New pig- bulging eyes

[chouette]

Hi there! I just adopted a 1 year old guinea pig from a shelter. She is still getting settled with me; she's quarantining in a spacious C&C cage right now but will move meet my other pig, her potential cagemate, soon.

I am really surprised at her eyes- they bug out quite a bit, to the extent that you can see the whites of her eyes all the time. I thought at first this was purely a fear reaction, but it's been about a week with little change in appearance. Her eyes bulge evenly on both sides, so maybe this is just how they are? But she does seem to relax them more when she's in her hideout. I think she's super cute, so not worried about appearance at all- mostly I feel concerned that she is still extremely scared, or that her eyesight is impacted. She navigates her cage in a more disoriented way than my other pig and doesn't respond much to visual stimuli- mostly responds to sound.



I'm also worried that she hasn't drunk anything from her water bottle. I've changed the water multiple times and tried to move it to a few different places, also put in a bowl of water instead but the levels never go down. I've just been wetting down her veggies really well to make up for it. Not sure how much to press the water bottle issue with the new pig or if she just has her own quirks!

Thanks in advance for your thought!

 

[Siikibam]

Hi and Piggies will only drink what they need. So she may be having a few sips a day and that’s enough for her. Remember the veg also contains water.

I’m not too sure about the eyes. I know some piggies have more prominent eyes than others. If you’re worried you can always speak to the vet and see what they say.

You’re welcome to start a thread for your piggies in the guinea pig chat section.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there! I just adopted a 1 year old guinea pig from a shelter. She is still getting settled with me; she's quarantining in a spacious C&C cage right now but will move meet my other pig, her potential cagemate, soon.

I am really surprised at her eyes- they bug out quite a bit, to the extent that you can see the whites of her eyes all the time. I thought at first this was purely a fear reaction, but it's been about a week with little change in appearance. Her eyes bulge evenly on both sides, so maybe this is just how they are? But she does seem to relax them more when she's in her hideout. I think she's super cute, so not worried about appearance at all- mostly I feel concerned that she is still extremely scared, or that her eyesight is impacted. She navigates her cage in a more disoriented way than my other pig and doesn't respond much to visual stimuli- mostly responds to sound.

View attachment 144592

I'm also worried that she hasn't drunk anything from her water bottle. I've changed the water multiple times and tried to move it to a few different places, also put in a bowl of water instead but the levels never go down. I've just been wetting down her veggies really well to make up for it. Not sure how much to press the water bottle issue with the new pig or if she just has her own quirks!

Thanks in advance for your thought!

Hi!

How long have you had your little piggy?

Your piggy looks rather frightened; that is when the white of the eye is showing. Otherwise the eyes look normal; some are set more prominent than others, like some humans have more bulging eyes and others have very deep set ones.

Is she your only piggy? Please be aware that guinea pigs are group animals and feel extra lost in a new place. yours looks still young but has likely never had much in the way of friendly and caring human interaction or the safety of being with piggy companion and being able to learn from them/teach each other things that they would normally learn from the elders in their group.

Piggies will only drink if they are reall thirsty; the individual water intake varies massively from nothing to a bottle in a day. A bottle is generally much more used if carries the scent of other piggies and is therefore 'safe' because it is a learned behaviour. It also depends on how much veg you are feeding. Keep in mind that the mainstay of any diet is hay and veg and pellets are more in the way of a daily snack and not the main meals.

Please take the time to read these guides here:
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

All About Drinking And Bottles
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
All of these very helpful guides are part of our new owners guide collection, which specifically addresses all the areas that new owners struggle with and are designed to help them learn what is normal and what not.

 

[chouette]

Hi!

How long have you had your little piggy?

Your piggy looks rather frightened; that is when the white of the eye is showing. Otherwise the eyes look normal; some are set more prominent than others, like some humans have more bulging eyes and others have very deep set ones.

Is she your only piggy? Please be aware that guinea pigs are group animals and feel extra lost in a new place. yours looks still young but has likely never had much in the way of friendly and caring human interaction or the safety of being with piggy companion and being able to learn from them/teach each other things that they would normally learn from the elders in their group.

Piggies will only drink if they are reall thirsty; the individual water intake varies massively from nothing to a bottle in a day. A bottle is generally much more used if carries the scent of other piggies and is therefore 'safe' because it is a learned behaviour. It also depends on how much veg you are feeding. Keep in mind that the mainstay of any diet is hay and veg and pellets are more in the way of a daily snack and not the main meals.

Please take the time to read these guides here:
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

All About Drinking And Bottles
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
New guinea pigs: Sexing, vet checks&customer rights, URI, ringworm and parasites
All of these very helpful guides are part of our new owners guide collection, which specifically addresses all the areas that new owners struggle with and are designed to help them learn what is normal and what not.

Thank you so much for your reply and for these resources! Fern (subject of the post) is my new second pig, but is currently quarantining in another room and cage from my older pig, Kiki, as Fern just arrived from the shelter about a week ago and I wanted to be extra careful. I feel spoiled and a little unknowledgeable about new ownership because Kiki has always been such a happy, expressive pig, settled easily into routine, and generally had a really smooth transition to me. As a shelter pig Fern definitely had a rough go of it-- she came to the shelter pregnant and they adopted out her babies, but couldn't find someone for her until I came along a few months later. But I'm introducing them to each other this week, so hopefully it goes well and gives them both much-needed companionship. And maybe Kiki can teach Fern how to use her water bottle!

It definitely makes sense that Fern is simply afraid. She is definitely getting braver day by day and has been eating / pooping PLENTY so I thought her fear might have eased up- but I realize it will just take time and companionship. Thank you for your reassurance and the excellent resources- going to do more reading now!

 

[chouette]

Great news! Fern finally learned how to use her water bottle! It's very reassuring to hear the little sound of her drinking :-)

She is also getting braver, making more noises, and popcorning when she gets her veggie tray in the morning. It's so nice to watch her gradually come out of her shell. I think her big eyes are just part of who she is- she usually has some eye whites visible even when she's just puttering around.

Thank you both again for your help and reassurance!

 

[alpacasqueak]

My Jess (7) has always done it when she’s scared or a bit worried etc but she seems to do it when she’s excited these days too! Pops out quite a bit at times!

Trying her new tunnel last year! Don’t know if it’s overcompensating with that eye since she lost the other in October!

So glad your piggy’s settling in and getting braver

 

[Lady Kelly]

You could check with the shelter whether the vet examined her eyes when dealing with the pregnancy (if they had her vet checked of course) as this might give you a bit of reassurance too

 

[Bill & Ted]

My Ted has always had one eye that shows the white surround, it’s been checked several times by his vet and it’s just a body quirk. Ted is five years old and its not change in that time. Just monitor her eye and if it changes in any way seek examination from a vet

 

[chouette]

Love that this discussion turned into an appreciation thread for piggies with unique eyeballs! For posterity’s sake- I’ve now had Fern for nearly two years and can confirm her wide eyes are just one of her special quirks. She will wear her “bug eyes” when she is frightened, excited, and sometimes just relaxing. Our little herd has also grown to a group of three with the addition of a sweet silver agouti!

 

[YvonneBlue]

How lovely to see your piggies are all settled and happy together.

 

[Freela]

Awww... she looks like my Leela, who also has a red patch over one eye and white on the other side of her face. As a bonus, the eye on the white side is blue and the eye on the red side is brown for Leela!

Personally I think her eyes look okay... she looks a bit nervous which makes them more prominent and she has a narrower face, which could make her eyes appear bigger. Just like people, pigs have different facial structures that can make their eyes look slightly different.

I'm glad she's getting a good home after a rough start in a rescue! She's a lucky little piggie!