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blind guinea pig

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lily_n_dori

lily_n_dori

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hello everyone,
i just bought a baby female guinea pig as a companion for my other female but my new one is blind, any ideas of special treatment needed? thanks.
 
Guinea pigs can't see that well to start with. So, you shouldn't have too many problems. You may learn some things as you go. However, because your piggy can't see he/she will probably be more nervous about noises and being picked up, etc.. Try to talk to him/her when walking in a room so he/she knows it is you and all is ok. Avoid loud noises. Always support him/her well when picking him/her up.
 
Talk to Anna at the Wheek and Squeek rescue - she has experience of blind piggies I think
 
welcome to the forums from us in oz :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: am sure if your piggy can't see her other senses will be better than normal. talk to her and let her know your coming, even when your sitting there and she is in her cage just talk to yourself so she gets use to the sound of your voice. try and have the cage in a room you spend a lot of time in so she can get use to the way you smell. sending hugs and good vibes :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
My francis has catarrachs and as limited sight But BIG attitude!
try to keep things in the same place when cleaning out hutches and cages
As LyndsayRDH says keep noise levels down and chat to them when in the room
are you sure its blindness and nothing nasty lurking (tumours etc?)
Other wise she should be fine! give her tiime she will get used to things and you!
 
Hi, some guineas are born with hereditary cataracts.Also I believe there is a virus which can cause it, Make sure it can find the water bottle as that can be a problem but otherwise it should cope as long as your other piggie does not pick on it.It may have to be separated.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum from us in OZ :)
I have a friend who's piggie is blind and she is turning 6 real soon :smitten:, as everyone has said keep things in the same place and chat to her constantly so she's reassured :smitten:
All the best with your little piggy i'm sure she'll be fine, i'd still take her for a check up as Ron said, it will ease your mind as well O0
Hope to chat to you soon :) :)
 
Have you considered going to a rescue centre instead of buying a GP?


Anders :)
 
she probaly did andersons...but not everyone has a rescue centre close to them.. :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
we in south oz don't have rescue centres, so we have to buy our piggies from a pet shop or a breeder. people in south oz don't even take their piggies or bunnies to the vet
:tickedoff: :tickedoff: :tickedoff: hoping your piggy gets use to her new cage, home and new mummy. give her a hug from us :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
One of my boys is blind and he is the friendliest of all of my 6. Movement (slow) attracts his interest, he always comes to a wiggled finger, but I don't move anything around in his cage because if I do he tends to run into when he does his zoomies round the cage. I also learned the hard way not to remove his ramp to keep him in his upstairs while I cleaned the downstairs, he didn't realise it was gone and fell out of his hay loft, thank goodness it wasn't far and he was ok.

My advice, she probably won't need anything special apart from always announance your presence by talking and don't move their cage arount too much.

I'm sure she'll be fine. :)
 
thanks to everyone for your replys i got my first gp from a rescue centre but one near me had none so i found lily and had to have her! Dori absolutely loves her too constantly cleaning her and protecting her when my cat walks near the run!

I'm gonna get lily checked out just in case its something serious but fingers crossed shes ok. i read up on it on the net and her breed is a 'lethal'
 
Keep talking to the piggy when you are nearby..... pick her up gently and pat her and talk to her.
When cleaning the hutch, keep everything in the same position. I know the other piggy might like some changes but for the blind one these changes are "outch" because she'll run into it.
Call her when you give the food -- she'll follow your voice (with time).'
 
i dont know what breed she is to be honest. shes very happy but I'm leaving her to settle in a bit before i start picking her up.
 
One of my piggies is blind. He seems to do very well moving round his cage and can find carrots (his favourite!) quicker than the other guinea pig he lives with. I move his toys around all the time and it doesn't phase him at all. I do make sure that I talk to him and make sure he knows I'm there before I pick him up as I have accidentally startled him a few times when I've gone to pick him up. I think you'll find that if your blind piggie is housed with another piggie, this will help the blind one settle in a lot and will probably follow round the sighted pig to start with. I think it also reassures them that the other pig can alert them if there is any danger.
 
this is Dori in her favourite tunnel

CIMG0434.jpg


and thid is Lily and Dori when they first met

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Two cute piggies!
I don't know about guinea pigs But in some animals arent pink eyes more likely to go blind as no or little protection from UV rays etc?
 
yes i believe so. I'm just very glad that i bought her rather than a young child having her as i believe she may have got very stressedout and died. her and dori are very happy and chatter to each other alot. hoping to take her to the vets next week when i get paid.

can u please give me some ideas for sum yummy treats for my piggies?

x
 
lily_n_dori said:
i read up on it on the net and her breed is a 'lethal'
Click to expand...

Am I reading this correctly ? You were sold a 'lethal' (micropthalmic white)?
 
i believe that is what she is... not been comfirmed yet as i havent been to vets as yet. is this a big problem? she is just for a companion for dori not for breeding.
 
I hope she isn't a lethal. Is she all white? Problems that I know with lethals are blindness, teeth problems (falling out) and the obvious lack of hair colour.

Sadly most lethals don't live too long and most pass over after birth. A lethal in my opinion is a huge commitment, many vet trips, syringe feeding etc etc. Perhaps research it online there is info out there.

Finally, are you sure she is blind? Good luck, hope all turns out ok. x
 
In the picture her eyes look small – is she just looking away from the camera or are her eyes much smaller than your other pig’s eyes. Have a look at her teeth – they are usually crooked or may be missing – check that she has a neat, level pair of top and bottom teeth.

They are referred to as ‘lethals’ as they have a genetic problem which means that they do not usually survive. Two breeds are known to have these ‘lethal genes’; Dalmations and Roans.

For genetic reasons, two Dalmations (or Roans) mated together have a 25% chance of producing one of these babies. They would not naturally survive (occasionally they have more problems than you can actually see, such as digestive problems) and, as SunshineAndTwinkle said, it could mean a lot of vets bills.
IF it is a ‘lethal’ – and hopefully it is not (it could just be a perfectly normal Pink Eyed White) it is extremely naughty of a pet shop or breeder to have sold it to you >:(.

Let’s first establish whether or not it is a ‘lethal’ - a good clear picture of it’s face and teeth will probably confirm it. IF it is, I really think that you should be going back to the pet shop/breeder (I’m sure that people on here will give you some help about what to say etc)
Are you in UK?
 
her eye are quite small but then she is alot younger than my other one? to be honest I'm not that knowledgeable with g'pigs ive had alot of them but never had any problems. I'm not bothered about vets bills and stuff as long as she is happy :)

she eats and drinks just like my other piggie and appears to hve no other problems other than her bad eye sight/blindness.

i called the pet shop the day after i bought her to tell them she was blind if she is a lethal i will go bk and tell them but I'm not gonna give her up because of it coz dori loves her.
 
She's beautiful; both your pigs are. She is so lucky to be in a lovely home with you and Dori.
 
here are some more pics of lily taken a minute ago so you can see her eyes better.

CIMG0569.jpg


CIMG0564.jpg


CIMG0591.jpg


CIMG0593.jpg


CIMG0581.jpg
 
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