Fatty eye?

[Boris_Poppy_Poppet]

Hi, I have recently adopted our New Guinea pig poppy, when she came to us one of her eyes seemed dropped at the bottom. This has become more noticeable for the past few days and I’m not too sure if this is fatty eye/ pea eye. She came to us underweight so I’m not sure if this would be from obesity (this seems unlikely). I wasn’t sure if I needed to take her to our vets in case this was conjunctivitis or any other eye infection, she is eating well and it doesn’t seem to bother her. Does anyone know what this may be or have any advice?

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

To me it just looks like fatty eye, which a genetic condition and not a result of being overweight but if you are worried it is always best to see a vet to be sure.

 

[Boris_Poppy_Poppet]

To me it just looks like fatty eye, which a genetic condition and not a result of being overweight but if you are worried it is always best to see a vet to be sure.

Thank you, she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it and has had it since I’ve adopted her I’m going to keep an eye on her and if anything changes I think I will take her to our vet

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I looks like fatty eye to me, which has nothing to with overweight; just with a genetic disposition. It is simply the lower lid losing its tightness and falling away from the eye. The 'fatty' bit is just normal healthy conjunctiva; the name for this condition can be unfortunately misleading. It's nothing you can do about and it is harmless. it doesn't impact on longevity with a number of oldies of mine living to a very good age with this condition.

If you worry about overweight, please check your piggies around the ribcage for their 'heft' or BMI. If you can just feel the ribs, your piggies are a healthy weight; if you cannot feel the ribs at all, then they are overweight and if you can feel every single rib, they are underweight.
This hands-on check is important because the once weekly life-long weigh-in on your kitchen scales can only show you weight changes; crucially, what it doesn't tell you is whether the weight is in the right ball park for your individual piggies in the first place. 'Average weight' is an arbritrary human concept that includes only about 50% of all piggies. This does not mean that the other half are not normal or healthy, they are mostly just smaller or larger. An overweight smaller piggy can easily check out as 'normal', for instance. A non-standard body size/naturaly weight range doesn't impact on how long your piggies will live; overweight however can shorten a life span.

For more important in-depth information about weight checks/life long health monitoring, checking for the BMI and how weight changes naturally over a life time, you will find our weight guide helpful: Weight - Monitoring and Management

 

[Boris_Poppy_Poppet]

Hi and welcome

I looks like fatty eye to me, which has nothing to with overweight; just with a genetic disposition. It is simply the lower lid losing its tightness and falling away from the eye. The 'fatty' bit is just normal healthy conjunctiva; the name for this condition can be unfortunately misleading. It's nothing you can do about and it is harmless. it doesn't impact on longevity with a number of oldies of mine living to a very good age with this condition.

If you worry about overweight, please check your piggies around the ribcage for their 'heft' or BMI. If you can just feel the ribs, your piggies are a healthy weight; if you cannot feel the ribs, then they are overweight and if you can feel every single rib, they are underweight.
This hands-on check is important because the once weekly life-long weigh-in on your kitchen scales can only show you weight changes; crucially, what it doesn't tell you is whether the weight is in the right ball park for your individual piggies in the first place. 'Average weight' is an arbritrary human concept that includes only about 50% of all piggies. This does not mean that the other half are not normal or healthy, they are just smaller or larger. An overweight smaller piggy can easily check out as overweight, for instance. A non-standard body size/naturaly weight range doesn't impact on how long your piggies will live; overweight however can shorten a life span.

For more important information about weight checks/life long health monitoring, checking for the BMI and how weight changes naturally over a life time, you will find our weight guide helpful: Weight - Monitoring and Management

Thank you, this makes me feel much better about her, I originally thought it was to do with obesity or genetics from a post I have read about before (not on this site though), when I adopted her she was very underweight from her previous owners, so I have been helping her to slowly put her weight back on and she is doing much better now. I do keep monitoring her weight to ensure she is not overweight or underweight, so this is very helpful to know thank you

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you, this makes me feel much better about her, I originally thought it was to do with obesity or genetics from a post I have read about before (not on this site though), when I adopted her she was very underweight from her previous owners, so I have been helping her to slowly put her weight back on and she is doing much better now. I do keep monitoring her weight to ensure she is not overweight or underweight, so this is very helpful to know thank you

You are aiming at a healthy weight/size ratio ('heft'/BMI), which your piggy should eventually achieve on a good normal diet. Then just keep going once you are in the right ball park.

A good hay based diet is - apart from the weekly health monitoring with a weigh-in and body check - your other cornerstone for boosting health and longevity; it can make quite a difference even for piggies from a neglect background if they do not carry a genetic time bomb. Quite a few of my own adoptees from a bad background have still managed to live a normal or long life span (6-8 years); including a few with with fatty eye in the latter group. Fatty eye is not all that uncommon in older piggies but it can sometimes make an appearance in younger years.