I think my rat is blind in his left eye?

[ashleyb81992]

I think my rat is blind in his left eye... I'm not entirely sure but I saw that I could try shining a light in his eye to look for the pupil if it moves which it did move but it seems like there's a little bit of a white filming on his left eye... I very gently poked it (not to be mean and not to hurt him) and his eye didn't even close... He blinks both eyes but maybe its because his other eye when i slightly poked it shut right away so that eye is good and when he blinks both eyes close not just the good one??? I read that rats are very bad sighted to begin with and they rely mostly on there senses of smell and touch and blindness doesn't really effect them all to much so I'm just curious could he be blind or have a cataract or something??? He's probably around 2 years old I'm not sure because I just got him in November when someone ditched him at a pet store, but I'd say hes an elder at least... Also he cries when I pick him up or handle him or touch around his back/butt area he's done this since I got him... He also recently will just start grabbing your arm or skin and start chewing at it if that makes sense like not biting but also not playing either? The vet charges 75$ just to bring in a pet so I wanna go there only if I really need to...

 

[ashleyb81992]

Also earlier he was running around on the bed and there was something stuck to his eye I took it off but it seemed as though it didn't bother him whatsoever :/ ... We've been noticing his eye has looked differently for a while now but just recently have I thought it could be blindness...

 

[jorats]

Can you take a picture? Rats do get cataracts and he's a good old age for it too.
Weird though that he doesn't react to you touching his eye though.

 

[ashleyb81992]

I'm not sure how great these picture came out but he's not so good with letting me get pictures lol...

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[Fidget]

Of course you want to know if his eye is blind but don't worry too much, it's not a concern for him unless you see weeping or bulging or something else abnormal. Blindness in one eye wouldn't affect his life at all in your care.

 

[Fidget]

P.S. His sweet heart shines thru those eyes. What a beautiful boy!

 

[ashleyb81992]

I know there isn't much we could do and that it doesn't really affect him i was just curious if there was a way to tell without a vet... And thanks Doofney is so awesome and adorable lol

 

[jorats]

Looks like his third membrane is up. I would probably do polysporin eye drops twice a day for a couple of days to see if it helps.

 

[dspch911]

:heart: What a sweet looking rat man :heart:

 

[mamarat]

Sometimes the nibbling can be a sign of pain if this is new to him. Maybe check him too for a penis plug? When they're older they are not able to clean themselves.