Should I be worried?

[Sammy H]

The problem is my degu Jerry.

When we got his (rescued from RSPCA) he had cataracts. Now however, the cataracts appear to have 'changed' to a red colour. The cataracts he used to have have gone and his eyes are red, almost like there is blood in his eyes.
This problem only appears sometimes, which is why i'm not sure if i should be worried. He does not appear to be in ill health in any other way, and his vision is still good and not affected. Has anyone heard of anything remotely similar to this?

I feel like i should be worried, but there also appears to be nothing wrong sometimes?!?!

[Purplebunny]

I would take him to the vets, just to make sure it is nothing too serious! Have you checked out degu websites? If you want some help, just PM me, and I will help you!

[Amethystbelle]

I've never heard of anything like that at all or read about it on any site or book i have read, one things for sure though if he has or had cataracts then they don't just disappear as i had a degu who had one and he had it for life, i took him to the vet and to be honest i knew more than he could tell me! If he has cataracts then you would probably need to keep him on a low sugar diet as could be the onset of something like diabetes, so he would need a very low sugar diet and should live a normal life and he sounds healthy enough now! One thing i did think of when you said it has cleared up and i know this can happen as read about it a few times, he couldn't have got scratched in the eye by any chance as the cloudyness could be the result of a small ulcer thats cleared up on its own accord and maybe left the eye irritated, long shot but might be an explanation as cataracts don't clear up by themselves normally. I'd keep and eye on him and if you are worried consult a vet and do a good search online as lots of degu related websites and might shred some light on the matter

[nygerbil]

We have one rescued degu who has cataracs - His name is Ande. BUT he does not have this red color in his eyes. It is VERY possible that your degus cataracs have gotten so bad that there is now bleeding in his eyes. Our degus is virtually blind, BUT you could never tell as he gets along with his other senses so well. He IS quite a trooper. All animals with cataracs end up with vision equilivent to looking through a piece of white plastic. They wee shadowed outlines instead of details. I agree with other that I would take him to the vets. We had out boy tested for diabetis which he was negative for. So we fed him especially well and supplemented his diet with vitamins and thankfully his eyes have gotten no worse. Best!

Cara-lee

[Sammy H]

believe me.. i've looked everywhere for info on red cataracts, bleeding cataracts etc etc, but with no luck at all!!!

he had the cataract when we got him, the rspca thought it was most likely to be due to genetics.

i don't think its sratch related/ itching as its not really a 'sore' type of thing. (sorry, having problems finding good descriptive words here). The only way to describe it is blood like. i checked him last night and it was red around the outside but the white cataract has gone transparent!

Its so difficult to decide what to do. My boyfriend (and transport) is on holiday at the mo so i can't get hime to the vet (30min drive away is the closest person who has dealt with degus before).

I will most likely take him to the vets when he gets back. I'm also quite tempted to get them all tested for diabetes just in case!

thanks for all the advice and personal stories.

[Amethystbelle]

Yes very true, cataracts can appear just because degus are prone to them all because of bad breeding (and a lot of inbreeding through poor information from petshops ) so just because he has cataracts doesn't mean he has diabetes (i thought i'd said that in my first message, i'm getting so forgetful ), as like nygerbil i had my degu tested and it was negative but i still kept him on a low sugar diet just to be sure and he lived a long and happy life. Like i said before if you are really worried take him to the vets and get them to give him a thorough check up as that way your mind will be put at rest

[Sammy H]

When it comes to those little boys, i don't think my mind will ever be at rest. They are like children to me!

I'm not sure why, but this worries my boyfriend

[Amethystbelle]

I'm the same and my boyfriend thinks i'm mad

[Sammy H]

Just an update; Jerry has a vets appointment this afternoon about his eye. I'll let you know what happens.

[Amethystbelle]

Fingers crossed for him, hope everything goes ok for Jerry and you, let us know how he goes on

[Sammy H]

HI! Latest update;

The vets says Jerry has an ulcer (possibly a foreign body in there too) on his eye which i imagine is quite painful. He's given me drops to put in twice a day, and if it doesn't start to clear up in a few days i have to take him back for something more serious.

This leads me on to my next question: HOW ON EARTH do you give a degu eyedrops by yourself? (my boyfriend is away at the mo). I tried this morning (including wrapping him up in a pillowcase - as gently as possible cos i didn't want to hurt him) but he still got more on his nose than in his eye. I keep trying to explain to him its for his own good but he still wriggles around and move his head just as the drop is going in!!!!!

HELP!

[nygerbil]

I would love to hear how Jerry does and what the vet thinks. Best wishes for good news from all of us here! : )

[Amethystbelle]

I did think it was an ulcer as i posted in an earlier post as thats how my dogs went white then looked brown and she had to have her eye stitched up for 6 weeks (as was rather bad) so it could heal itself and we had to still put drops in that now that is hard Its a likely thing to happen though as they have sharp claws and when they are playing they don't care where they shove there paws

As for Jerry i think the pillowcase idea is probably best either that or put him on your knee and tickle him behind the ears till he tilts his head and is so relaxed he don't care what you do to him and then quickly sneek it in whilst he's out of it. If non of the above works then i don't know what else you can try apart from bribing him with treats then getting him then

Let us know how you get on and how Jerry goes on

[Sammy H]

I've tried the towel wrapping, with limited success. Bribery last night resorted to half a raisin!!!!! But i think it was the most successful attempt. he is not a morning degu!

[Amethystbelle]

Bribary normally works