stumpy has cataracts :(

[nuttz]

as i was feeding all my lovely goos some yummy pumpkin seeds on saturday, i noticed stumpy's eyes were rather cloudy, at first i thought it was the reflection of the sun in his eyes but after looking closer i realized this was not the case and it appears that stumpy has cataracts
also, as i was feeding the seeds through the mesh, he kept going too far right, or too far left, it seemed as though he couldnt see that clearly?
ive never noticed anything wrong with his eyes before then, how quickly does the cloudiness normally appear? i am going to have a flick through the forum but i was wondering if anybody can suggest anything that would help his condition.. im sure ive read that diet can help? and is there anyway to reduce the cloudiness and improve his sight? and (sorry i know theres a few questions but..) will he eventually go blind?
this is all quite scary for me, we are planning on building him and ringo their cage within the next couple of weeks, i feel its extra important that we get it done ASAP and possibly now knowing that stumpy may lose his eye sight we will have to make to cage so that it is easy for him to get around.
i really dont know much about cataracts and intend to research it more thoroughly but if anybody can offer any advice/ help in the meantime, that would be fab!
thanking you kindly.....................

[amie]

The same happened with Elijah. One day, clear eyes. The next, he had a massive white cloudiness in one eye. Is it one eye or both?

With Elijah, I cut out all treats such as oats, shreddies, nuts etc. (well, he had these things, but litrally ONCE every 6 weeks or so... and only one!). The rest of the time he only ate his nuggets, hay, herbs and plants.... that's it.

Over the last 6 months it's faded a lot, but not completely gone.

[nuttz]

honestly, from the very start my stumpy and your elijah have had so much in common, their backgrounds (what little we know of them..??) their stumpy tails, the fact that they were alone for so long, even their personalities and that they love a little tickle, they sound so very similar, and now this................

he seems to have it in both eyes but on saturday for some reason the cloudiness in in the left eye (this is the worse eye) seemed so much worse than it is today? and the right eye its hardly noticeable today, im not sure why?!

i shall do as you suggest and cut out his treats, not that he gets that many anyway.. he loves his fresh herbs and veg which is a bonus! im just worried about his future, i dont wont to make his condition worse, i couldnt bare him to lose his sight, the poor little fella has been through enough already in his wee short life!

thank you amie for your reply! x

[amie]

If it's in both eyes, it sounds diet related, although I don't see how if you're careful with his diet. It could be one of those things though. Do you know his age? You can urine test strips off net to test for diabetes and they're quite cheap.

I'd just really monitor his diet though and don't give in when his sad little eyes look at you to ask for treats! lol.

Degus adjust really well, so I wouldn't worry about him too much. Just keep an eye on his weight and his behaviour

x x