Cloudy eye....

[Christina K.]

I have not posted about George in a LONG time....

Little man George has been with us since about 14 days, and is now 1 year 6 weeks old.

He has free (supervised) roam of the house when not in his large cage. He eats as healthy of a diet as I can get him to (he started refusing boo balls and Fox Valley at about 6 months), he is not chubby and actually doesn't seem to gain weight, no matter how much he eats.

In case it is an important factor, here is his typical diet (a piece or two per meal) - frozen corn kernels, avocado, snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, apple, grapes, mixed spring greens, shredded wheat cereal, bell peppers, sweet potato, radishes, pears, strawberries, peanut butter, dried banana chips, mushrooms, squash, asparagus, cucumber, zucchini, In small amounts (maybe one piece per day of one choice) - pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins, small pieces of bread, french fries (he LOVES fries). He also gets a calcium supplement a few times a week. I put rat block in his cage daily, but he NEVER eats it. He also gets fresh sticks to chew on daily.

The past couple of weeks I have noticed a cloudy appearance to his right eye.

A Veterinarian will not see him, without confiscating him, right? How do I know what's wrong with his eye, and how do I treat it? (I always wondered what I would do in this situation!)

Here is a picture this morning to show the cloudy eye....
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG0761.jpg

This was in April....
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG0392.jpg

This was March - he likes to sneak into the pantry...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG1705.jpg

This was March...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG1569.jpg

Stretching...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/12-28-11-3.jpg

He likes riding in the car...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/Georgecarride7.png

Last Christmas...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG1439.jpg

He loves straws...
http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp196/kindasimpl/IMAG1356.jpg

[stepnstone]

Have you noticed any draining, does it seem to bother him or does he mess with it?

Could be caused by a unwanted pathogen (bacteria, virus, fungus, yeast, or mold) causing problems with the eye.

There are Ophthalmic Ointments for animals sold at pet supplies that can be purchased over the counter you may want to try.

Also... Nutrition (diet) is always an important factor and I wouldn't rule out an imbalance causing eye problems. That "diet" you describe is kind of scary, besides not eating a good quality rodent block it seems you got a kind of :goodbad good and evil thing going on there by canceling out good foods with the bad. Just because a squirrel likes something and will eat it certainly does not mean it should be fed to them. Nutrition is extremely important especially in a "captive" squirrel and they need that proper balance. TSB has an excellent forum on squirrel nutrition that spells out the why and why not's.

[Christina K.]

Have you noticed any draining, does it seem to bother him or does he mess with it? Within the past few weeks I have noticed his right eye is cloudy. The left eye does not look this way, and this had not been cloudy since birth either. The eye looks normal otherwise, no discharge, no swelling and it is not red. I can't tell if his eyesight is affected in the eye. It kind of looks like cataracts in an older dog

Could be caused by a unwanted pathogen (bacteria, virus, fungus, yeast, or mold) causing problems with the eye.I would not think so

There are Ophthalmic Ointments for animals sold at pet supplies that can be purchased over the counter you may want to try. I will get some if I can't find a vet to see him.

Also... Nutrition (diet) is always an important factor and I wouldn't rule out an imbalance causing eye problems. That "diet" you describe is kind of scary, besides not eating a good quality rodent block it seems you got a kind of :goodbad good and evil thing going on there by canceling out good foods with the bad. Just because a squirrel likes something and will eat it certainly does not mean it should be fed to them. Nutrition is extremely important especially in a "captive" squirrel and they need that proper balance. TSB has an excellent forum on squirrel nutrition that spells out the why and why not's.I did read the "diet" requirements when he was first found, and he did eat as he should. After he stopped eating the formula and boo balls, I just try to get the most healthful things into him possible. I will reevaluate his diet too - thank you!

Thank you!