Cavy Blindness and Weight

Question
Hi Laura,
  I'm still sort of a new cavy owner and I have a kind of dumb question. Is there any specific way of telling if your piggy is blind? I know they don't have the best eye sight, but sometimes Tavie (my piggy) needs to really check out every little thing before moving forward. For example, after floor time I put him back in his cage and it takes him a little while to check  (literatly) everything before settling down. He'll walk around the cage, put his front feet on the walls, and sometimes climb in his food bowl.
Is this abnormal behavior?
   Also is there any other way to tell if your cavy is over weight besides weing them? I've been having trouble telling if my piggy is the right size or if he is a little over weight. (We havent been having the best time with the scale)

Thank You SOOO much for all your help!!!!  

Answer
Hi Nadalie,

No question is dumb. It is more dumb to NOT ask than to ask, and it is great that you want to learn more about piggies.

The most common (but not always correct) way to tell if your guinea is blind is to shine a light in his eyes. If it reflects back red it is normal. If it reflects back very white, that's usually the first indication that the eyesight isn't too good. The best way is really to check with your vet - that's the only way to determine for sure if your guinea is blind or not.

That sounds very normal what Tavie is doing. A lot of piggies search around their cage after they've had time outside of it - it's just a way of checking that everything is as it should be. If he is bumping into things a lot, tends to fall into his food bowl and has a lot of trouble when you change the toys around/ rearrange the cage, then I would check his eyesight with the vet.

The only reliable way to determine if your guinea is overweight or underweight is by weighing them. All guineas have different body shapes and body 'textures', and only by weighing them on a scale can you really tell for sure if he is alright in terms of weight. Most guineas weigh between 2lb and 4lb - a little over or under is nothing to worry about.

Best Wishes,

- Laura