Has my goo, got a cateract

[nickymills30]

I was playing with my trio of boys today, and noticed one of them has a glazed eye, can't explain it any other way really, a bit cloudy.

He;s happy, always trying to get out his cage, for a cuddly, the troubles is, i don't really know which one it is. There is gerry, fidget and karl. Now i know its not gerry, as he isn't as brave as the other 2, as ever time i open the cage karl and fidget want a cuddle, and its one of these that has the cloudy eye.

i know there is nothing a can do, just felt like sharing my bad news, sorry guys, but no one here understand me

[Cherpi]

Take both Karl and Fidget to the vets just to be sure, it won't cost anything because it's just a check up right? What's the point in chancing it?

[nickymills30]

unfortunately, a cheek up does cost money. My vet has told me, he doesn't know anything about goo's so will have a look around for a vet that does, but from what i;ve read, there isn't anything that can be done, i just need to keep an eye on it, to make sure he doesn't get any infections x

[smux]

"a bit cloudy"...cataracts are usually a strong dot of white in the middle of the eye with some cloudiness around it, although I think the beginnings of cataracts would start cloudy.

Before you take the guy to the vet, ask yourself whether it is new...is it something you've never seen before but could have been there or has it definitely appeared recently...also, how old is he? If you got him recently as a newly-weaned pup, they don't usually have cataracts from the start and it will start in their eyes as they grow older up to around the 3-4 month mark, I think (speaking from experience of Theresa and Damien who both came without cataracts and have them now, although memory is a bit fuzzy about this for some reason). If they're over 6 months and didn't have cataracts before, it might be worth getting their urine tested either yourself or by going to the vet. Cataracts that come on later in life are usually a sign of diabetes although not always, and most vets say that it isn't even worth testing for diabetes as there's no cure for it so all you can do is completely cut out sugary treats.

[nickymills30]

thanks smux, he is either 2 or 3 years old, depending on which one it is. he def didn't have it, when he came, but only noticed it this morning, and only when the light hit it.

i did think about diabeties, he def wouldn't have got it from mine, as i rarely give any of my animals shop bought treats, but they have things like oats, and shreddies. will see if i can get something, off line, to test his wee xx

[smux]

If it is only visible with light hitting it, it is probably something you couldn't see before but was there, there is very little to worry about. If something is clearly visible that wasn't clearly visible before, that's when it's time to worry. Having said that, you might have caught it very early, but that's only if he has diabetes. To test for it, there are a number of sticks you can buy which work on humans and will test for the same ketones and such in animal urine. This is a direct quote from an email to me from Chloe (Degutopia) around the time I got my guys: "Also you could consider testing them for diabetes using a product called Bayer Keto-diastix, to dip in the urine." and I remember looking around for these, with no luck, but drop the 'Bayer' and you'll find tons on ebay at shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=keto-diastix

Edit: I actually considered buying a pack of these and selling them individually cheaply here (for close to the price it cost, buyer pays return P&P) but never bothered buying them. No-one ever needs 50 sticks, well, except me and my plethora of degus :-)

[clairejason]

one of my rescue goos has a cloudy eye and i cant figure out if he can see from it or not although his other eye is fine, does this mean its a cataract he is two years old and i dont know wht he was being fed before but he doesnt have anything sugary here but i suppose this means it could be diabeties which i was hoping it wasnt bt he still seems healthy and is still boss man in his cage

[smux]

Cataracts are either a sign of diabetes or inbreeding (known as congenital cataracts, passed down from mother), usually the latter in degus that are well cared for otherwise...two of mine have them and neither of them seem bothered by it, I even think they can see around it although their vision might be blurry or gone directly where it is. If you want to test if he can see through it, hold a treat up to the side where his cataract is without letting it be seen by the other eye. Another (more efficient, more trustworthy but less fun for the degu...the treat method might fail if he smells its scent) method is to make a sudden movement with your hand on that side and see if he flinches or runs. Sounds cruel, but this is something you need to know if you are going to treat him as well as possible.

[puzzle29]

yeh. my degu has the same, he has it in both eyes and im quite worried. does anyone know if he will be okay if he is completely blind? he occasionaly bumps into things but is fine, btw hes 2 years old.

[nickymills30]

funnily enough (not that its funny), my goo with the cataracts, know appears to have it in the other eye. I also rescued a blind dog, and we just made sure we didn't move things around, and she was fine, so thats what i;m going to do with my goo. The only thing that does worry me, is he is in a large cage, i;m going to have to re-think the levels, so he doesn't fall. x

[puzzle29]

yeh mine seems fine just a bit more clumsy, oh well, i'll look after him as best I can and hopefully he'll live normally.

[smux]

The procedure is as Nicky said, just don't rearrange their cage often and they'll be fine if they're blind...always keep the food and water well filled and in the same place. It would also be a good idea to have the dust bath in there 24/7 so they know it's there rather than only knowing when you shake it for them to hear. However, cataracts do NOT mean total blindness, they do however mean a degree of loss of sight...degus can still see peripherally so with time they'll learn to view things around the cataract. This means their quality of life is lower but not as low as if they were actually blind, and other than stuff mentioned elsewhere (trying not to come up on their blind side, if it's just one, or no sudden movements if they have cataracts in both eyes) to take them into consideration there isn't much you should do. If they're not blind, there's no need to keep the cage exactly as it is.

Another thing if they ARE blind (and can be done if not, just it improves their quality of life if they are) is to exercise their remaining senses as best you can. Hide treats in their cage for them to find, give them tickles and pokes (obv. not forceful ones, just little nudges) when they're not expecting it, try new herbs and stuff on them (like Basil...I recently found out almost all of my guys like a bit of fresh basil) and make a game of it all.

[puzzle29]

thanks, is it true that I can partly cure a cataract by feeding them more hay, less treats, low calorie food etc ??

[Whizz]

Cataracts is basically a skin growing over the eye, I believe. You could probably prolong the process into having total cataracts, but it is likely to end up completely covering the eye so there probably isn't a way to 'cure' it.

My Grandad is developing cataracts, I know if humans that they can have it removed but obviously this would be possible to do on Degu. I also know that it isn't complete blindness, like Smux said, it's lack of vision - everything usually appears cloudy/misty to them.

[deguconvert]

Cataracts are a crystaline growth on the lens inside the eye. It is like fog where bright sunlight will blank everything to a bright impenatrable white. Light that is indirect and moderate will allow for the perception of shadows. Dark is just plain dark and in this instance they are truly blind.

[malteser60]

nickymills, do as smux says and buy some urine test sticks. Best way to test their pee is to pop the goo into a clean, plastic container and normally the first thing they'll do is pee in it to mark their teritory.

If it's diabetes there's not much you can do, especially as you're already giving them a good, sugar free diet. Unfortunately goos are predisposed to diabetes.

If it is congenital cataracts (which it may be if it's only in one eye, cataracts caused by diabetes will always affect both eyes) then there's not much you can do. Try not to move stuff in the cage much, but in all honesty goos are quite adaptable. When I got Nutmeg she was blind in both eyes (I was told they were congenital cataracts but it turns out to be diabetes as she now no longer is blind) but she was fine with it. She would do silly things like miss the shelf, and run into things all the time, but she didn't seem fazed by it. The only thing is she would be hesitant at times.

Let us know how it goes.