Mucus Build-Up

[CritterGirl]

My 1.5 year old male pied silver agouti Mong (Sugar Daddy) always gets the mucus (red stuff) buildup on his nose, no matter what kind of bedding we use. It gets especially bad with aspen. I've never used cedar (and never would) or pine. But the Chloro Pine (which i hate to use because of the respiratory crap) is the only stuff that doesn't make his nose a royal mess. I am so switching over to CareFresh (the Wal*Mart brand of CF doesn't work AT ALL) Does anyone have any ideas why his nose is like that? THANKS!

Jessica

[Zouave]

Sure it is not an infection treatable with bacitracin ointment?

Try Carefresh Ultra (the white stuff), or Kaytee Soft-Sorbent (my favorite). Have you tried corncob?

Sure it is not something in the room he is in?? Move him to another room.

[CritterGirl]

Well, it's happened here at the apartment and back at the house we lived in for a while. We put vaseline ointment on his noise and it usually clears right up. Idk... Thanks, though! That made me remember to put the vaseline on his nose when that happens. The Soft-Sorbent is good but it's more gravelly and harder to dig in than the CareFresh & CF Ultra. I'll pass on the cornj cob because you have to be so careful to clean the cage so often because of that stupid aspiralligus fungus (or whatever) stuff... Sucks... Yea, I'm gonna get the CareFresh Ultra. It's not much more expensive and looks better than the regular CF. There's always colored CF that's in pink, blue, and yellow pastels. Maybe I'll get that because of the litter soon to come!!! Aww, how adorable!!!

~Jessica-LeAnn

[TTGerbils]

I'd be careful about using Carefresh Ultra. Two of my super-sensitive gerbils got the sorest noses I'd ever seen after just a couple days on it.

Have you tried using shredded cheap plain white paper towels as bedding? That's what my vet recommended for my gerbils with sensitive noses. I switched all my tanks to them about two years ago and have only had one sore nose since--from a new Timber Hide-A-Way I put in a tank, not the bedding.

[andreaS15]

I think whoever came up with the moldy Corb Cob info was another bedding manufacturer.
I had thought the same thing, but ended up having to change to corn cob b/c my clans all had allergies to different bedings.
I've been useing the corn cob for at least 6 months or more, and though it's not great for burrowing (by it's self) I find it keeps the smell to a very minimum, it lasts long, and it keeps quite dry. I have not had a problem with it, and feel it is actually a great bedding.
If there was any mold, i would know. I'm highly allergic to molds.
I always mixed it with a ton of cardboard too (and hay).

[CritterGirl]

Hmm... I never had a problem when Sugar Daddy was on the CareFresh Ultra. I think I'm going to use Yesterday's News with Oxbow meadow hay and shredded paper towels. They're not really burrowers, besides getting their corners [of the cage] and houses just right. Any more advice?

[andreaS15]

A breeder I know uses a mix of yesterdays news, and finds it works very well.
Hows the little guys nose comming along?