new second guinea pig

Question
Hi, i'm just wondering if buying a guinea pig from petco was a good idea since i heard all thoes bad rumors about stores like them. I saw a guinea pig i liked but it had a little bit of crust in his eye. So i decided to wait a week to see if his condition would worsen to see if it was sick or not. So after a week I decided to buy him since it seem like his condition did not worsen. The sale people says he's been there for at most 3 weeks. Do you think he could be sick?

I heard crust in the eye is bad but is any crust in the eyes a sign of sickness?  

Answer
Hello Christine,

Well, rescues or reputable breeders are always the best choice, but now you have your sweet new piggy so at this point, where he's going is much more important than where he came from. A small amount, particularly if it clears up rapidly after a bedding change, could just be a sign of dusty bedding. A small amount of crust isn't usually a problem. If his eyes are truly icky with quite a bit of crust or if he's also acting odd, he needs to see a vet. With just a small amount of crust and behaving normally, just watch him close. If you notice any other signs of illness or if the crusting gets worse, then take him to the vet. Most pet stores keep them on pine shavings and the aromatic oils in pine often will irritate a piggy's eyes. If he was on shavings at the store, try switching beddings and the problem should clear up. Good luck!

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs