Eyes/Non-crusty Well, I had an inkling that this would happen but I was dreading it...

Laurenashley85 · Feb 5, 2009

Today I came home from work to realize that my sweet little Jasper has gone completely blind. He already had a bad eye...one was smaller than the other. And the regular sized one must have been punctured by something because it was always very cloudy (I adopted him when he was almost 2 years old).

I was wondering why he was acting weird. He wouldn't walk around his cage, was squished in a corner and his ear kept twitching very oddly. I'm wondering if maybe he had a small stroke or something. He was completely fine this morning (I just had him to the vet a few weeks ago for some drops for the cloudy eye)..she detected no blindess. He's very skittish, and when I stuck my hand right in front of his face, wiggled it around, and he didn't even flinch...I knew something was up. He's also approaching his food, etc with caution...sniffing and taking one step at a time instead of just walking up to it.

I'm thinking he just can't see. I don't think it's anything else only because he's eating normally. He's just very scared at every little sound and won't move out of his corner..I think that's where he feels safest. Is there anything I can do for him to make it easier? I realize he probably knows the layout of his cage but it's gotta be scary to be able to see one minute and then be blind the next. Although I'm not sure if it happened like that. Should I be worried about him being able to find his food and water? What can I do for him to help him through this?

Amsley246 · Feb 5, 2009

My Edward is partially blind (I know its not toally the same). He's a lethal and was born that way, he also has a littler eye too. Unfortunately there isnt much you can do. You should however take him to see the vet again. It's so sad when that happens. I make sure his food and water are always closer to his house so he doesnt have to search as much. I also leave the stove light on at night to make it a little easier to see. I tend to give him a little more attention then I do with my others, he sort of has a deeper place in my heart (lethals tend t do that!) Good luck! Hope it helps!

NicholsS10 · Feb 5, 2009

I would also bring him into the vet to confirm his blindness.

Amsley246 · Feb 5, 2009

Oh, and just a thought, the blindness my be part of a bigger problem (like you said, a possible stroke or something) so there is another reason why it won't hurt to pay the vet a visit.

krittercrazy · Feb 5, 2009

I have three boys that are blind and deaf. They were born that way(lethals). They have no problem getting around their cage. I make a point of tapping hard enough on the cage to cause vibrations when I put thier food in and they come running. It may take your guy a while to adjust, be consistant, feed at the same time and don't move his furniture on him. Don't worry if he moves it himself, he'll remember.
I would take him to the vet. If he lost his sight due to an injury the eye may still be painful and require medication still or even removal.
Does he have a buddy to help him out?

Laurenashley85 · Feb 5, 2009

krittercrazy said:
I have three boys that are blind and deaf. They were born that way(lethals). They have no problem getting around their cage. I make a point of tapping hard enough on the cage to cause vibrations when I put thier food in and they come running. It may take your guy a while to adjust, be consistant, feed at the same time and don't move his furniture on him. Don't worry if he moves it himself, he'll remember.
I would take him to the vet. If he lost his sight due to an injury the eye may still be painful and require medication still or even removal.
Does he have a buddy to help him out?

He has a cagemate but I unforunately have to keep them seperate because the other is not too nice. He beats up on him, and I don't dare put them together now because he'd just cause my poor guy more grief than he's having already.

They're in a 2 level c & c cage. Jasper (the one who I think has gone blind) is on the bottom, and he's taken to hiding under the ramp to the upstairs. I don't know if maybe he doesn't realize the rest of his cage is still there, or he's just too scared to move. I've moved his water bottle right in front of him and his food bowl is in reach. The only thing he's afraid to get to is his hay and unfortunately I have nowhere else to put that, I have to keep it where it's at right now. He just basically stretches his front out to reach the food bowl but doesn't really move his back legs, he keeps half his body still under the ramp. I don't think he has any trouble moving, he's just scared to venture out from underneath the ramp.

The only other thing that is really bothering me is that his ear keeps twitching and he keeps scratching it. His ear never twitches so I'm a little concerned that something like a stroke did happen. Would that cause his ear to twitch? It does it constantly now

NicholsS10 · Feb 6, 2009

I have no idea what causes ear twitching, but I know that when my boy is falling asleep, his ears twitch. I've always thought it was cute, but that is NORMAL for him. For Jasper, ear twitching sounds abnormal.

I really don't have any advice to offer, but I can tell you that you're in my thoughts. Good luck with your pig, I wish you 2 the best. I hope he adjusts well and quickly if it's permanent. Let us know what happens at the vet, if you decide to go.

Laurenashley85 · Feb 6, 2009

NicholsS10 said:
I have no idea what causes ear twitching, but I know that when my boy is falling asleep, his ears twitch. I've always thought it was cute, but that is NORMAL for him. For Jasper, ear twitching sounds abnormal.

I really don't have any advice to offer, but I can tell you that you're in my thoughts. Good luck with your pig, I wish you 2 the best. I hope he adjusts well and quickly if it's permanent. Let us know what happens at the vet, if you decide to go.

Yup, his ear is twitching like he's laying down trying to sleep, but he's fully awake. And it must be bothering him because he keeps scratching at it. I don't know. I had a terrible night sleeping..3 hours and now I have to go to work. I was just so worried about him all night. I slept with the TV on because I didn't want him to not be able to see anything in complete darkness. I know if it's permanent he'll get used to it. It just makes me sad.

krittercrazy · Feb 6, 2009

His ear could be twitching because of infection and/or pain. Is it possible that he even has glacoma? I know of dogs with glacoma and the vet said they pretty much have a constant headache. It had gotten bad enough even with meds that the dog lost thier sight. They didn't move around much. Once the diseased eye/s were removed the dog felt much better and gets around much better.

Weigh him daily to be sure he is getting enough to eat.
Take him to the vet to see if there is something going on that they can help with.
You may need to block him out of his hidey hole to encourage him to move around. Maybe even put him in a smaller cage until he is more comfortable.
Can you put a handfull of hay right next to him so that he can reach it?

Laurenashley85 · Feb 6, 2009

krittercrazy said:
His ear could be twitching because of infection and/or pain. Is it possible that he even has glacoma? I know of dogs with glacoma and the vet said they pretty much have a constant headache. It had gotten bad enough even with meds that the dog lost thier sight. They didn't move around much. Once the diseased eye/s were removed the dog felt much better and gets around much better.

Weigh him daily to be sure he is getting enough to eat.
Take him to the vet to see if there is something going on that they can help with.
You may need to block him out of his hidey hole to encourage him to move around. Maybe even put him in a smaller cage until he is more comfortable.
Can you put a handfull of hay right next to him so that he can reach it?

I actually had him to the vet a few weeks ago for a cloudy eye...she said it was just due to injury most likely. Since I adopted him when he was a year and a half old, I have no idea what his life was like before me. But she didn't state any major health concerns. Which makes me wonder why he would be competely blind now?? It just doesn't make sense to me but my mom said he's doing a little better today. She went in to check on him about an hour or two ago and said he ate the hay out of her hand and she got him to come out into the middle of the cage. I'm hoping he gets more comfortable as days pass by.

Mhera · Feb 6, 2009

Hope he adjusts! My dog adjusted fine, though he ran into walls on occasion.

pigsmakemesmile · Feb 6, 2009

I don't have any experience in this area, I would suggest going on to guinea lynx and post this question to them.
good luck

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Eyes/Non-crusty Well, I had an inkling that this would happen but I was dreading it...

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