Cataracts

fluffymunchkins · 08-22-2012, 03:04 PM

When i walked past Merry and Archies cage this evening, I happened to see the light catch Merry's eyes and see the distinctive cloudiness of a cataract.
When looking closer its quite clear both his eyes are affected.
I was a little shocked to have it appear so suddenly, but then maybe I just hadn't noticed earlier.
Bless his heart, hes only 9 months old and this does explain why he has more tendency to nip you when you offer your hand. I know cataracts are more common in older hamsters but can appear at any age. As hes young, I'm wondering if I should test for diabetes? He doesn't appear to have any other symptoms, but has anyone else experienced cataracts in a diabetic hamster?

He seems fine otherwise, I do notice now that he always sniffs Archie a lot when he comes up to him so his sight must be affected. Merry was always fondly the 'ugly duckling' so to speak, of the litter, being the only pearl. He showed signs of balance or neurological problems as a pup, but seemed to quickly grow out of it and I put it down to signs of stress (when he was living with Squishy). Though I had decided long ago I wouldn't breed from Merry, as lovely as he is.
Am I right in saying cataracts can be hereditary? The others looks fine at the moment, but I'll be keeping a close eye.

Any advice is very much appreciated, I'm not experienced any eye problems before xx

jent · 08-22-2012, 03:34 PM

Hey! I'm sorry to hear this, poor Merry! Im sorry I can't be any help with the medical side of this but in humans diabetes and eye problems are linked I believe. Just had a little check of Diddys eyes and they seem fine, I will keep a watch though! I hope you are ok. X

fluffymunchkins · 08-22-2012, 03:45 PM

Thankyou, I was going to message you to let you know, just to be on the safe side. Glad you saw this

I will let George and Freds owners know when I next see them x

Womblehands · 08-22-2012, 04:05 PM

Poor lad. Maybe a test for diabetes wouldnt hurt just so you know. I dont know much on cataracts to be honest. If you need a diabetes test kit I have a few. I could send you one if you need one.

**Hamtastic** · 08-23-2012, 06:38 PM

Lucy developed her right-eye cataract a couple months ago. She does not have diabetes (but does have kidney problems), and she does not appear to be bothered by the cataract. I *think* she's a bit more careful moving around now, which could be due to reduced depth perception, but other than that, she's behaving like her usual self. I don't think anything needs to be done in particular (can anything be done for a hamster's cataract anyway?) - I'd just observe Merry and make any necessary housing modifications if he starts becoming hindered by reduced vision.

fluffymunchkins · 08-24-2012, 03:26 PM

Thankyou for the kind offer womblehands, but i'll buy a pack so i can test all the WW's. It's worth doing since they are all related and most getting older.

Thanks hamtastic, as far as I'm aware nothing can be done for cataracts unfortunately. He's definitley careful as he walks around, but I don't think he's completely blind at this point. I can't even tell he has them without picking him up as the lighting is so dark in my room. Archie seems to be taking care of him anyway, I'm glad he's got company xx

**Pompompoms** · 08-24-2012, 04:30 PM

Oh bless Merry, I've not had to deal with cataracts as yet, but just wanted to send good wishes xx

fluffymunchkins · 08-29-2012, 11:05 AM

Thankyou pom

Popping him up the vets tommorow morning as I noticed they sell diastix, so I'll get some and get him checked over as well. I'm on work experience there at the moment so it makes it easy to do a quick appointment whilst I'm there anyway, I had a quick chat with a vet and when i said he had cataracts she immediately suggested it was diabetes. Batman is going up as well as his hair loss has started to get worse and he seems a bit off, so its worth seeing what they can do for him.

**Silver** · 08-29-2012, 11:11 AM

Mandy had them in both eyes but she was not diabetic so sometimes they don't have diabetes.

But very worth checking with the vet

Silver xxx

fluffymunchkins · 08-30-2012, 12:13 PM

The vets went ok today, though I usually have to take what the vets say with a pinch of salt.
Batman was reccommended another mites treatment, but with a follow up one a month later in the hope last time one dose just wasn't enough. I agreed with the vet that it sounded like he just has some pesky parasites that might bug him continuously.

However, with Merry I was told he doesn't have cataracts and his eyes look healthy. I can understand why as under the bright light it looks fine. But why I can see cloudiness in his pupil in normal light is a mystery to me. The vet said that a blood test was the only way to determine diabetes, but without confirmation of cataracts I felt no need to go ahead with that anyway (if i feel the need I'll test through his urine). So basically left with the plan to keep observing him.
So all in all...didn't need to go really, but better to be safe than sorry x