Strange Eye Issue

[Nic bee]

Hi all, as usual this site with all the piggie owners is my first thought when I need some piggie advice. I will go to the vet if I should, I have a good piggie vet thankfully but not sure this warrants the stress of a trip out.
My pigs eye is a bit droopy, it's been like this a while and only recently have I started worrying it shouldn't be. One of his eyes looks normal and you can only see the black part but on his right eye, his lower lid droops a bit so you can see a bit of the white. I've attached a photo of the dodgy eye. He s had a big lymph abcess on this side a year ago which was operated on and no sign of it returning so I'm hoping it's nothing to do with that. There's no lump or anything.
He's nearly 3 years old and seems fine in himself, eating drinking ok etc..

 

[Wiebke]

Hi all, as usual this site with all the piggie owners is my first thought when I need some piggie advice. I will go to the vet if I should, I have a good piggie vet thankfully but not sure this warrants the stress of a trip out.
My pigs eye is a bit droopy, it's been like this a while and only recently have I started worrying it shouldn't be. One of his eyes looks normal and you can only see the black part but on his right eye, his lower lid droops a bit so you can see a bit of the white. I've attached a photo of the dodgy eye. HeView attachment 78146 s had a big lymph abcess on this side a year ago which was operated on and no sign of it returning so I'm hoping it's nothing to do with that. There's no lump or anything.
He's nearly 3 years old and seems fine in himself, eating drinking ok etc..

Hi! It looks like the beginnings of fatty or pea eye, which is a harmless, if slightly unsightly condition that is not uncommon in guinea pigs. It can start developing around this age. I have and have had several piggies with it.

If in doubt, please see a vet. Pea/fatty eye has been brought into connection with heart disease some years ago and we have had a spate of enquiries about that although in our experience on the forum this has not been borne out; none of the forum piggies seen for that purpose has ever been found to have an acute heart problem.
As fatty eye is generally more common in older guinea pigs as once they have it, they keep it, it is - if anything - more coincidental than linked and definitely more frequent than acute heart disease.

Here is a picture of my Tesni who is turning 7 years old next month and is doing very fine for her age! She started developing pea eye fairly early on, too.

 

[Nic bee]

Aww what a pretty piggie you have!
It does looks like that!
I'll be able to do some research now, thanks very very much! X

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

It has a tendency to appear in pigs who carry a bit of extra weight and can appear at any time.

Shouldn't really cause any problems, but just bear in mind that there is more opportunity for foreign bodies to get caught in the eye - hay, etc. - due to the gap. Keep a check on the exposed membrane, to make sure there is no inflammation. It has only ever happened with one of our piggies, who had ended up with a strand of hay behind her eye. Ouch!

 

[Nic bee]

Oh gosh! We'll keep checking on him, they live indoors so it's easy. He is a bit chubby so that makes sense.

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

Like I said, it's happened once, so don't be paranoid! It'll be quite obvious should it happen, so don't worry!

 

[Wiebke]

As long as the conjunctiva is normal looking, there is nothing you need to worry about; yours certainly doesn't look irritated or inflamed. Problems are rare.
So far I have never had any problems with fatty eye infections myself although I've had about 6-7 piggies with fatty eye, not in all cases weight related although some of them have been some of my heavier piggies. A couple of them have been (and actually still are especially at their advanced age of nearly 7 and 8 years) among my daintier piggies.

Just check the eye as part of your normal weekly health check as you would any normal eyes.

If you think your piggy is too chubby, here is the guide that deals with weight: The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight