I completely agree with this. I would bet that at some point a feeder scratched or bit him on the face, and over time it became infected and inflamed. There is DEFINITELY a pathology present here. If I were you I would be livid with the breeder for trying to pass that off as occurring from smeared poop. Just ridiculous. IMO the breeder needs to cover the full cost of the vet visits. It is one thing for a breeder to admit they don't know what happened, rather than a bold faced lie.