is something in the eye. The vet can also check the surface of the eye for injury, which is usually reassuring if you can find the cause of a weepy eye. The other option can be a dental issue, but this would normally come on a bit more gradually.

Go ahead and remove the sandbath.

[bouncy]

A weeping eye can also be a reaction to other things in the body, such as dental issues. Many goos with root issues develop a weepy eye or two. Either way, I agree with Molette - get to a vet soon.

[s]

Update:

It didn't clear up after a few days so we took him to the vet.

The vet said there didn't seem to be any injury to the eye, and that it was probably conjunctivitis! We got some medicine.

They also clipped his nails so that he didn't hurt himself scratching (a bonus!)

[s]

Hello again!

So, Daewoo's eye seemed to get better after he'd been on antibiotics for a while, but recently got worse again (two days before the end of his course of antibiotics).

Seeing as the medicine didn't seem to work all that well, I'm wondering about the possibility of other issues, namely tooth problems.

I wonder if anyone could tell me how likely it is for a 1yo goo with teeth that look fine from the front to have root problems.

Also, what's the prognosis for root issues? Is it grave? 😰

[deguconvert]

You will need to have XRays of Daewoo's head to know if the trouble is directly related to the roots of his teeth. Root overgrowth does indeed have serious results. It depends on the location of the tooth that has the elongated root and what it is impacting, and it is not unusual for there to be more than one elongated root. They can grow into the sinuses, the eye socket/eyeball, or the brain. All of this can cause great pain and suffering. (Don't stop . . . keep reading.)

HOWEVER . . . one of our moderators, Bouncy, has had great success dramatically slowing this process down with her one of her degus that had the same condition . . . so much so that it seemed to have stopped the growth for several years . . . using Vit. D3 drops. Those are drops that have been formulated for use with human infants. Obviously a degu is massively out weighed by a human baby, but the maths can be done to achieve the right dosage for your degus weight. I would recommend that you make a point of chatting with her and giving this a serious thought.

[yasmin]

In my experience, the likelihood of a dental issue like molar root invasion of the nasal cavity or eye socket in a 1 year old degu is unlikely.
However, there still could be a mouth injury or infection. (The prognosis for root issues is not completely grave - they can live good lives for years with the help of anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and specialized diet when eating hard food becomes too difficult.)

If he seemed to improve with the antibiotics, and then got worse again, he might need a longer course of antibiotics or a different type of antibiotics. What did the vet prescribe, how often per day, and for how long?

[deguconvert]

I defer to Yasmin . . . her experience with dental issues in degus is far superior to mine. I had also forgotten that this is a young degu.

[s]

Feb 23, 2022 2:01:59 GMT yasmin said:

In my experience, the likelihood of a dental issue like molar root invasion of the nasal cavity or eye socket in a 1 year old degu is unlikely.
However, there still could be a mouth injury or infection. (The prognosis for root issues is not completely grave - they can live good lives for years with the help of anti-inflammatories and antibiotics and specialized diet when eating hard food becomes too difficult.)

If he seemed to improve with the antibiotics, and then got worse again, he might need a longer course of antibiotics or a different type of antibiotics. What did the vet prescribe, how often per day, and for how long?

Thanks!

I'm sorry, I don't know exactly what kind of antibiotics they were but they were oral, 0.5ml twice a day for two weeks.

He seemed totally cured for a few days but then it started weeping again (white goop), although less than before. If it continues I'll take him back to the vet and see what she recommends.

Anyway good to know all is not totally lost even if it does turn out to be root issues.

[moletteuk]

See if you can speak to the vet on the phone, at least in the uk they are normally happy to give further advice this way if they don't need to see the degu again.