Blind Piggie Advice

[MollyB]

Morning all,

I rescued my first piggie yesterday! He's a boar that has to be kept alone as his very poor eyesight means he gets stressed when around other piggies. Meet Teddy:

Does anyone have any experience with helping to comfort a blind piggie? He can see shapes/movement, but he can't distinguish what it is. He's so jumpy I just want to do anything I can that might help

I'm happy yo leave him alone except for feeding if that's the better option, I was just wondering if anyone's had a similar pig experience that could also give me some pointers?

Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Give him time to settle in and get his bearings. Most blind guinea pigs actually do better with a carer companion, but it takes an experienced rescue to find a suitable mate. If you decide to go down that route, East Peckham Guinea Pig Rescue would be the best place for you, as they offer residential bonding at the rescue, so you come home with a companion only if there is success and the bondings can be done over the course of several days in order to keep the stress factor as minimal as possible and ensure a stable bond. Your boy has most likely been at the receiving end of some bullying, and is likely wary.

Here are lots of tips for settling in new guinea pigs; they also work for blind piggies. Use your voice to announce your presence, keep up a flow of gentle chatter and avoid any sudden movements. Visualising what you are about to do with a skittish piggy can also help.
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

Generally, guinea pigs with loss of eye sight/impaired vision (like oncoming cataracts) learn to compensate with their other senses (hearing, smell, touch). Once this has happened, you wouldn't know the difference. They can still free roam and use shallow ramps, and they can cope with moved furnishings, epsecially if you do not clean any hideys when you rearrange things.

You may find my story about my Mischief uplifting. She was suffering from very fast developing congenital cataracts, but learned to lead a normal life again, which included free roaming the house and the garden. she even learned to come back to the run just by following my voice telling her constantly where I was and whether she was on course or not, provided I stood next to the flap and the distance wasn't more than about 6-7 yards.
Turning a blind eye on mischief - another piggy story

 

[MollyB]

Hi and welcome!

Give him time to settle in and get his bearings. Most blind guinea pigs actually do better with a carer companion, but it takes an experienced rescue to find a suitable mate. If you decide to go down that route, East Peckham Guinea Pig Rescue would be the best place for you, as they offer residential bonding at the rescue, so you come home with a companion only if there is success and the bondings can be done over the course of several days in order to keep the stress factor as minimal as possible and ensure a stable bond. Your boy has most likely been at the receiving end of some bullying, and is likely wary.

Here are lots of tips for settling in new guinea pigs; they also work for blind piggies. Use your voice to announce your presence, keep up a flow of gentle chatter and avoid any sudden movements. Visualising what you are about to do with a skittish piggy can also help.
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

Generally, guinea pigs with loss of eye sight/impaired vision (like oncoming cataracts) learn to compensate with their other senses (hearing, smell, touch). Once this has happened, you wouldn't know the difference. They can still free roam and use shallow ramps, and they can cope with moved furnishings, epsecially if you do not clean any hideys when you rearrange things.

You may find my story about my Mischief uplifting. She was suffering from very fast developing congenital cataracts, but learned to lead a normal life again, which included free roaming the house and the garden. she even learned to come back to the run just by following my voice telling her constantly where I was and whether she was on course or not, provided I stood next to the flap and the distance wasn't more than about 6-7 yards.
Turning a blind eye on mischief - another piggy story

Thank you so much @Wiebke ! Her story is so perfect! Leave it to animals to accept and thrive with a new disability <3
I'll let him take his time to settle first, and I'll contact the Guinea Pig Rescue you recommended if he's comfortable enough to try meeting another piggie

 

[Wiebke]

Please take the time to read through our tips - including communicating via piggy body language, so you can make your boy feel welcome in a way that he instinctively understands and how to avoid predator behaviour. You can also find the contacts for the rescue etc. via our locator, which is included in the starter guide.

I have and have had a number of mildly to severely impacted cataract piggies over the years; and some have come here because of that. It is always harder for a single piggy with bad experiences, but once they realise that nobody is out for them, they will be very happy.
For a time I even had a dedicated cataract group; they have now all passed away from old age. Both Tegyd and Mali had lost their mates, but struggled to integrate with the rescue herds. Tegyd on left was about 2-3 years when she arrived and Mali (third from left) was 5 years. They became a very closely knit group. Mali lived to the ripe old age of 8 years and enjoyed zooming around by following her scent spoor until two days before her sudden death.

 

[MollyB]

Please take the time to read through our tips - including communicating via piggy body language, so you can make your boy feel welcome in a way that he instinctively understands and how to avoid predator behaviour. You can also find the contacts for the rescue etc. via our locator, which is included in the starter guide.

I have and have had a number of mildly to severely impacted cataract piggies over the years; and some have come here because of that. It is always harder for a single piggy with bad experiences, but once they realise that nobody is out for them, they will be very happy.
For a time I even had a dedicated cataract group; they have now all passed away from old age. Both Tegyd and Mali had lost their mates, but struggled to integrate with the rescue herds. Tegyd on left was about 2-3 years when she arrived and Mali (third from left) was 5 years. They became a very closely knit group.
View attachment 53255

Oh, how wonderful! I love that you had a little group of them; they must've been amazing to see interacting.
I've bookmarked the body language post, so I'll give that a thorough read this afternoon. Thanks so much for your help @Wiebke !

 

[Freela]

What a sweet boy! I have a mostly-blind piggie, Sundae. She could see fine in her early years, but at age 6.5 she has developed cataracts and can probably only see light and dark at this point. While her vision was declining, she went through a period of time where we saw some anxiety... she had a hard time judging distances and would be afraid to, for instance, go out the cage door with a little step for floor time. As she adjusted more, we really stopped seeing that and watching her now, you would not know that she was blind. She manages very well. The biggest difference I see at this point in terms of her behavior is that she obviously spends more time sniffing/listening- she will get up on her tiptoes of her front feet with her nose is the air periodically, particularly when she it outdoors or somewhere that isn't her usual home. I don't think that poor eyesight means your little man has to live alone... Sundae had a bonded companion when she went blind, but she has really benefited from having a companion. I think that Hadley, who was always the leader anyhow, acts as her eyes sometimes in that Sundae will follow her closely to get where she is going. Perhaps once he settles in, a mellow friend might actually help him out. Some changes we have made with Sundae now that she doesn't see is to make sure we talk to her to alert her to our presence before trying to pick her up. She can't see us and can startle easily if she didn't know we were there. My daughter also always lets Sundae sniff her hand before she pats her in the cage, again just so Sundae knows that someone's there and who it is. When she was in the earlier stages of losing her vision I helped her out more (i.e. putting treats right in front of her, lifting her out of the cage and back in for floor time), but honestly now that she has adjusted I don't need to do that anymore.

 

[MollyB]

What a sweet boy! I have a mostly-blind piggie, Sundae. She could see fine in her early years, but at age 6.5 she has developed cataracts and can probably only see light and dark at this point. While her vision was declining, she went through a period of time where we saw some anxiety... she had a hard time judging distances and would be afraid to, for instance, go out the cage door with a little step for floor time. As she adjusted more, we really stopped seeing that and watching her now, you would not know that she was blind. She manages very well. The biggest difference I see at this point in terms of her behavior is that she obviously spends more time sniffing/listening- she will get up on her tiptoes of her front feet with her nose is the air periodically, particularly when she it outdoors or somewhere that isn't her usual home. I don't think that poor eyesight means your little man has to live alone... Sundae had a bonded companion when she went blind, but she has really benefited from having a companion. I think that Hadley, who was always the leader anyhow, acts as her eyes sometimes in that Sundae will follow her closely to get where she is going. Perhaps once he settles in, a mellow friend might actually help him out. Some changes we have made with Sundae now that she doesn't see is to make sure we talk to her to alert her to our presence before trying to pick her up. She can't see us and can startle easily if she didn't know we were there. My daughter also always lets Sundae sniff her hand before she pats her in the cage, again just so Sundae knows that someone's there and who it is. When she was in the earlier stages of losing her vision I helped her out more (i.e. putting treats right in front of her, lifting her out of the cage and back in for floor time), but honestly now that she has adjusted I don't need to do that anymore.

Thank you @Freela ! I really appreciate your experience, it's quite comforting to know he's gonna be a happy pig even if he can't see
He's doing a lot of sniffing, he looks like he's 'head-banging' sometimes, which I hope is normal?
I'll definitely consider getting him a friend. Once he's settled and I've extended his hutch more, I'll think about introducing him to another buddy, maybe a neutered lady friend if he's lucky