my sugar glider has cloudy blue eyes. shes been acting and eating normal. i was reading about blindness/ cataracts but she doesnt have the characteristics of the "white tipped tail" and so on. can "normal" colored gliders have cataract problems too? im very worried about my Baby. -mariah
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#46137 05/18/0512:01 AM05/18/0512:01 AM
Yes, all gliders can get cataracts. What are you feeding her? The most common cause of eye problems in gliders are diets high in fat. Fat deposits form in the eyes, causing vission problems and eventual blindness... I strongly suggest taking her to the vet if her eyes appear blue. That is a sign of a serious problem and she needs medical treatment.
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#46138 05/18/0512:11 AM05/18/0512:11 AM
Yes, that is another possible cause, but it would be unlikely that both eyes got scratched... Whatever the problem may be, the glider needs to see a vet.
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#46140 05/18/0512:15 AM05/18/0512:15 AM
they do look like they are scratched. what would cause them to get scratched or why would she scratch them? how do i prevent that and make it better? to tell you the truth im in a state where sugars are illegal. i dont know if i take her to a vet if ill walk out of there without her. i dont know what to do. -mariah
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#46141 05/18/0512:26 AM05/18/0512:26 AM
Without vet treatment, this little one could loose her eye sight and possibly her life. If she has scratches on her eyes, they can become infected. Also, scratches on the eyes are very painful. You need to see if you can find a vet and take the risk they won't turn you in.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
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#46142 05/18/0512:38 AM05/18/0512:38 AM
thank you so much. any more ideas and/or advice is greatly appreciated and needed. first thing tomorrow ill call some vets. i will keep you posted. -mariah
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#46143 05/18/0512:39 AM05/18/0512:39 AM
Is she squinting? Have you seen her rubbing her eyes? If she's has rubbed ulcers on her eyes she'll probably squint, that too is very painful, and if they are ulcerated and left untreated they can rupture. Whether fat deposits, ulcers or scratches it's best to find a vet asap.
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#46144 05/18/0501:03 AM05/18/0501:03 AM
there is no squinting, no ulcers, no rubbing, no pain, no fluid...everything seems fine besides scratches and the blue. her diet doesnt have much fat in it. the only thing different ive done with her in the last week is that shes had strawberries. i dont think that would do it but im not ruling out anything.
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#46145 05/18/0501:17 AM05/18/0501:17 AM
as far as finding a vet. I dont know about gliders BUT with ferrets that are illegal in some states ie. cali. they cant turn you in for getting your pet medical treatment. Im assuming gliders are the same. Fingers crossed for this little one.
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#46146 05/18/0507:07 AM05/18/0507:07 AM
Actually, there are many vets in states where gliders are illegal that are willing to see them. In Critter Mag. there is a huge list of vets in cali that will see gliders and I know of a few Penn as well.
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#46147 05/18/0507:32 AM05/18/0507:32 AM
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" /> Only a vet can diagnoisis the problem. What they will do is to stain the eye and look at it under a specail light. You may not be able to see a ulcer or laceration, but the vet may..I have a glider that came with a lareration on his eye, the condition was treated and has become a chronic problem. He will always need his drops. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/heartpump.gif" alt="" /> Angie
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#46148 05/18/0509:14 PM05/18/0509:14 PM
k...she went to the vet and he said that its some kind of edema. its basically blood/fluid that has leaked out of weak vessels. he have me eye drops and wants to see her back on friday. thanks everybody for the help. -mariah
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#46149 05/19/0505:04 AM05/19/0505:04 AM
Mariah, what is your <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/littleglider.gif" alt="" />'s age? White tipped-tails have nothing to do with a <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/littleglider.gif" alt="" />'s eyesight - may I ask where that info come from?
Several years ago there was a posting on GC about <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/littleglider.gif" alt="" />'s with white-tipped tails & <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/littleglider.gif" alt="" />'s eyesight problems, Bourbon had stated that she thought that feeding carrot juice would help.
From my research thru the years & several different Oz sources, that info is simply not correct - many many <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/littleglider.gif" alt="" />'s in Oz continue to have white-tipped tails & their eyes are fine
Edema sounds like a weird diagnosis. Edema is usually swelling of the limbs, especially in the lower legs. It's associated most commonly with high blood pressure or pregnancy.
It might be helpful if you listed her complete diet, including what her staple food is, what kind of fruits and vegetables she normally gets, and what type of vitamin or calcium supplement you are giving her. Also, strawberries on their own will not have a negative effect, but strawberries often have been sprayed with a lot of chemicals so you need to make sure they've been washed really well.
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#46151 05/19/0510:04 PM05/19/0510:04 PM
Actually, I myself had edema of the cornea about a month ago. Edema just means visible swelling of a body part; it's not limited to limbs or lower limbs (although it is common there). Corneal edema if the most common eye edema.
In humans, eye edema is always a symptom of something else, such as a scratched or infected cornea. I don't know if this is the case with gliders, but I would assume so. Either way, the drops given to her glider are probably similar to the ones I received - containing an antibacterial agent and a steroid to help the eye heal faster.
It is worth noting that I could see the entire time I had my edema (almost a month because the school's doctors misdiagnosed it and gave me the wrong medicine!), although my vision was blurry. All liquids and most solids bend light (this is why a straw looks like it is cut in half if you look at it in a glass of water). Between the swelling and the white blood cells my body was sending to fight the infection, the light was bent at a different angle than it would be in a normal cornea, and instead of being focused, the light coming in was a little scattered. It healed fine with time and my vision returned to normal.
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#46152 05/23/0510:50 PM05/23/0510:50 PM
update: she has been to the vet several times now. last friday the vet said that the part of the eye that makes tears shut down. then she started scratching them cause they were so dry irritated. he assured that it wasnt something i did or that she did...her body just stopped makin tears. so he gave her drops for the infection and drops for lubrication. today the vet said one eye is really bad and we might be able to save it with some oral medicine but most likely he will have to remove her eye. i take her back on friday. ill keep you guys posted. thanks again. --mariah
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#46153 06/06/0510:36 PM06/06/0510:36 PM
today she had her eye removed. we couldnt save it. the other eye has a 70% chance of making it. there is nothing more that i can do to help her besides give her medicine. i hope it gets better. -mariah
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#46154 06/06/0510:49 PM06/06/0510:49 PM
Oh no! That's horrible. I am so sorry for you and your glider. I hope she recovers. One thing is for sure, that little one is going to need an extra amount of tender loving care. Our prayers go with you both.
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#46155 06/06/0511:18 PM06/06/0511:18 PM
</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr /> Oh no! That's horrible. I am so sorry for you and your glider. I hope she recovers. One thing is for sure, that little one is going to need an extra amount of tender loving care. Our prayers go with you both.
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Yea i feel the same
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#46156 06/06/0511:40 PM06/06/0511:40 PM
I was out of town when this thread started. I'm sorry your Baby lost her eye, but it sounds like you did all you could.
Yes, corneal edema is common in humans (I'm an optometrist - I keep peeple's peepers peepin'), usually due to overwearing, sleeping in or not properly caring for contact lenses, but also sometimes corneal abrasions or ulcers, dry eye, corneal dystrophies and degenerations, post surgery and even glaucoma can cause it. Sometimes it is treated with antibiotic/steroid combination drops like in Sarah's case (I bet you got Tobradex or a generic equivalent) or it can sometimes be treated with hyperosmotics like Muro 128. But the main thing is to find out the cause, because otherwise you're just treating a symptom (the edema) not the underlying cause.
Sarah, that was a really good explanation you gave. You must have an excellent optometrist or ophthalmologist to have taken the time to go into such a detailed explanation for you, or did you do your own research?
I'm just speculating here and I don't mean to second guess your vet, and it probably doesn't even matter at this point, but the idea of her eyes just suddenly stopping the production of tears sounds a little strange to me. In humans, dry eye is one of if not THE most common cause of corneal edema, but it's usually chronic, not sudden. Maybe gliders are known to sometimes quit making tears. I'm not a vet. But if she were a person, I think glaucoma would be higher on my suspicion list than sudden dry eye. The most common forms of glaucoma have no symptoms aside from the slow and permanent loss of vision (one of the best reasons for people to get eye exams every year, whether they need glasses or not) but there is a form of glaucoma where the eye pressure spikes very high quickly, and that can be painful, and therefore cause a glider to "rub" or scratch at its eyes, and it can also cause corneal edema (aside from the scratches causing the edema). I don't imagine you can measure a glider's intra-ocular pressure (we have enough trouble doing it on a 5 year old human) but it sure would be interesting, assuming we knew what a glider's normal IOP is. It might be worth asking your vet about, on the possibility that it could help save the other eye
Okay, sorry this got so long. As you can see, I love my job.
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#46157 06/07/0502:54 AM06/07/0502:54 AM
[:"green"]I know that vet's can measure the IOP on a glider. It is very difficult and the glider needs to be sedated to do it, but it is possible. When Cricky had his eye infection last winter, the vet specialist I brought him to offered to measure it (although I declined because it wasn't likely that was the problem in his case). Definitely check with your vet & find out if he/she can check for glaucoma as the underlying cause of your glider's corneal edema. I'll be praying for you & your little one,
when a suggie has blue eyes you will know. its really hard to miss. ill try to post the pic tonight...i have to figure out how to down size it. -mariah
Last edited by mariahrg; 06/07/0509:30 PM.
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#46160 06/08/0512:13 AM06/08/0512:13 AM
well...shes gone. this morning she was perfectly fine, at noon she seemed a little sluggish but nothing drasticly wrong, and then at 5 she sat lifeless in my hands but still breathing. i rushed her to the vet and they said that she was dehydrated and very depressed. he said between the meds, getting shuttled around and the surgery she just couldnt handle it. its amazing how fast their conditions can turn on you...within a few hours she went down hill fast. poor baby. -mariah