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Post by Orlaith on May 29, 2009 17:39:03 GMT
I had Acheron out for some snuggles this evening and his right eye is a little cloudy in the centre. I always had a little suspicion since he was born, I dunno, I had this notion that his eye didn't reflect the right colour when I was taking pictures or something but I could never see anything properly. He was nice and calm this evening and let me have a good look and there's definitely some cloudiness there. But I'm looking back on photos and zooming in on his eyes and I think it could have been there for a good while alright, he may even have been born that way. We're taking him along to the vet in the morning to get it looked at. I haven't noticed him acting any differently to the other guinea pigs, i don't know what to make of it  |
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Dawn - Admin
Administrator 
MOTM May 2006, TPOTM Nov 2007
Dawn and the Cutiecavies
Posts: 22,784
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Post by Dawn - Admin on May 29, 2009 20:37:11 GMT
Awww... I am sure he will be fine if he is blind in one eye his other senses with compensate. Mind you I think you are wise to take him to the vets as it could be an infection.
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Post by Orlaith on May 30, 2009 14:16:07 GMT
My suspicions were correct - he's got a "congenital eye opacity", which really means a cataract that's caused genetically. It may get worse as he ages or it may disappear, but it's not going to do him any harm. He's got very poor eyesight in that eye, obviously, and what sight he retains depends on whether it gets bigger, since at the moment it's only a tiny speck. We'll just be a bit more cautious about approaching him from that side so we don't give him a fright  There's nothing we can do to treat it since piggies are too little for that surgery but it shouldn't make a difference to his quality of life. It's a little sad, I suppose, but he's in otherwise perfect health so I don't mind too much. He doesn't let it get to him so I won't either! |
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Post by Orlaith on Jun 11, 2009 17:02:13 GMT
You know, the more I look at Skylar and Styx, the more I think they have the same thing as Acheron. I dunno. They got checked over by the vet but the thing is it's really hard to see as it's right in the centre of the eye, exactly where the light shines off it. And it's not like it's covering the whole iris, it's only a teeny bit in the centre of it.
Ah well. They all seem happy and I haven't noticed them banging into things or hurting themselves so I don't think it's a bad thing. Obviously Xander or Hilda must have something like this in their history since both of them have clear eyes.
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Post by gwen on Jun 12, 2009 7:30:52 GMT
Cavies' sight is not very good at the best of times. Their other senses are naturally heightened to compensate for this - hearing and smell are extremely sensitive. I have a sow of 4 years who was born blind and she lives with two other sows without any problems at all. She comes to the front of the cage for her food and never bumps into anything, and she burrows through the hay with the other two having a whale of a time.
Please don't worry too much about Acheron - he'll live a very happy life with an owner who cares for him regardless of his eye.
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Post by Orlaith on Jun 19, 2009 11:22:29 GMT
Aw, thanks Gwen! All the babies seem fine, no bumps or anything and they always start wheeking for their dinner before everyone else so it can't be affecting them badly!
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