Weepy eye in Chipmunk, worried....

[dalaeck]

My 3.5 year old chipmunk Zim has had a weepy right eye for over a month now.
He's very healthy otherwise, super active, eats well, nice fur and the eyes are otherwise clear. He is a little fat, but not obese, literally, not figuratively, literally frolicking.
The liquid from the right eye is generally clear and occasionally milky whiteish. It is weepy more in the morning and evening, mostly clears up when he's active. The lower eyelid is maybe a little enlarged, but it's not red at all and he's not scratching it or bothering it.

A problem is I live in Canada, Ottawa Ontario, and the vets do not treat wildlife. I've tried to find a kind soul to treat him under-the-table but no luck so far - if anyone here knows someone I would be forever in your debt. I'm willing to travel and money is not the issue.
I've regardless had some excellent advice from a regional squirrel rehabber. We tried a topical ointment for a week, then she suggested cipro, and we gave him a course of the antibiotic for 2 weeks.
None of it hurt, but the condition isn't resolved. It's neither worse nor better by my own estimate.

And that's why I'm worried now. It's only in one eye and doesn't seem to respond to antibiotics. The rehabber thinks he may have damaged the eye socket in impact, which is certainly possible and if that's the case he lives with it and it maybe heals. My concern is dental problems, specifically an overgrown root or similar obstructing the tear duct. But he isn't in any obvious pain and can chew through nuts.

I've done some searches on these boards and found at least one case similar to mine which never was fully diagnosed.

I'll post some links and pictures here later tonight.

Any help and advice please!

[redwuff]

Yeah, I would love to see head X-rays. I guess all I can say is to keep trying. Also put him on a round of Clavamox. It does better as a broad spectrum and better penetration. If this is an odontoma, an infection usually goes along with it. You should see his eye clearing a bit. Still cracking nuts is a good sign. Check his teeth. Do they wear even.

[dalaeck]

Thanks redwuff, how would I go about getting the medication without a vet? Still trying... (PM me as needed)

Here are some pictures from a week ago, good eye left image, weepy on right image:


Surprisingly, quite literally last night, it may have improved. I will try and get better pictures but the lower eyelid is less swollen and there may be fewer tears. Fingers crossed!

[dalaeck]

So an update on Zim.

Zim lost his top right tooth, probably sometime last summer.
This past December, last month, he started making wheezing sounds, and clicks. We immediately rushed him to the vet, he has a vet and a good one that we trust.
The vet said that he doesn't see any signs of infection, and no pneumonia, lungs are clear.
But something is clearly up with his sinuses.
Right now it's deep winter here in Canada and the air is very dry, he suggested get a humidifier and after doing that it did help a lot.
However after several weeks now, he's still wheezing and clicking but much much less. The fluids in his nose are clear, and the vet did a nose smear and no bacteria.
His breathing problems come and go, it's not consistently bad or worse, good days and bad days.

I'm still worried though, I think from my research on the boards that it could be ondontoma, something I suspected from the start.
I'm really unsure what to do or if there's anything I *can* do given the circumstance. He's 5 years old, but otherwise healthy even fat, and runs and plays normally other then the occasional click and snort.
It's still very distressing, he's also small, smaller than a squirrel so I'm not sure about surgery.

Does anyone have any experience with similar symptoms? Any advice?

[Mel1959]

Nasal problems, weepy eyes, white tears, teeth that are exceptionally short are all signs that could mean odontoma. The only definitive way to tell is with an x ray.

There is a vet in Florida that specializes in rodent dental issues. She’s been known to confer with individuals and vets, as well as review xrays to evaluate for odontomas. If you or your vet wants to reach out to her here’s her contact info: Dr. Alicia Emerson, Ravenwood Vet Clinic, 386-788-1550.

[TubeDriver]

Another longshot option to consider is some type of allergy? Could he be allergic to the detergent you use to clean his fleece/bedding etc. Or to something else? Did you change up any cleaning agents around the time this started up? You could try a simple course of Benadryl for a couple days and see if it helps? It is very safe overall so should have no negative issues other than possibly making him drowsy.

I still think an x-ray to rule out odontoma would be a good idea. At least you will know for sure if odontoma is present and then you can decide how to proceed.

[dalaeck]

Thanks so much for the quick replies, I will definitely be contacting Dr. Emerson. I'll also be talking with my vet about getting an xray.

I would personally be surprised if it was an allergy, he changes his bedding every few months and literally nothing has changed with regards to cleaning agents. Still if I were to go the route of Benadryl, what would be the dose for a 120g chipmunk?

[dalaeck]

We now have X-ray confirmation that it is an odontoma. It's not on the molars though, it's at the root of his lost incisor.
My vet is very good an pro-active, and will forward x-rays to Dr. Alicia Emerson, thanks so much for the reference @Mel1959.

Right up until 2 days ago he was bright and lively, Thursday he stayed in his poo jars most of the day, some sort of digestive upset.
Yesterday he saw the vet and he said "there's nothing he can medically do" and he seemed ok otherwise, clear lungs, good heart.

Today he's only eaten some grape. Yesterday he ate only a bit of mandarin orange. He's refusing his usual rodent block.
He's fat, and has a little stash of nuts so I'm not worried about starvation, but there's some sort of GI upset. Still eating though reduced.
His poo appears normal, though perhaps less of them.

Any advice or recommendations?

[Mel1959]

Short of a road trip to Florida, I’m not sure how best to handle your situation. Poor baby. Dr. Emerson has done probably more odontoma surgeries than any other vet I know of. There is risk involved, but.....the alternative is ??

Have you tried any type of boo ball recipe where hard rodent block is ground and mixed with a few ground nuts, baby food and coconut oil to hold it together? It makes for a softer block which might be easier to eat.

Dr. Emerson will advise what she thinks if your vet contacts her. She always says that she doesn’t treat the odontomas she treats the patient. So, until the odontoma is making your baby’s life miserable she can probably advise you on how best to deal with it.

[dalaeck]

Hi Mel, thanks, yes we have tried boo ball recipe IV and he does eat them.

I do think though that his recent issue is pain urinating, and only tangentially related to odontoma/breathing issues.
I'm contacting his vet first thing tomorrow morning and doing some research on urinary tract infections/ bladder infections but if anyone has any advice on them I'm more that listening.

Thank again

[Mel1959]

UTI’s and bladder infections would both be treated with an antibiotic that your vet could prescribe. Maybe you could collect a urine sample to take to the vet for evaluation?

[dalaeck]

We got Baytril from the vet and he's had his first dose. His pees are so tiny there's nothing to see, normally they're a dime sized, now they're pin head sized.

Problem is he's eating and drinking very little, now some 5 hours after first dose.
He ate basically a tiny portion of pear and he only took 2 mL of sugar water earlier this morning. Now he's refusing the sugar water. Yesterday he took 5 mL.

We just force fed him another mL of sugar water. I'm leery of force feeding, I had a rabbit with bloat once and she died as a result of it.
So far it's a waiting game to see if he starts eating/peeing/pooing more normally.

He's still able to move around, he's lively enough for that, like run fast on wheel, so he's not curled up in a ball level sick yet... I really hope the baytril kicks in soon...

[Mel1959]

Baytril does begin working pretty quickly but tastes terrible. You might want to dip the syringe tip in honey after filling it with his meds. A probiotic given 1 hr before or 2 hrs after his medicine will help his GI system. I think Baytril can cause them to not eat well while taking it. If your little guy will eat yogurt that would be good for him. I use vanilla full fat yogurt.

Be careful force feeding him the water. You don’t want to aspirate him, although the fluids are good while he’s on the Baytril.

[dalaeck]

Thanks again Mel, he just got 2nd dose. Tried the honey dipped syringe, but he smelled the medication a mile away and needed to be force fed.
He ate a blueberry, or most of one, so some progress? Also took some pear pulp from syringe. Refuses yogurt, always has though so no real change there, any other probiotic suggestion?

He's decided he's not sleeping in his usual spot. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

[stepnstone]

This is an excellent probiotic that (most) pets take willingly by licking it right off your finger or whatever.
Vets will often prescribe this to also help increase appetite.