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Pea eye?

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Bubble64

Junior Guinea Pig
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I have 4 boars in 2 pairs. One of my boars is 4 years old and is called Jamie. I noticed that he seemes to have a white section underneath his right eye tonight. I haven't noticed this before and it just seemed to have appeared. I did some research and thought that it could be pea/fatty eye. I read that it is harmless but just wanted to confirm if that's true? I'm also not sure because the articles said that it should be a light pink colour but for Jamie it wad white. When he looked far down to eat his nuggets it went but he started eating his veg and I could see it again. This could be normal and I'm just overreacting but I'm just not really sure. I also read that it can happen due to piggies being overweight but I weight them on a daily basis and Jamie is 1250g and I'm pretty sure the normal weight range is 1000-1500 so that's normal right? So please
A) Is pea eye harmless?
B) Can pea eye be white and do you think he has it?
C) Do you know what could have cause it if he isnt overweight?
Thank you
 
Bubble64 said:
I have 4 boars in 2 pairs. One of my boars is 4 years old and is called Jamie. I noticed that he seemes to have a white section underneath his right eye tonight. I haven't noticed this before and it just seemed to have appeared. I did some research and thought that it could be pea/fatty eye. I read that it is harmless but just wanted to confirm if that's true? I'm also not sure because the articles said that it should be a light pink colour but for Jamie it wad white. When he looked far down to eat his nuggets it went but he started eating his veg and I could see it again. This could be normal and I'm just overreacting but I'm just not really sure. I also read that it can happen due to piggies being overweight but I weight them on a daily basis and Jamie is 1250g and I'm pretty sure the normal weight range is 1000-1500 so that's normal right? So please
A) Is pea eye harmless?
B) Can pea eye be white and do you think he has it?
C) Do you know what could have cause it if he isnt overweight?
Thank you
Click to expand...

Hi

Pea eye or fatty eye is the lower lid losing its tension and falling away from the eyeball, exposing healthy light pink conjunctiva. This always happens in the place where gravity pulls strongest - at the back of the eye.

It is generally an age related issue with a genetic component that is totally harmless that is not all that uncommon. It can develop on one eye but occasionally on both.

Here is a picture of my Tesni (2011-18) with a good example of it. She had it for about the lst three yeard of her life and never hd a problem with it.
IMG_6461_edited-1.jpg

If it is stark white, then you are most likely deling with the beginning osseous metaplasia, another fairly common and harmless age related issue where the normal tissue is replaced with bone tissue. This can eventually form a jagged ring around the eye tht may restrict the field of sight a little but it is not painful or treatable.

You can see the slightly jagged ring around Maelog's eye (ca. 2011-17). Because of his ruby eyes shining through, it is pinkish.
IMG_3300-1.webp


These and more common age related issues are discussed in this helpful link here: Caring for Older Piggies and Facing the End - A practical and supportive information collection
 
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