RosieMaia
Teenage Guinea Pig
Yesterday I noticed a dark grey, powdery stain around the outside of one of the nostrils of one of my sows. I cleaned it with a a piece of cotton wool, and looked inside her nose, it appeared to be clean. She's fine in herself, active, demanding veggies and popcorning around. I assumed it was dirt of some kind.
This morning I again noticed the same grey substance, this time inside the same nostril (there was no dirt inside her nose yesterday, and I had cleaned it well, so it must have appeared overnight). She's still perfectly fine in herself, breathing normally, no signs of illness or distress. It doesn't appear as though it's something she inhaled, but something that comes from within. I couldn't take a photo, as she's very wiggly and the thing is inside her nose, but the best way I can describe it is graphite powder. There was no hint of red or brown on the cotton wool, so I'm fairly confident it isn't blood. It's also way too powdery to be snot. It mostly looks like dirt. I checked their cage, but there are no sources of dirt - they just have their fleece, hay and pellets. Her two cage mates are fine. And it does look like the grey substance comes from one of her nostrils...
A vet visit is already scheduled, but I wanted to check if any of you guys have any ideas what this might be. It's really strange, and it's getting me worried.
This morning I again noticed the same grey substance, this time inside the same nostril (there was no dirt inside her nose yesterday, and I had cleaned it well, so it must have appeared overnight). She's still perfectly fine in herself, breathing normally, no signs of illness or distress. It doesn't appear as though it's something she inhaled, but something that comes from within. I couldn't take a photo, as she's very wiggly and the thing is inside her nose, but the best way I can describe it is graphite powder. There was no hint of red or brown on the cotton wool, so I'm fairly confident it isn't blood. It's also way too powdery to be snot. It mostly looks like dirt. I checked their cage, but there are no sources of dirt - they just have their fleece, hay and pellets. Her two cage mates are fine. And it does look like the grey substance comes from one of her nostrils...
A vet visit is already scheduled, but I wanted to check if any of you guys have any ideas what this might be. It's really strange, and it's getting me worried.
