HBF: dangerous?

[squeakly]

Hello there, Toby is 2 years and 4 months old and seems to have a case of heterotopic bone formation (HBF) in his right eye. Just wanted to know if I should be worried for his health and if he will need any extra care in the future as I can’t find much information about the condition online. He seems to be fine at the moment, no signs of pain or irritation. Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hello there, Toby is 2 years and 4 months old and seems to have a case of heterotopic bone formation (HBF) in his right eye. Just wanted to know if I should be worried for his health and if he will need any extra care in the future as I can’t find much information about the condition online. He seems to be fine at the moment, no signs of pain or irritation. Thanks

Hi and welcome

You may find more under 'osseous metaplasia'. It means that normal tissue is replaced by bone tissue in a ring around the eye.
It is not painful and there is nothing that can be done about it. The field of sight is a little more limited but your piggy will adapt just fine as they are not losing their sight. It is not all that uncommon in guinea pigs although it tends to be more common in older piggies. Yours seems to have a bit of a stronger genetic disposition if it is turning up in younger age.

Here is a bit more: Links - Eye Conditions - Guinea Lynx Records

 

[squeakly]

Hi and welcome

You may find more under 'osseous metaplasia'. It means that normal tissue is replaced by bone tissue in a ring around the eye.
It is not painful and there is nothing that can be done about it. The field of sight is a little more limited but your piggy will adapt just fine as they are not losing their sight. It is not all that uncommon in guinea pigs although it tends to be more common in older piggies. Yours seems to have a bit of a stronger genetic disposition if it is turning up in younger age.

Here is a bit more: Links - Eye Conditions - Guinea Lynx Records

Thanks for this information. He lives with his brother, George. Does this mean George is also at a higher risk of developing a disease if it is a genetic disposition, because unlike Toby he does not have any bone formation in his eye. Thanks

 

[alpacasqueak]

Toby’s gorgeous My Luigi has the same condition as Toby, he was also younger at 2 and a half - 3 (he’s around 4 and a half now, don’t know exactly) when he developed his in both eyes, not long after being diagnosed with cataracts the poor lad! I just keep a close eye on his but his eyes don’t seem to bother him at all, he’s still a crazy pig who zooms around despite two eye conditions! You can just make out the rings around the outside of his left eye here but he has them in both (sorry phone’s playing up with pics atm so not the best!)

Hope Toby isn’t bothered by his too

 

[alpacasqueak]

Just got a quick pic of his right eye so you can see that too, it’s not as bad as the left which has a full white circle around it.

A very happy chap with his wife!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for this information. He lives with his brother, George. Does this mean George is also at a higher risk of developing a disease if it is a genetic disposition, because unlike Toby he does not have any bone formation in his eye. Thanks

Not necessarily. There is a slightly higher chance but I wouldn't hold my breath.

And I would definitely not worry; it is a bit unsightly but it is not going to impact on your boys' health or quality of life even if it develops further. It's not a disease as such.

 

[squeakly]

Just got a quick pic of his right eye so you can see that too, it’s not as bad as the left which has a full white circle around it.
View attachment 214238View attachment 214239
A very happy chap with his wife!

They’re both lovely lovely . When I got Toby and his twin bro George, they did tell us they were partially blind but there wasn’t any bone tissue in their eyes back then, or at least we didn’t notice. I started to notice the odd shape in Toby’s eye earlier this year before his 2nd birthday and it ended up being 2 patches of bone that were forming. George does not have the bone formation unlike Toby, except from white in the bottom corner, although I think that is normal for pink eyed whites. But who knows, George could develop it later on because it is likely that Toby inherited it genetically from one of his parents and they are brothers. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that there is no alarm, and I have been told that it is likely genetic disposition where they may have a higher chance of getting a disease since it is nothing to do with old age, but they are partly Peruvian and they can live 12-14 years if cared for extra carefully which is always a good sign. Thanks for your help

 

[squeakly]

Not necessarily. There is a slightly higher chance but I wouldn't hold my breath.

And I would definitely not worry; it is a bit unsightly but it is not going to impact on your boys' health or quality of life even if it develops further. It's not a disease as such.

Okay, thanks again for your help.

 

[Wheekallweek]

My boy Larry had this too. You can see it around the front and top of his iris. It never caused him any issues, but then he only had the one eye and had very limited vision in it anyway bless him

 

[alpacasqueak]

They’re both lovely lovely . When I got Toby and his twin bro George, they did tell us they were partially blind but there wasn’t any bone tissue in their eyes back then, or at least we didn’t notice. I started to notice the odd shape in Toby’s eye earlier this year before his 2nd birthday and it ended up being 2 patches of bone that were forming. George does not have the bone formation unlike Toby, except from white in the bottom corner, although I think that is normal for pink eyed whites. But who knows, George could develop it later on because it is likely that Toby inherited it genetically from one of his parents and they are brothers. Anyway, I’m glad to hear that there is no alarm, and I have been told that it is likely genetic disposition where they may have a higher chance of getting a disease since it is nothing to do with old age, but they are partly Peruvian and they can live 12-14 years if cared for extra carefully which is always a good sign. Thanks for your help

Thank you
Try not to worry about it affecting George as he’s Toby’s brother, as said above by Wiebke there’s not a huge chance of him having it in the future. As it doesn’t really affect them, other than appearance which they couldn’t care less about of course, try not to stress about it too much, I really have found it causes no troubles with my lad at all. I just tell Luigi he’s extra extra special with his lovely unusual eyes, probably why he’s got such a big head and knows he’s blooming gorgeous (and got me wrapped around his little hairy paw)!
Happy to help