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Blue Eyed Pig With Misshapen Pupil.

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Jalene

Jalene

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I recently noticed my new guinea pig, Penny, has blue( and partially brown in one eye) eyes. Which is kinda cool, however she also has something strange going on with one of her pupils, it is like a piece is missing or didn't develop. I have seen this in Merle colored dogs but never guinea pigs is this normal? I'll post more pictures of her and her eyes in the picture thread, but I am curious about her pupil.
Thanks.20170410_153952.webp
 
I've never seen it in a guinea pig either Tiamolly, do you think she can see okay?
 
Poppy'sMum said:
It looks normal to me? Isn't the white speck just light reflecting in it?
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Yeah, the tiny white spot in the center of her pupil is a reflection of light, the white area around the iris is her sclera(she has big eyes) but to me it looks like the pupil itself is not rounded but a half circle, which is odd, I've never seen something like that before in a guinea pig. I can post a better picture of her pupil when I get back from running an errand.
 
Ok but I don't think it's anything to worry about, the eye is nice & clear :) I had a piggy with one blue eye & one brown one & her pupils were different, one sometimes looked irregular & not round :)
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Ok but I don't think it's anything to worry about, the eye is nice & clear :) I had a piggy with one blue eye & one brown one & her pupils were different, one sometimes looked irregular & not round :)
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Thank you for your reply, I'm happy to know it is probably nothing to worry about.
 
She doesn't seem to have any cloudiness which normally is indicative of blindness.
Might be an idea to pop her to the vet, sometimes if caught early, the sight can be saved. You must come back after you've seen the vet, be interesting to see what they say.
 
My newest pig has one brown eye and one blue- the pupil in the blue eye sometimes looks misshapen, but it depends on the angle you are looking at it from, which makes me suspect it's a bit of an optical illusion based on the curve of the eyeball itself. She does appear to see fine out of it. I suspect it's probably just something that is more noticeable against the lighter field of the blue iris.
 
Tiamolly123 said:
She doesn't seem to have any cloudiness which normally is indicative of blindness.
Might be an idea to pop her to the vet, sometimes if caught early, the sight can be saved. You must come back after you've seen the vet, be interesting to see what they say.
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I'll definitely get her checked out and tell you guys what the vet says.
 
@Jalene That's really interesting! I've never seen a piggy eye like that before. She looks beautiful and healthy in the photo so I don't think it's anything to worry about. Her eye looks very clear and bright.

I've seen pigs and had one myself whose iris changed shape over time. It never bothered him, and as sight isn't their leading sense I think they can cope very well with impaired vision.

If you ever take her to a vet it might be worth asking them about it, just out of interest.

For others, it's quite hard to see but if you zoom in on the photo the pupil isn't round, it's like a D shape that's slowly falling onto the curved part.
 
Freela said:
My newest pig has one brown eye and one blue- the pupil in the blue eye sometimes looks misshapen, but it depends on the angle you are looking at it from, which makes me suspect it's a bit of an optical illusion based on the curve of the eyeball itself. She does appear to see fine out of it. I suspect it's probably just something that is more noticeable against the lighter field of the blue iris.
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It's good to know there are other pigs with the same condition and that they are perfectly healthy. It puts me at ease, I plan on asking a vet about Penny's eye, maybe they can shed some light on the situation for both of us.
 
Jaycey said:
@Jalene That's really interesting! I've never seen a piggy eye like that before. She looks beautiful and healthy in the photo so I don't think it's anything to worry about. Her eye looks very clear and bright.

I've seen pigs and had one myself whose iris changed shape over time. It never bothered him, and as sight isn't their leading sense I think they can cope very well with impaired vision.

If you ever take her to a vet it might be worth asking them about it, just out of interest.

For others, it's quite hard to see but if you zoom in on the photo the pupil isn't round, it's like a D shape that's slowly falling onto the curved part.
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Thank you, she does seem very healthy, I might just be being paranoid, I've had a blind guinea pig before and I noticed it too late, so I'm a bit obsessive about guinea pig eyes I guess!
 
It's always best to check. Being observant is a great thing. And we all get to learn more about guinea pigs! :D
 
Here's one of Leela's blue eye (the other is brown.) Her pupil doesn't appear perfectly symmetrical either but, as I said, it seems to change a big based on the angle of viewing. Be sure to post an update when you get back, I'm curious! :)
17903924_10158473948410557_7539437607308044483_n.jpg
 
Freela said:
Here's one of Leela's blue eye (the other is brown.) Her pupil doesn't appear perfectly symmetrical either but, as I said, it seems to change a big based on the angle of viewing. Be sure to post an update when you get back, I'm curious! :)
17903924_10158473948410557_7539437607308044483_n.jpg
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She's beautiful! I do see how her pupil is shaped differently, I'll definitely let you know what's going on with Penelope's eye.
 
Well, the good news is Penelope isn't blind and doesn't have cancer! She does however have a congenital defect in both eyes but the defect is more apparent in her right eye. The vet said Penelope likely has PPM or Persistent Pupillary Membrane which is apparently a fetal membrane that supplies nutrients to the eyes while in utero, Penelope's didn't break down so it obscures parts of her pupils but she can still see out of the uncovered portions of her pupil which is great! The only way to fix this is surgery but the vet thinks this is completely unneeded, he thinks she'll get around just fine. @Freela maybe your guinea pig has the same thing
 
Jalene said:
Well, the good news is Penelope isn't blind and doesn't have cancer! She does however have a congenital defect in both eyes but the defect is more apparent in her right eye. The vet said Penelope likely has PPM or Persistent Pupillary Membrane which is apparently a fetal membrane that supplies nutrients to the eyes while in utero, Penelope's didn't break down so it obscures parts of her pupils but she can still see out of the uncovered portions of her pupil which is great! The only way to fix this is surgery but the vet thinks this is completely unneeded, he thinks she'll get around just fine. @Freela maybe your guinea pig has the same thing
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That is very interesting! I've never even heard of it! Maybe that is Leela too... I wonder if it's easier to notice on the blue-eyed pigs. I know I have had a hard time even seeing the pupil in my dark-eyed pigs, and even my red-eyed pigs tended to look all red unless they were in direct sunlight!
 
Freela said:
That is very interesting! I've never even heard of it! Maybe that is Leela too... I wonder if it's easier to notice on the blue-eyed pigs. I know I have had a hard time even seeing the pupil in my dark-eyed pigs, and even my red-eyed pigs tended to look all red unless they were in direct sunlight!
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I think you're right, it makes sense that the membrane would be easier to see on blue eyed pigs, since they have light eyes and dark visible pupils the membrane would have a greater contrast across the pupil and be more noticeable.
 
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