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Question About Red Eyed Guinea Pig

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king_ralph_sol

king_ralph_sol

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Hi everyone :)

I've had Guinea pigs for nearly a year now, and I've got 2 Lunkarya brothers. One is tri colour with dark eyes (he's a lot heavier than the other) and one is lilac and white with red eyes. (he's a lot skinner)

My partner said it occurred to him that, even though Guinea pigs don't have great eyesight, he thinks our red eyed one might be completely blind, because he doesn't eat greens unless they're literally put in front of him, and he seems to be a lot more skittish than the average Guinea pig.

Do red eyed Guineas have more a chance than being completely blind or is that just a common misconception?

Thanks :)

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I think that is a common misconception, lethal pigs have red eyes and can be blind but he doesn't look a lethal. He may just have poor eye sight. I have not noticed any of my red eyed pigs having issues. If you are worried you could get the vet to check for cataracts maybe?
 
His red eyes are related to his colouring and he has no more chance of being blind than any other piggy.

It won't make any difference to how you treat him but you can always get a vet to confirm it for you however it is hard to accurately check a piggies vision
 
helen105281 said:
I think that is a common misconception, lethal pigs have red eyes and can be blind but he doesn't look a lethal. He may just have poor eye sight. I have not noticed any of my red eyed pigs having issues. If you are worried you could get the vet to check for cataracts maybe?
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But is it a problem if they're blind other than being a bit more skittish? I've started separating them during eating times so the greedy one doesn't eat all of it lol
 
No not at all, they soon learn to accomodate. My Fuzzy has cataracts and charges about like a loony. Wiebke on here has a whole herd of pigs with cataracts.
 
They cope really well, often they've never known any different.

Easy things like keeping things like food bowl etc in the same places in the cage can be helpful to stop things getting confusing but usually they will just use their nose :)
 
MerryPip said:
They cope really well, often they've never known any different.

Easy things like keeping things like food bowl etc in the same places in the cage can be helpful to stop things getting confusing but usually they will just use their nose :)
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Oh I do that anyway out of OCD-ness lol. So if I just keep separating them during veg time I'm sure it'll be fine?
 
Defo misconseption ,
Red eyes have been a souce of concern to people for 100s of years
If l remember corectly it gos back to the day of witches and broomsticks
The dreded red eyed cat
 
i have absolutely no idea, but would trust the others' judgement..... just wanted to say he looks an absolute stunner :love::drool::luv::wub: no matter what colour his eyes are :luv:
totally gorgeous :nod::nod: xx
 
Piggies don't rely on eyesight so much, so it would more likely be a problem with his nose. Or he's like one of my boys and he's a bit of a scaredy pants. He'll only eat from my hand if I physically push it into his mouth. But, when he's in his cage he runs around like a loon and eats freely from his dish. He's a weirdo (like all pigs, haha)

I have noticed that my PEW (pink eyed white) piggy is more sensitive to sunlight and will squint if he ever stands in direct sunlight.
 
All my piggies are capable of standing ontop of a good pile of greens, chewing on the bar because they haven't got any veggies! Are they blind? No, just lazy and like being hand fed through the bars. Even if I spread their food across the cage they miss things. I wonder how they can miss a red piece of pepper on a blue fleece but they do! Then it gets hoovered up on the second sweep through! They seem to rely more on nose than sight, but the sense of smell only seems to draw them to the rough area, it doesn't seem to give them pinpoint accuracy. Eventually using the two senses and sometimes the third sense of touch they work out that they are stood on their food! :mal::D:eek::love::P
 
Having red versus dark eyes for a guinea pig is just like having blue versus brown eyes for a human... both are in the range of normal colors and neither is more likely to be blind. My pigs have had varying degrees of success in their ability to find food in a hurry without making fools of themselves... one is so savvy that she even finds things that I have deliberately put out of her reach. One of my others got so excited for treats that she would overrun them and had a terrible time finding anything. Both could see fine (as far as I could tell, at least!) but had really different personalities, and I suspect that, just like people, some guinea pigs are good at solving environmental problems and some guinea pigs are not!
 
Jaycey said:
Piggies don't rely on eyesight so much, so it would more likely be a problem with his nose. Or he's like one of my boys and he's a bit of a scaredy pants. He'll only eat from my hand if I physically push it into his mouth. But, when he's in his cage he runs around like a loon and eats freely from his dish. He's a weirdo (like all pigs, haha)

I have noticed that my PEW (pink eyed white) piggy is more sensitive to sunlight and will squint if he ever stands in direct sunlight.
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Interestingly! Sundae also squints in the sun far more than my other pigs do or did. I've always wondered if her eyes are more sensitive than the others. But then again, I'm not sure if it's due to the red eyes, since I also had red-eyed Frenzy who never was bothered by bright lights and never squinted in the sun.
 
A way you can test your piggie's for blindness is by firstly, holding them securely in front of you, so you are face to face with your little one, and so you can clearly see their eyes. Slowly, spin in a circle, still holding them out in front of yourself and watch their eyes, their eyes will move from side to side trying to keep up with your movement ( if they don't move there is a problem). I did this with a newly adopted 3 year old, as she stared a lot as if she was startled 24/7

One of my pigs has red eyes, and she is more squinty than the others, I just assumed they would be more sensitive.
Hope any of this helps!
 
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