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Post by puzzle29 on Jan 30, 2011 21:31:44 GMT
my degu scribble had cataracts in both his eyes bless him, and has had them for 3 months. i have stopped feeding him fatty treats as they are diabetic cataracts, and he seems a lot better. he used to run into stuff, and fall off levels in the cage, but now he's fine, and when I look in his eyes in one of them i can't even see the cataract anymore...
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Post by deguconvert on Jan 30, 2011 21:39:22 GMT
This has been observed before in other degus. I don't know why they can be reversed, but they do seem to disappear! So . . . congratulations! You are obviously doing something right! Keep it up!
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Post by nickymills30 on Jan 31, 2011 6:58:49 GMT
my goo must have congenital cataracts, as i don't feed my lot any fatty treats. He is fine in himself, even tells the others where to go at feeding time lol.
Glad your little goo is betterxx
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Post by puzzle29 on Feb 2, 2011 17:21:51 GMT
thanks guys you really helped I wish the best for you and your goos xx
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Post by malteser60 on Feb 3, 2011 16:42:35 GMT
puzzle29, when I got my degus one of them had cataracts in both eyes, so she was doing what yours was doing - i.e. falling off shelves, etc. Since being with me, and on a strict fat-free, sugar free diet, her cataracts are practically gone. You can still see them a bit in certain lights, but she's now a happy degu that no longer runs into things.
If the cataracts have disappeared then they definitely are diabetes-related cataracts. A 'sugar cataract', is caused by poor blood sugar control, whereby glucose (sugar) is broken down into sorbitol and accumulates in the lens of the eye. Sorbitol breaks down very slowy and atracts lots of water thus the lens gets damaged. This damage is reversible once sugar control is regained, all the sorbitol accumulated in the eye is broken down, and the retained water is no longer retained cause the sorbitol has been broken down.
Hope this makes sense.
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Post by malteser60 on Feb 3, 2011 21:16:48 GMT
Seeing as we're making minor points, if cataracts caught in time and sugar reduced then damage is reversible. If left for too long then yes, damage is not reversible. As for what is too long, well, how long is a piece of string!
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Post by puzzle29 on Feb 4, 2011 22:06:09 GMT
thanks so much for the help guys soz i keep posting about cataracts but I'm very protective of my babies his eyes seem alot better, and you can hardly see the cataracts now
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Post by malteser60 on Feb 6, 2011 12:59:03 GMT
That's brilliant news. Just keep doing what you're doing
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Post by queenie on Mar 8, 2011 11:07:58 GMT
Splinter has quite a bad cataract in his left eye, and Ralph has on in his right, but this morning they are tiny, so much smaller than before... I don't get it! I thought they inherited them, as I don't feed any treats with sugar in :S confused!
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Post by queenie on Mar 8, 2011 13:34:44 GMT
it was amazingly sunny this morning, maybe his pupils were too small to see it... you'd think I'd know more about this, considering I've worked in an opticians for all my life! haha
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