Suddenly Blind

[adelhide]

My guinea pig Wicca the destroyer seems to have gone blind, I noticed white in her eyes start to develop about a week and a half ago and it now covers pretty much her whole eye. she is eating and drinking like normal, and seems to get along with her companion professor turtle like usual. I just worry about it's sudden onset, is this normal?
Turtle has no white in her eyes and is acting normal.

 

[*kate*]

Could it be an ulcer from a hay poke?

Personally, I would get her checked out by a vet

 

[Adelle]

Definately have her checked by a vet for any eye injuries sooner rather than later.

All the best

 

[Wiebke]

My guinea pig Wicca the destroyer seems to have gone blind, I noticed white in her eyes start to develop about a week and a half ago and it now covers pretty much her whole eye. she is eating and drinking like normal, and seems to get along with her companion professor turtle like usual. I just worry about it's sudden onset, is this normal?
Turtle has no white in her eyes and is acting normal.

Hi! Please see a vet, especially if the white is on the surface of the eye. In this case, it is an ulcer from an injury and requires prompt vet care. Always see a vet promptly over an eye issue, as any injuries can deteriorate very quickly.

Cataracts and nuclear sclerosis (where the lens goes cloudy evenly) can come on very quickly in some cases.

 

[sport_billy]

Any news? x

 

[adelhide]

one issue is that the only vet we can get to has no idea about guinea pigs. all other vets are more than an hour away. i will try to make an appointment as soon as i can but I'm pretty sure he knows less medically about cavys then i do.

 

[Wiebke]

one issue is that the only vet we can get to has no idea about guinea pigs. all other vets are more than an hour away. i will try to make an appointment as soon as i can but I'm pretty sure he knows less medically about cavys then i do.

ANY vet should still be able to tell an eye ulcer from a cataract and to prescribe suitable eye drops/gel if it is an injury! Make sure that your vet is not using anything that contains penicillin.

Not treating an injury may result in losing an eye.

 

[Freela]

I would query an injury if it progressed that fast. One of my pigs has cataracts and is essentially blind, but she was noticeably unable to see long before we noticed any whiteness of the eyes (and even now, when she has been losing her sight for over a year, we really only see the cataract in bright light.) Even a doctor who isn't experienced in guinea pigs should be able to diagnose an eye injury, as they look pretty much the same as an eye injury in any animal. Hope this helps!

 

[tabelmabel]

My benson's eye went cloudy a couple of years back and i took him to my local vet (who is just a farm vet and cetainly not specialised in pigs) the cloudiness was from an injury and at that time the vet didn't know if the eye could be saved (i mean the sight in the eye)

However, a few applications of eye ointment later (ie a few days later) the cloudiness cleared away and his eye returned to complete normal!

So - as others have said, a vet visit is essential. Maybe some ointment is all that's needed

 

[adelhide]

Just took Wicca to the vet, and it's just sudden onset cataracts, most likely due to inbreeding. otherwise she is very healthy, and actually seems a lot calmer and happier now she is blind.

 

[Freela]

Just took Wicca to the vet, and it's just sudden onset cataracts, most likely due to inbreeding. otherwise she is very healthy, and actually seems a lot calmer and happier now she is blind.

I'm glad that's all it is! One of my pigs has cataracts and is pretty much blind now... she was a little anxious when the process first started but has adapted really well and does all her normal guinea pig stuff!

 

[Guinea Slave]

I ended up with the blind piggy sadly and they cope incredibly well. Like Freela's piggy, she was a little anxious to start with but settled very quickly and unless you knew her well you would never have known. Their whiskers seem to help them a lot and their eyesight is not great to start with so I guess that helps. She did have a friend who helped her a lot and I just made sure that the cage layout stayed the same. She also was bizarrely more confident and calm when she went blind. However, the one thing I did not do was introduce any new piggies as I knew this would really upset her (she was an anxious type around new piggies anyway).

 

[Wiebke]

Just took Wicca to the vet, and it's just sudden onset cataracts, most likely due to inbreeding. otherwise she is very healthy, and actually seems a lot calmer and happier now she is blind.

I am very relieved that it is not an injury. Cataracts can come on very quickly. The transition phase is the most difficult before piggies learn to compensate with their other senses. Make sure that you announce your presence and that you are very careful when waking up a sleeping piggy - they hate being surprised. Otherwise, just let have their normal life. You may have to adapt any steep ramps; shallow ones with a surface that retains smells well they can still cope with well.
Here is my Mischief's story, if that is any help to you. I have and have had a number of guinea pigs with either congenital (young age onset due to a genital disposition) or the more common old age ones. They cope well and still enjoy roaming and lawn time.
Turning a blind eye on mischief - another piggy story