# Is it possible for rats to go blind?



## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Now I know this may sound like a stupid question, because I am aware that rats are pretty much blind anyhow. But over the last few days my girl Clove has developed these red circles in her eyes- you know like red eye from a camera flash, just not as noticeable. She's also started bobbing her head and weaving a bit like albinos do, and she gets startled by things near her as if she didn't know it was there. She is very old and other than that she seems fine; I just wondered if, like us, their little ratty eyes wore out.
Thanks!


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## Nienor (May 1, 2010)

Yes, rats can get blind. But I have not noticed visible changes of the eyes then. At least not such .. sometimes eyes seem to have a grey cover but I have never heart of eyes becoming red. Maybe it is the blood in the eye but I would let a vet check maybe she needs painkillers because eye diseases can be very painful.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

when you say red, do you mean red disks over black or dark ruby eyes? Cataracts usually appear as a small silvery disc over the pupil but its not normally red. Can you put up a picture?


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

I can't really put up a picture because it's only noticeable in certain lights. My fiancé seems to think they were always like this, maybe I just never noticed before. She's definitely acting like she's blind, I didn't think it was very serious since rats are essentially blind anyway. Do you think the vets would be able to do anything?


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## Zhaneel (Sep 1, 2010)

I think you're just seeing the difference between her iris and her pupil now. As you said, it's only noticeable in certain lights. I doubt a vet would be able to do anything as their eyes are so small, and to be honest I don't think it would affect her quality of life too much anyway, since they mostly rely on smell. Just take care to let her know when you're approaching, etc. like you would with any other blind or near-blind animal.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Zhaneel said:


> I think you're just seeing the difference between her iris and her pupil now. As you said, it's only noticeable in certain lights. I doubt a vet would be able to do anything as their eyes are so small, and to be honest I don't think it would affect her quality of life too much anyway, since they mostly rely on smell. Just take care to let her know when you're approaching, etc. like you would with any other blind or near-blind animal.


she sounds like she has ruby eyes and I agree with Zhaneel regarding the iris and the pupil.


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Hmm. Are ruby eyes really really dark? Because they look black. I've had her 3 years and I've only just noticed the red colour? God that makes me sound awful! She's a roan though- can they have ruby eyes?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Maltey said:


> Hmm. Are ruby eyes really really dark? Because they look black. I've had her 3 years and I've only just noticed the red colour? God that makes me sound awful! She's a roan though- can they have ruby eyes?


Ruby eyes can range from red to looking almost black, but with light and especially a flash from a camera the red always shows


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## Nienor (May 1, 2010)

Roans have different eyes, you often see a red disk on black-dark-ruby ground .. it is especially obvious when you picture them using a flash light : http://www.tiere-kleinanzeigen.com/export/819b4f3d6f7c2552a102770e8526f.JPG


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

That's exactly it! Well that makes me feel better then- I must've just not noticed it before! As for the blindness, I'm pretty sure she is going blind, but she's still getting about ok, eating, drinking normally. The others are helping her out


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Ruby and pink eyed rats have horrible eye sight, worse than black eyed rats (which says a lot considering black eyed rats already have horrible vision compared to ours). It does get worse over time, as light damages their eyes. It is not a big deal though if they do go fully blind, as they rely on their tacticle senses (whiskers) and scent the way we rely on our sight.


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Yeah I know, poor things. I wonder what sort of life they'd lead if they could see properly?! I found this really interesting website on what rats can see- I don't know if you've seen it, but it's a video through a rats' eyes- http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatCam.htm


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