Pupil of eye is white?

J3nn4m · Mar 1, 2013

It would be most appreciated if I could please have some advice as to why, or causes of, the pupil of my chins eyes are white?
I am new at owning a chin, she is approx. 12 weeks old. Dark beige in colour, with red eyes, albino gene in the mix I would guess.
Previously she was keep under a UV light, I have done some research and found that UV lights etc can cause what they call snow blindness in some animals and humans. Could this possibly be what has happened here?
She is not blind, she gives me a response everytime I put my fingers around her, and leaps happily to the bowl of food...
Could it be cataracts? - Although researched has shown that cataracts affects more than just the pupil.
Any advice is welcome... thank you.

AZChins · Mar 1, 2013

Either she has a slight injury in her eye that make her cornea appear white or bluish in color or she has a cataract. It sounds like a cataract of some sort. Those can be genetic or the result of old age (not in this case!) or possibly from a dietary deficiency of some sort (more likely a deficiency before she was born, the mother didn't get enough of something.) In chinchillas, the white pupil is normally considered to be a cataract.

I know nothing about the UV light causing this issue since I have neither experienced such a thing in a chin nor heard of it. She is very young so this is probably genetic or her mother didn't get proper nutrition when she was pregnant.

Riven · Mar 1, 2013

Chinchillas do not carry an albino gene, although it could be possible, it would be a rarity, not like other animals in which is it breed for.

I have a female who developed a white spot, it continued to grow, she is blind in that eye and also has other issues such as severe head tilt. She functions fine at 6+ years old so I don't worry about it. If she starts to suffer then I'll consider the options. It has progressively gotten worse as she has aged though. I do not know the cause.

Cuddlebug · Mar 1, 2013

Beige chinchillas have red eyes. Some are just darker red than others. Red eyes in a chinchilla just means that they have the beige gene. Your description sounds like a catact to me, too.

I have a 5 year old girl here that has a cataract in one eye. she does not see well out of it, in fact, she is very easy to sneak up on and startle. I am not saying that I sneak up on her on purpose. She just can't see me coming from that side. I always make sure to talk as I approach and she is kept in a smaller cage so she doesn't hurt herself when she falls, which is quite often.

Zoaea · Mar 2, 2013

In humans the cataracts are a white/bluish hue too. If her cataract is not fully developed yet she might be able to see hazy outlines, but most of her response to you is likely from her other senses like smell sound and touch through their sensitive whiskers. I wouldnt worry about her unless she gets weepy eyes or signs of neurological issues. the only way to fix a cataract is to surgically remove and replace it, which is not done in animals.

Even if she has some vision I would treat her like being fully blind. Dont rearrange her cage 'furnature' unless nessisary, take out shelves or make them low and close together so she doesnt have to make blind leaps, and like the other person said, let her hear your approach. Keep in mind that if she cant stand on her hind legs and touch something above her, she likely can't 'see' it, and when she is on a ledge/shelf she could accidently fall so make sure the highest thing is still low to the floor.