Elijah, Cataracts advice please?

[amie]

When I adopted Eljah, he had a faint cataract in his right eye. You could only see this is the right lighting or when you shine a torch on it. His left eye was clear, and still is thankfully.

Today, I had them out for playtime and I noticed I could see his cataract VERY clearly. It's a medium sized white circle. Not the whole eye, but about half of it in the centre. I had him out for play time yesterday and I didn't notice a thing. Trust me, if it was there to that extent yesterday, I wouldn't have missed it. He seems fine, but he's obviously losing his vision in that eye. I'm posting this thread to see if anyone knows if it's congenital or diet since he only has it in one eye?

I also need to know what I should be getting rid of completely from his diet and also cutting down on (common sense tells me what not to feed him anymore, I just need confirmation please).

I really love my boy and if there's anything I can do to slow down the developement of this cataracts or even better, get rid of it, I'd like to know.

So, this is what the treat cupboard consists of (they don't get these things all the time, this is just what's in the cupboard). What should I stop giving him?

woodlands herbal delight
woodlands salad feast
woodlands dadelion mix
rose hips
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
oats
cornflakes
wallnuts
peanuts (in the shell)
shreddies
mini alfalfa bales
broccoli (he's the only one that eats veg sometimes)

Main diet consists of:

Degu nuggets
Meadow hay
woodlands chamomile harvest hay
Gerty Guinea Pid food (hand fed as a treat)
Selective science with basil and broccoli (one a day)
willow sticks
apple sticks

I must add as the most important peice of information on this post that Elijah is a chocolate thief! I NEVER feed him chocolate as I was warned about his chocolate stealing ways when I adopted him, so I didn't want to re awaken the monster so to speak, but over the months that I've had him, he's managed to steal chocolate right out of my hands about twice now! (while watching TV with him on my knee. VERY funny to watch, but not funny because it's bad for him!). I've always quickly taken the chocolate back of him and he's only managed to steal a tiny bit (after I grabbed it off him with him protesting to heaven and hell to give it back to him!). Could this little tiny nibble of chocolate have affected his eye so badly? It is my understanding that he would have to be eating quite a lot of it for it to affect him this much.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I love my boy dearly.

[amie]

Thanks for the advice Smux. It confirmed what I was thinking really. I was just so shocked that it seemed to get really bad overnight.

As for his, I'm not really sure. I was told he was about two when I adopted him, but I'm sure he looks older. The guy who had him before me has no real way of knowing either as he found him on the street

[amie]

I think I might try and get hold of a tester. Do you know where I can get one from at all?

[amie]

Haha Yes, I could find the names myself. Just needed to know which types I can use. I'll go to the chemist tomorrow. Thanks for the help