Severe cataracts

[maddy4moos]

Hi,

My Degu (Brain) has Sever Cataracts... and I'm getting increasingly concerned about him.

When we first got him he already had the cataracts but he always stayed in his (rather small) cage. he is also the higher in the pecking order of our two Degus... so we at first thought that we coped with them really well.

However, now we are not so sure - after getting to know them we have noticed that he is rather clumsy and when we let them out we have seen him walk into things a couple of times (such as today he walked into the wall) We have tried to leave the room in a way where he can get used to it and he has learnt how to get back to his cage and back in, and he also knows where his sand box is. but we are worried that we we do eventually have to move things he is going to get very confused.

also we wanted to move around his cage and put in more levels etc - but we dare not in case he tries to jump for a level that he thinks is there - but then isn't

When we give him food and stuff we have started clicking our fingers so he associates that noise with food... as we noticed that unless we put the food right under his nose he didn't know it was there unless he heard Pinky eating his food and then they have a mini fight. It seems to be working sometimes - but then other times it just doesn't... maybe he's just being ignorant? suggestions?

Also is there absolutely nothing that can be done for his eyes? we are pretty sure it was caused by the wrong diet (the previous owner was feeding them sugary hamster treats and guinea pig food with no straw available at all)

[deguconvert]

You haven't had them for very long yet, and it could take a while to undo some of the effects of the bad diet. Some effects might not be reservable, sadly. However, I do hope that there will eventually be evident improvements in his eyesight etc. Cataracts are very hard to impossible to treat in degus because of their small size. On top of that, I suspect there really isn't a lot of information available about cataracts in small animals or their treatment. For now, keep the diet good, if you can stand it, keep the cage and the room as they are, and keep and eye on Brain. You might want to weigh him on a weekly basis to make sure that his weight is staying consistant. This in itself will at least let you know that he is staying well. If you see him starting to lose, and lose rapidly, you need to take him to your vet quickly.

[maddy4moos]

I will definatly keep an eye on him - and will invest in some scales

We have got them a new cage - and will make sure the transaction is as easy and degu friendly as possible - we are taking the precaution of lining the edges of the levels with a peice of wood - just to make sure he defiantly knows where the edge is. we are not going to take any risks with him - he has already stolen our hearts