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Eyes/Non-crusty Guinea pig eye infection?

pepperpumpkin

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My guinea pig eye looks really weird, i’m not sure what it is but it does not bother him. there is no discharge, he’s not trying to close his eyes or anything. He is eating normally as well. It has been like this for awhile, i didn’t do anything about it because he seemed fine and was moving about normally too.
Is it a cataract? or eye infection? should i be concerned and bring him to the vet? Please help! 4CCE9237-9C6F-4ED8-B2A3-54F4EBBEB028.jpg589C50F6-D241-4615-9F9B-FAF541E1CFB9.jpg4B83CBC7-F138-4D1E-A334-F767282FDC70.jpg
 

bpatters

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Hay poke. They're painful. If you can get him to a vet, it would be a very good idea. If you can't, you could ask the vet if they'd prescribe some antibiotic and pain drops.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Hay poke. They're painful. If you can get him to a vet, it would be a very good idea. If you can't, you could ask the vet if they'd prescribe some antibiotic and pain drops.


I thought the same thing initially, and the cloudiness definitely looks like a hay poke. But I also noticed the white discoloration around the edges and I wondered if that's what the OP is talking about. Because THAT looks just like the beginning of osseous metaplasia to me.

OP has also posted pics of BOTH eyes, and I can't really see hay pokes in both of them. I of course could be completely wrong.
 

pepperpumpkin

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I thought the same thing initially, and the cloudiness definitely looks like a hay poke. But I also noticed the white discoloration around the edges and I wondered if that's what the OP is talking about. Because THAT looks just like the beginning of osseous metaplasia to me.OP has also posted pics of BOTH eyes, and I can't really see hay pokes in both of them. I of course could be completely wrong.
 

pepperpumpkin

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thank you for the replies.

I was referring to the discoloration, i'm not sure if the eyes are cloudy or it just looks like that.
Went to search on osseous metaplasia and found this forum. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/osseous-metaplasia-in-eye.154541/
Seems like it's not painful and there is no cure, should i still bring him to the vet to check? As he is not showing discomfort or pain or discharge, there doesn't seem to be any redness or hay in his eyes as well.

My other pig pumpkin is hospitalised at the vet due to bloating and his condition has not gotten better for 2 days so i'm really worried about that too. There was also a surcharge of $200 for the public holiday vet stay so the bills are really adding to a high number. :-(
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I had a boar that lived for several years with osseous metaplasia, which of course I had asked the question here several years ago and was answered by @bpatters. So, I learned it from one of the best :) I think Sly was around 3 years old when I first noticed it.

Sly's case of it got progressively worse over the years but didn't really seem to affect his vision much until it progressed much further, and I noticed that after he had passed 6 years of age. I did take him to the vet when I first noticed it just for confirmation, and he also told me there's nothing that can be done, and it doesn't hurt him. My vet thought it looked kind of cool. Strange man.
 

Soecara

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I have a girl with advanced osseous metaplasia in one eye. She is now completely blind in that eye but it doesn't seem to affect her otherwise. She is 4 years old, and hers progressed relatively quickly. From firsts signs to complete blindness in the eye it took 6 months. There is nothing to be done about it and honestly it doesn't seem to affect their lives as much as you would expect, guinea pigs heavily rely on their sense of smell, so they can manage with partial or complete blindness very well (provided you keep the cage layout the same in the case of complete blindness).

I also had a boar who had mild osseous metaplasia in both eyes, the boy in my profile picture actually, he developed it when he was about 3-4 years old and progressed incredibly slowly. By the time he passed away several years later his eyes had a 3mm spot before the pupil at the top of one eye and the 2mm ring around the full outside of the other eye, and he still had full vision in both eyes.
 
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