Cuzco's Glamour Shot o' the Day

[Nanno]

Poor Cuzco. While he acted fine otherwise, he went off his feed for several days once scabs formed on his nose, lips, and chin. Snot likes to collect on the scabs where it hardens into big blobs which I have to remove. I try to be careful because I don't want to tear the scabs while peeling away the hardened snot. I'd leave it alone but I can't let his nose clog up and I know he feels better when his nostrils aren't blocked. But still, the de-crusting is painful and tonight I made the poor fellow's nose bleed in a couple of places where the crusts tore the edges of the scabs away. I've been putting aloe vera gel on his muzzle every day and he likes that. He recoils at the first touch, but then he relaxes his posture and puts his head down so I can rub it well in. Even though his nose looks worse now than ever, it's starting to be less painful now that the scabs are beginning to peel away. He ate most of his breakfast this morning and cleaned up every scrap of his dinner tonight and even went for seconds. I was sure glad to see that!