Anna
Foraging Degu
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Posts: 113
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Eyes
Feb 5, 2006 5:13:32 GMT
Post by Anna on Feb 5, 2006 5:13:32 GMT
Hey, I was watching my degus today and I noticed they're eyes are really brown and they have this black like film stuff over their eyes and they never blink. Its crazy! What is this for and what does it do for them? I've been trying to find info on degus in the wild and I really can't find any good information.
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Eyes
Feb 6, 2006 3:56:35 GMT
Post by diet otaku on Feb 6, 2006 3:56:35 GMT
degus are sort of like cats in that they don't have eyelids the way we do, they have to squeeze their eyes shut to close them. so they don't blink, they just close their eyes when sleeping. i've never noticed a black film, but i have noticed that degus' eyes are actually brown in sunlight, and only appear black in artificial/low light. but the same can be said for many breeds of dogs as well.
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Anna
Foraging Degu
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Posts: 113
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Eyes
Feb 7, 2006 5:47:47 GMT
Post by Anna on Feb 7, 2006 5:47:47 GMT
That must be what I'm seeing because their eyes are brown in light. I never thought of it until the other night ago but thats really interesting about their eyes.
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Eyes
Feb 7, 2006 14:12:18 GMT
Post by diet otaku on Feb 7, 2006 14:12:18 GMT
yeah, lots of types of animals which appear to have black eyes really just have dark brown eyes - dogs, rabbits, rodents, horses, etc. even some people have eyes that appear black but are actually dark brown. ^__^
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Eamon
Foraging Degu
My Boys: Gucci, Prada and Benetton
Posts: 91
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Eyes
Mar 1, 2006 19:01:55 GMT
Post by Eamon on Mar 1, 2006 19:01:55 GMT
hi, I have a friend with a degu around one and a half year old. she said that the eyes of the degu i question used to be brown and suddenly one's turned blue and the other lookse like it is turning blue aswell, does anyone know what this could be - blindness or some sort of lack of mineral? i have no idea...
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Eyes
Mar 1, 2006 20:03:11 GMT
Post by diet otaku on Mar 1, 2006 20:03:11 GMT
is she sure the actual irises are blue, and that they're not just turning cloudy from cataracts? if it's not cataracts, the only other thing i can think of is blindness.
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Eyes
Mar 2, 2006 16:09:54 GMT
Post by Aimeelou on Mar 2, 2006 16:09:54 GMT
Yes, a blue haze is usualy cateracts.
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Eamon
Foraging Degu
My Boys: Gucci, Prada and Benetton
Posts: 91
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Eyes
Mar 2, 2006 16:24:04 GMT
Post by Eamon on Mar 2, 2006 16:24:04 GMT
what is that? food related? I don't understand the exat mening of the word( being from Denmark and all) what do you do when it happens?
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Eyes
Mar 2, 2006 16:57:03 GMT
Post by Aimeelou on Mar 2, 2006 16:57:03 GMT
Catatacts form on Degus usualy with a bad diet, like feeding them too many treats and sugary foods, as Degus cant digest sugar. Its the same sort of condition humans get.
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Eamon
Foraging Degu
My Boys: Gucci, Prada and Benetton
Posts: 91
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Eyes
Mar 2, 2006 17:04:28 GMT
Post by Eamon on Mar 2, 2006 17:04:28 GMT
I know they get diabetic and blindness is a part of that, just never thought anyone could feed their degu so wrongly that they'd get a food disorden at one and a half years old. I'll tell her... much less sugar and more vitamine C?
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Eyes
Mar 2, 2006 17:13:12 GMT
Post by Sunshinemeg on Mar 2, 2006 17:13:12 GMT
its not a case of feeding them so badly, in degus if the diet isnt right they can get ill very quickly. I had my first degu Gizmo for just over a year. I was told by the place that I bought him from that he could have a daily slice of sweet potato as well as other "sweet treats". I didnt know I was doing anything wrong, and he died of a heart attack at just over 1 year old!
A degu diet should have NO sugar in it to be safe. the degu does not have the capability of digesting it, so it acts as if the degu is diabetic. In the same way that a diabetic should have minimal sugar, its the same for degus!
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annelise
Newborn Degu
Resident Veterinarian
Posts: 16
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Eyes
Apr 17, 2006 19:48:45 GMT
Post by annelise on Apr 17, 2006 19:48:45 GMT
Though degus can get diabetes, most cases of degu cataract are only genetic and (luckily) not linked in any way to a sugar or insulin problem. Some degu families all get cataract before the age of one year-they lose a good part of their vision but live very well with the condition, you wouldn't notice there is anything wrong. The thing is, all tame degus originate from about twenty lab animals and there has been too much inbreeding, leading to that sort of genetic problems. Do not breed together two degus with cataract as the pups would surely get it! So changing the diet would not change anything, it's most often inherited. That does not mean you can feed them sugar! In any case there is nothing to do about it- once cataract is there nothing will make it go away.
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