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how can you tell in a piggie is blind?

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Pepperdog

Pepperdog

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I let the guys out the front of the run for a short time before putting them back in the hutch and sat in their with them (this is the puppy pen section) and watched them nibble the long grass and run about. However when I watched crystal she bumped into the pet carrier I put in so they could run in and put of it, as in she went to go inside and caught her nose on the front lip. And when she was nibbling the grass her eyes looked distant unlike fudge, minty and flash (who all have dark eyes) they always look like they are watching me.

Crystal is the most vocal of the whole gang and when I cuddle her she is croaking away at me - not panicing or anything, she also flinches when I touch her unlike all the others who accept my touch - even fudge the fidget, minty even closes her eyes now.

It could just be that she is a more vocal piggie, and that she is still not 100% happy with me touching her, but happy to be in my arms - after all I have only had them 4 weeks.

My normal technique is to wave a finger at various distances from their eyes to check blinking reaction, she didnt respond till I was close to her eye, but then she could have seen it and just not reacted. She does run from me when I catch her and she finds food easily enough, but it would explain why she was resistant to the ramp at first other than being a little less brave than I thought or the fact that she is happy to be out and about exploring - because she cannot see me unless she hears me or the others do.

Sorry waffling :red I just am not sure as it could be she is very trusting and clumsy, a bit like me :))
 
i have no idea. is she able to eat and drink effectively (like she can find what she needs to consume to survive)? i would suggest a trip to the vet, since there really is no way to find out other way. kinda sounds like it though...
 
She could be simply very short sighted and anything any distance away is too blurry. Blind guinea pigs rely on others to find food - listening for the eating noises - and also their excellent sense of smell. My piggie who has cataracts will snuff the air by lifting her nose up high and partly opening her mouth to get the smell as well as possible.

If she does have sight problems then she should still be absolutely fine. Try to avoid changing anything around in the cage as she will remember where things are quite well. Also watch for possible problems in the run and just be a bit patient with her. She may be slow to realise there are treats, or food, or that you are there. Use talking all the time whenever you are near her to help her realise it's you!

If she still wanders into things then do please take her to the vets as a sight problem can be related to other medical problems. The failing of vision in my little old piggie has been gradual and obvious. I think I would check with a vet to make sure there was no infection or further problems (eg balance) with a new piggie who had sight difficulties.
 
I think a trip to the vet would be a good idea, just to clarify the situation. The sooner the better, deffinately, for your peace of her mind and your guinea pigs comfort!


Untill you arrange a vets appointment, make sure the one you think may be blind has easy access to food. Mostly, guinea pigs have great sense of smell so she should be able to find food okay, but make sure that she's getting enough and that the others arent scoffing it all before she finds it?

I had a blind piggie once (rescued, he was allready blind). He seemed to be very happy, and very vocal! I just had to make sure there were no hazards that he might have walked into over or off of, and that food was allways easy for him to sniff out.
Untill you get to the vet, make sure there's nothing sharp (Ie you mentioned she caught her nose on the lip of the carrier) that she might bumble into and cut herself on.

But, your piggie may just be a weirdo :D And there may be nothing wrong with her! I hope that she's okay, anyway! Good luck at the vets, please let us know what's up.
 
Bill and Ted (the lethal boys) are blind but it doesn't seem to be any great handicap to them. When they are put into a different situation, like when I put them out in the run, they walk around with their noses to the ground as if they are sniffing their way around and keep going until their whiskers touch the edge of the run. In no time at all they have familiarised themselves with everything and then dash around like any other guinea pig. They have no difficulty locating food.
 
furryfriends said:
Bill and Ted (the lethal boys) are blind but it doesn't seem to be any great handicap to them. When they are put into a different situation, like when I put them out in the run, they walk around with their noses to the ground as if they are sniffing their way around and keep going until their whiskers touch the edge of the run. In no time at all they have familiarised themselves with everything and then dash around like any other guinea pig. They have no difficulty locating food.
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Thankyou for saying that. I was on a gp forum once where someone shouted at me for having a blind piggie, and called me a 'monster' for not having the 'poor animal' put down!

You wouldnt put down a human for being blind, so why a pig, was what I thought!


Pepperdog, sorry, have you not noticed this problem before today? I'm wondering if maybe it could be some form of Diabetes? Have you noticed any other weird kind of behaviour? Is your piggie drinking excessively? And um sorry, what does her poo look like? Does she seem normal in other ways?

A vet would be a good idea just to rule out anything serious!
 
today is the only day I noticed her clumsyness and I am probably worrying about absolutely nothing as she is by the most part seemingly sighted. But there was something really creepy about her eyes when I was in the run with them, like she wasnt quite at home behind them - she has blue tinge to her eyes so it might just be I am thinking about wall eyes that are related to blindness, they are not the same blue as wall eyes, its a beautiful royal blue tinge.

Of course being a rex her whiskers are curly so it might just be that she doesnt have as much spacial awarness as the others with their straight whiskers and she was running about perfectly happily in the run - the first time in that position and she manages to search out the tastiest treats from the veg plate.

I wondered if she is a little short sighted perhaps or just clumsy. I will pop her along to the vets on my next day off and see what they think.
 
I forgot to update :red

Crystal is absolutely fine, clean bill of health and hasnt shown any more signs of being blind or short sighted - infact earlier on she was running about like a loon and jumping ontop of the hide box in the downstairs (which is an old showbox for them to hide while they eat veggies). She is just a little clumsy sometimes rolleyes:))
 
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