Okay... vet said the runny nose was probably a little virus, that Dewey likely caught from Daisy...who may have already been exposed to and gotten immune to before coming here. And now Dewey should be immune to it too. But his lungs were clear.
He said his eye is likely a clogged tear duct. That it's just something Dewey must have had since birth and I can treat it by wiping it with a warm rag/cotton ball, and by lubricating it (just regular human eye drops). As long as the discharge from his eye stays white, no worries. If it turns green or yellow OR if his runny nose comes back in green or yellow...then I should take him back. But it's usually white, so must be his clogged tear duct.
Another interesting thing he told me was the same stuff the first vet told me... feed him "water filled greens"... roughage. He said a diet of pellets & hay isn't healthy for chinchillas...that their GI tract will get used to it, but they won't be as healthy as possible or live as long as possible. He encouraged me to try many different things to find out what my chins like because chins can have texture issues with food... but I SHOULD give him fruits/veggies. I told him that everything I've read from all the "expert chinchilla breeders/owners" online says NOT to give them these things...but he insisted that he's studied it, he's seen it first hand, he's watched what happens to chinchillas on different diets, etc...and that he, as a doctor often has to FIGHT the internet to get the proper info out there. I said that roughage might make my chins sick because they are not used to it...that they are happy with their pellets... he said it might change their stools...but that it would be a good change. He talked about chinchillas in the wild and what they eat...*shrugs*. We talked a lot about chinchillas in general and I told him what happened with Schroeder and my previous vet experience...and he was really upset at how my previous vet handled Schroeders illness. "That makes me mad" he said. He seemed VERY knowledgeable about chinchilla health and how their systems work. So...I guess I am gonna get some carrot tops, beet tops, watercress, etc....and see what my chins might like!
In the meantime I'm just happy Dewey's little runny nose is clearing up and was nothing major. That his damp eye is just a common problem that's easy to solve, and that I no longer have to keep the barrier up between the chins! They'll be happy to see each other again after 3 days!
