Blind Guinea Pig

[thebiscuitpigs]

Hi, just needing a little bit of advice on what to do.
Bit of explaination: I noticed Matilda’s eye had gone white, literally overnight. Took her to the vets and they were unsure but prescribed metacam and some eye drops (it was quite red, so was to stop any infection). Just been again and seen another vet, and it’s been diagnosed as a cataract (very unusual as she’s only 11 months old). I’ve been told she can’t see anything out of that eye, and won’t be able to for the rest of her life.
She may have to have the eye removed if it causes her discomfort or begins bulging, but she should (fingers crossed!) be able to live with it.

I’ve never had a blind guinea pig before, does anyone have any tips of how to look after them? Anything I should change to make it easier for her as she can’t see anymore? Absolutely anything would be helpful - I’m absolutely clueless at the moment other than knowing about what it is, haven’t got a clue how to care for her day-to-day.
Thank you!

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

Just incase anyone was also wondering: I contacted the breeder I purchased Matilda from, and from her knowledge neither of her parents had any health issues - so isn’t genetic. Bit of a mystery how it appeared! Vet thinks it may have been traumatic (hay poke) but can’t see any signs of that in her eye.

 

[Julie M]

My Buddy went blind and I didn’t have to do anything special for him. I did however make sure that there were no hard or sharp items which he could potentially run into. He lived absolutely no problems with his eyesight being bad.

 

[Julie M]

Also a piggies eyesight isn’t that great anyway so they rely more on their other senses.

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

My Buddy went blind and I didn’t have to do anything special for him. I did however make sure that there were no hard or sharp items which he could potentially run into. He lived absolutely no problems with his eyesight being bad.

Thank you! I’m thankful her and her sister love blankets and cosy beds - I usually fill their cage with blankets anyway so shouldn’t be anything too harsh for her to run into, it’ll all be nice and soft! They do have a hay rack which is quite hard, and has a lot sticking out so may have to swap that for something better for her!

 

[Merab]

My Merab has cataracts and has been blind for some time.
It hasn’t stopped her living a full life.
She still behaves perfectly normally except for being a bit slower and more cautious when she’s out of the cage. However as she’s over 6 part of that is age and laziness

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, just needing a little bit of advice on what to do.
Bit of explaination: I noticed Matilda’s eye had gone white, literally overnight. Took her to the vets and they were unsure but prescribed metacam and some eye drops (it was quite red, so was to stop any infection). Just been again and seen another vet, and it’s been diagnosed as a cataract (very unusual as she’s only 11 months old). I’ve been told she can’t see anything out of that eye, and won’t be able to for the rest of her life.
She may have to have the eye removed if it causes her discomfort or begins bulging, but she should (fingers crossed!) be able to live with it.

I’ve never had a blind guinea pig before, does anyone have any tips of how to look after them? Anything I should change to make it easier for her as she can’t see anymore? Absolutely anything would be helpful - I’m absolutely clueless at the moment other than knowing about what it is, haven’t got a clue how to care for her day-to-day.
Thank you!

Hi! Cataracts and nuclear sclerosis can come on very quickly in some cases. Often the other eye is going a few weeks or months later.

Thankfully sight is the weakest sense in guinea pigs and the transition phase it worst until the other senses have adjusted and taken over. After that even fully blind cataract piggies can lead a perfectly normal life, including free roaming, lawn time and shallow ramps.

Give your piggy more audio cues for things like coming up to the cage and lifting a piggy up. They will feel more vulnerable if they are surprised and if you approach them from the blind side.

As you can see in this video, blindness from two fully developed cataracts and arthritis doesn't stop a determined piggy from having fun! Mali was 8 years when she died from sudden heart failure only two days after having created a totally scent spoor loop on the roaming floor. She was the oldest, but the last survivor of my then dedicated cataract group with three formidable sows; they all lived a normal lifespan.

 

[Freela]

Thankfully pigs do not rely on eyesight all that much and most adjust really well to loss of vision. Sundae developed cataracts in both eyes around age 4 or so... at first we noticed some issues like loss of depth perception (she would either trip over things or try to make flying leaps over things.) As she adapted, we honestly couldn't tell any difference between her and her sighted companion. She did seem to spend more time listening/sniffing after losing her vision, and we would more often see her on tiptoes on her front feet with her nose up in the air, but that was really about it. Hadley, now age 4, also seems to be developing cataracts, but I don't anticipate she will need any special care either. I'm sure your piggie will be just fine after a short time of adjustment!

 

[Betsy]

Betsy has cataracts. She just takes longer to cotton on to where treats are unless I put them under her nose, Dennis (the love of her life) tells her, she gets the scent or hears the excited voices of the others. When she has free roaming time (when the OH is not around) she follows a scent spore that she has laid down and goes round and round very happily.

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

My Merab has cataracts and has been blind for some time.
It hasn’t stopped her living a full life.
She still behaves perfectly normally except for being a bit slower and more cautious when she’s out of the cage. However as she’s over 6 part of that is age and laziness

Thank you! Now that I’ve been thinking about it Matilda is slightly more cautious than Nancy, and takes time exploring. Bless her!

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

Hi! Cataracts and nuclear sclerosis can come on very quickly in some cases. Often the other eye is going a few weeks or months later.

Thankfully sight is the weakest sense in guinea pigs and the transition phase it worst until the other senses have adjusted and taken over. After that even fully blind cataract piggies can lead a perfectly normal life, including free roaming, lawn time and shallow ramps.

Give your piggy more audio cues for things like coming up to the cage and lifting a piggy up. They will feel more vulnerable if they are surprised and if you approach them from the blind side.

As you can see in this video, blindness from two fully developed cataracts and arthritis doesn't stop a determined piggy from having fun! Mali was 8 years when she died from sudden heart failure only two days after having created a totally scent spoor loop on the roaming floor. She was the oldest, but the last survivor of my then dedicated cataract group with three formidable sows; they all lived a normal lifespan.

Thank you so much! I do suspect the other eye won’t take long to follow on, the vet did say that the “healthy” eye wasn’t reacting to light as it normally should do, and her pupil was very unusually dilated.
Bless her, that’s so lovely to hear! I’m hoping Matilda can be the same and live a happy, healthy life even without her sight! I’ll definitely used more audio cues, especially when I pick her up. She really doesn’t like being picked up as it is (I’m thinking now that may be as she can’t see as well!) so will definitely be something I’ll be doing from now on!

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

Thankfully pigs do not rely on eyesight all that much and most adjust really well to loss of vision. Sundae developed cataracts in both eyes around age 4 or so... at first we noticed some issues like loss of depth perception (she would either trip over things or try to make flying leaps over things.) As she adapted, we honestly couldn't tell any difference between her and her sighted companion. She did seem to spend more time listening/sniffing after losing her vision, and we would more often see her on tiptoes on her front feet with her nose up in the air, but that was really about it. Hadley, now age 4, also seems to be developing cataracts, but I don't anticipate she will need any special care either. I'm sure your piggie will be just fine after a short time of adjustment!

Thank you! So glad to hear other piggies who are just fine without their sight! Sounds like she’ll be just fine! (:

 

[thebiscuitpigs]

Betsy has cataracts. She just takes longer to cotton on to where treats are unless I put them under her nose, Dennis (the love of her life) tells her, she gets the scent or hears the excited voices of the others. When she has free roaming time (when the OH is not around) she follows a scent spore that she has laid down and goes round and round very happily.

Aw bless, I’m hoping Nancy will start doing the same for her (helping her finding treats etc.) to give her an extra helping hand!