Why does my guinea pig have red eyes?
Just as humans, guinea pigs also face many health concerns many of which are dangerous and hard to manage.
Guinea pig red eyes can be a sign of an illness but also only a result of bacterial eye infections.
Their happy and healthy life completely depends on the care of their owner.
Guinea pig owners know that caring for guinea pigs is not very hard but it does require much attention.
What Should I Know About Guinea Pigs?
Guinea pig is a species of rodent belonging to the cavy family (Caviidae) originally belonging to the Andes Mountains of South America.
This isn’t surprising that now, like other domestic animals, the guinea pig has become very popular.
However, the guinea pig has many characteristics.
Anyone who looks at them through the eyes of a pet should take care of their characteristics.
When trade between the United States and Europe began in the sixteenth century, at that time it was introduced in Europe, and the Guinea Pig was generally imported as a pet.
At that time, Queen Elizabeth l was the first big fan of it.
It bears a resemblance to other cavies in having a powerful body structure with short limbs, large heads and eyes, and short ears.
The feet have hairless soles with sharp claws, despite being a pet for a long time they haven’t lost their original feel.
Guinea pigs love to live in small family groups of three to ten.
They spend most of their time searching for food together, covering distances, and always following the mutual paths.
There is a piece of long hair around the neck.
The texture of the body is smooth and varied, hair is long and silky.
Guinea pig’s eyes appear in a variety of colors, breeders spot guinea pig’s eye’s color as dark, dark ruby cast, and pink.
Dark eyes can also be characterized as brown, black, or blue, however, healthy eyes indicate red color in a strong light.
This is mainly perceptible in ruby pigs, whose dark-looking eyes have an express red cast to them, chiefly spectacular when photographed with a flash.
A healthy guinea pig’s eyes are clear, shiny, and alert.
If eyes are blunt, teary, colorless, or if they look different then your guinea pig is unwell.
How To Recognize Eye Problems in Guinea Pigs?
You should examine your guinea pig by asking questions such as:
Can your guinea pigs see well?
Can they distinguish colors?
How does a healthy eye look?
Do your guinea pig’s eyes have a normal discharge?
What Are Common Eye Issues in Guinea Pigs?
Color of Eyes
Normal eye colors are clear and splendid.
Some researchers examine that pink eye color may be due to pneumonia.
Excessive bacteria, chlamydia caviae normally causes pink eyes in guinea pigs.
Discharge From Eyes
Typical guinea pigs discharge a smooth white fluid which greases up their eyes and is utilized to help them clean their appearances.
After the eye tops off with the white liquid, the guinea pig will at that point take their front paws and make washing movements.
This may happen a few times each day even though you may never at any point notice.
There are several signs of eye problems in guinea pigs.
Sign of Illness or Injury in eyes
- Redness in the eye
- Pawing and Scratching of Eyes
- Closed eye problem
- Inflammation or discharge water from the eye
- Constant tearing
- Large masses
Major Symptoms and Health Checklist
Can your guinea pigs see well?
Can they distinguish between colors?
How does a healthy eye look?
Do your guinea pig’s eyes have a discharge in normal?
What Are the Causes of Red Eyes in Guinea Pigs?
Guinea pigs, like other imported pets, are inclined to have eye issues.
There are different types of infections and problems that can affect the health of your guinea pig’s eyes, but some eye issues are serious.
You should know the actual causes of eye problems, in this way, you’ll be able to look after your pet.
This will lead to better health for your guinea pig.
Some serious health issues of your guinea are discussed below.
What Are Some of the Eye Problems Symptoms?
Eye infections suggest a variety of issues that influence a guinea pig’s eyes.
- Scratched Eye Corneal ulcer infection
- Eye infection
- Malignant tumors on eyes
- Guinea pig eye discharge
- Injury or sign of illness
- Uneven growing teeth
Based on the symptoms, you can make home remedies that can be effective.
But better to make an appointment with your vet.
Eye issues are much more serious and may lead to the blindness of your pet.
Scratched Eye Corneal Ulcer Infection
These scratches or aggravations on the eye can cause a serious issue called a corneal ulcer.
A corneal ulcer is a defect in the layer of your guinea pig’s eye called the cornea and it’s very painful.
Conditions
The agony from the ulcer may cause your guinea pig to quit eating and then even also cause ileus.
In such conditions, you may be able to examine a bit of cloudiness or redness in the eye.
It’s expected that your guinea pig may paw it, rub it on the ground, or close his eyes to gesture that they have a problem.
Treatment
You should consult an exotic vet in corneal ulcer conditions.
His special perceptions and eye ointments can be beneficial for your guinea pig.
Some medicines are antibiotics and some are specially made to heal corneal ulcers.
If the ulcer is in serious condition and can’t be healed after the use of some medications.
Then your vet may suggest some special treatment, extract some of your guinea pig’s blood, centrifuge it, and use the special serum eye drops to assist the ulcer remedy.
If your guinea pig still has an ulcer problem, a proficient technique called a Grid Keratotomy may need to be performed to encourage healing.
This process is delivered under anesthesia by your vet.
Eye Infections
The eyes of your guinea pig can become infectious due to bacterial and fungal attacks.
Bacterial and fungal spores are very dangerous for your guinea pig.
Conditions
Your guinea pig may have faced the following issues.
- Hair loss problem around the infected eye
- Conjunctivitis
- Discharge
- Swelling
Treatment
These bacterial and fungal attacks can damage one or both eyes and need to be treated with the appropriate percept medications.
An expert vet can treat the eye without obtaining a sample to culture first but if the infection does not resolve, a bacterial and/or fungal culture should be obtained for remedy.
The diagnosed culture will tell your vet precisely what kind of bacteria or fungus is expanding around the eye and will dominate the correct treatment for your pet.
If your guinea pig’s eyes have a lot of water let out, and it’s crusting shut, you can use a soft, warm, damp cloth to gently clean until you can meet your vet.
Once your guinea pig has been cured of an infection, take care to fully sanitize its cage.
Malignant Tumors on Eyes
Tumors are caused because of an unusual augmentation of body cells, bringing about development, or a piece of tissue, which might be dangerous.
Conditions
Most sorts of malignancy are not regular in guinea pigs until they are four to five years of age.
After that age, between 16-33% of guinea pigs are known to build up a tumor.
Guinea pigs that have been reproduced (inside the family) are more inclined to tumor and disease improvement.
Treatment, at whatever point recommended, will depend upon the sort and zone of the tumor or harmful development.
While the outcome for kind skin tumors is all-around incredible, the general outcome for certain dangerous developments of the blood is poor, and affected guinea pigs routinely live for a large portion of a month after the diagnosis.
Lymph sarcoma, a harmful tumor of the lymphatic tissues, is the most widely recognized tumor in guinea pigs.
It causes what is alluded to as Cavian leukemia.
Signs may incorporate a messy hair coat and periodic masses in the chest region or potentially an amplified liver or spleen.
To the extent generous skin tumors, trichoepitheliomas are the absolute most regular happening in guinea pigs, particularly more youthful guinea pigs, frequently forming at the base of the tail.
More youthful guinea pigs may likewise get skin tumors or leukemia, which is a disease of platelets.
Treatment
Your veterinarian will likely propose cautious removal of the tumor or harm.
Now and again, with agreeable tumors, the advancement may be upsetting the circulation system or the regular components of the incorporating inside organs.
If the thoughtful tumor isn’t negatively affecting the body and isn’t needed to create, your doctor may advise it to be left alone.
In occurrences of undermining advancements, the operation may be significant.
Yet may not be advised, if the territory is in a place of the body where the operation would achieve more wickedness than anything.
An operation may also be avoided if disturbing the tumor would mean that the infected cells will spread even more quickly into the body.
For skin tumors like trichoepitheliomas, cautious ejection is consistently done.
Drugs for leukemia or lymphosarcoma, of course, are not appropriate decisions and the animals, for the most part, pass away, within a month after the results have gotten obvious.
Overgrown Teeth of Guinea Pigs
In a healthy guinea pig, the biting, chewing, gnawing, and grinding of food, especially hays, grasses, vegetables, and herbs will normally keep their teeth at a healthy length.
Cavy dental care can be simple.
Some favorite herbs of Guinea Pig include:
- Basil
- Dill
- Dandelion
- Parsley
- Coriander
- Mint
It’s recommended that you should offer your guinea pig a variety of the above mentioned herbs.
Guinea pigs have also required a dietary source of vitamin C, there may not be sufficient levels of vitamin C in vegetables and herbs.
Thus supplemental vitamin C should be added to the diet.
Conditions
In such a condition your guinea pig
- Doesn’t have to gnaw/ chew appropriately
- Teeth may cut into the gums and cause the dental ulcer
- Lowered appetite and hence stools
- Mouth sensitivity
- Redness of the gums, and long teeth
In such a situation the cheek, teeth are also affected.
Normal flu flows through the nose and allows tearing from the eyes.
But if that passage is blocked or clogged, excessive drainage will occur from the eye.
Treatments
An expert vet will examine your guinea pig and conduct an X-ray test to diagnose the actual disease.
A vet can recommend you to do extraction surgery.
But after this, you should regularly check your guinea pigs’ teeth.
Eyes Physical Conditions
Cataract Problem
A Cataract is an obscurity of the focal point of the eye.
Cataracts can occur due to infection or age.
Older age pets mostly experience a clouding of the eye.
It may also be due to the diabetes effect.
Entropion
Entropion is the turning in of the eyelashes and bothering of the eye experienced by certain infants.
The eye may turn smooth white and build up a corneal ulcer.
Teddies, Rexes, and Texel’s will in general be more inclined to entropion than different varieties.
By and large, puppies grow out of this condition following half a month.
The disturbance can be facilitated by applying sterile eye oil, for example, Stye a few times during the day.
Eye blister is accessible at most drug stores close to the eye and contact focal point items.
Ophthalmic BNP is another item that can be applied 3 or 4 times each day.
Some pet proprietors work the lashes out of the eye while applying this treatment.
Some vets will “tack” the eyelids process when they are very young to prevent going to the full surgery later.
When they grow up they do their surgery.
Blindness
Some guinea pigs are visually impaired because of old enough, injury, or hereditary qualities.
A guinea pig brought into the world visually impaired may have other hereditary deformities (see microphthalmia beneath).
Noticing the conduct of y our guinea pigs in a new climate can help decide whether your guinea pigs are visually impaired.
A visually impaired pig will frequently alarm all the more without any problem.
A light that appeared in the eye of a visually impaired pig may reflect white instead of the common red reflected by an ordinary eye.
Fatty Eyes
Fatty eye (or Pea’s eye) is a lasting bulge of the conjunctival sac, thought to be acquired.
Pea eye and greasy eye are much of the time assembled by vets as conjunctival expansion.
These conjunctival distensions can be eliminated by laser on the off chance that they are meddling with vision.
Guinea pigs with pea eyes for the most part don’t appear to be awkward and treatment is typically redundant.
A red-eye condition that reportedly exposes under stress or in the presence of an irritant like smoke.
Fluid Retention in Pea Eyes
In some guinea pigs, pea eyes may be caused or aggravated by fluid retention.
But one researcher observed that the pea eye always presents in his Pig with a heart situation that became much less perceptible after the animal was given Lasix.
It’s also observed a 50% reduction of pea eye for another pig.
Cherry Eyes
“Cherry eye” present in different pets, for the most part, alludes to an organ situated close to the base of the third eyelid that is pink in shading instead of the ordinary white conjunctival tone.
In a guinea pig, it’s rather a lacrimal (tear delivering) organ composed of lymphatic tissue, and it’s this organ that gets contaminated and additionally aggravated in the cherry eye and prolapses.
Cherry eyes in canines are viewed as awkward, particularly when the condition is more serious and covers a greater amount of the eye.
Conversely, pea eyes are generally not excruciating.
Cherry eye happens in the base “inside” corner of the eyes since, i.e., the place where the lacrimal organs are found.
Conjunctival or different swellings are a chance all around the eye.
Typically fatty eye is found toward the sides of eyes also and can be because of sub scleral fat in the district; however, scientists are as yet finding numerous potential situations for pea eye.
Microphthalmia
Microphthalmia is an innate condition where the eye either becomes too small or it blinds the guinea pig.
It’s generally the result of breeding a roan X roan or dalmatian X dalmatian.
These white guinea pigs are known as “lethal”.
They may likewise have problems with the stomach related framework and the pet might be missing at least one teeth.
In a roan X roan or dalmatian X dalmatian mating, there is one of every four possibilities of rearing a deadly.
Seriously affected guinea pigs will bite the dust, thus capable raisers won’t ever purposefully mate these varieties.
Each Roan pig has one duplicate of the roan form of the quality, and one duplicate of the ordinary rendition.
Since it’s irregular which duplicates the quality they give to each infant, there’s a 25% possibility of getting roan from mother and father.
The typical form of the quality is essential for pre-birth advancement of nerves, coat tones, and teeth, so indulges with no ordinary duplicates don’t have their eyes, ears, teeth, and some of the time inside organs grow appropriately.
These pigs can bite the dust before birth, not long after birth, at weaning (if not appropriately recognized and treated), or as grown-ups.
Typically, lethal have more limited lives than ordinary guinea pigs.
Serious eye signs may cause serious effects:
- Ulcerated eyes
- Watery eyes
- Crusty eyes
- Cloudy eyes
- Receding eyes
These signs are due to Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) and Injuries.
Final Thoughts
Maybe you know a little bit or a little bit of control over these above-mentioned eye problems.
You can use recommended medications like antibiotics and antifungals.
A healthy guinea pig has bright red eyes due to the color of pigments of the eyes.
Guinea pig red eyes typically occur because of albinism, i.e., because of the absence of the color called melanin in their eyes.
In any case, on the off chance that you have unadulterated pale-skinned guinea pigs, at that point, they will have red eyes and go with snow-white hide.
