my rat pet has an eye getting white

Question
Hi,
My Female rat , Lili, has the right eye getting white.Few month ago( maybe 3) , i have noticed a little white patch in her eye that you could see only with low light in the room. That is why , we didn t really noticing it developping. It has now cover the all inside except a tiny triangle cheap that could look like a sort of pupil ( as i can t really distinct the pupil from the rest of the eye , even from the healthy eye).the white eye isn t red and hasn t any discharge. Lili doesn t scratch it .
i have done some researches on internet , i believe it s a cataract. Apparently, it might be caused by hypertension or diabete. I therefore stop giving her anything sweets and anything salty. I just give her fruits veges and rat mix but she doesn t really eat that much anymore. she pushes or shavels her plate of mix rat and can put something else she doesn t like in a litter.
Anyway , i find she like cooked carrots for example and her fave avocados.
But what do you think about her eye, can i treat her ?Do i just continue with a healthier eating habit for her? do you really believe this condition is reversible? Do you think it is a cataract?Does she need vitamins or plants?

Tell me what you think about her case please.
we love our friend , she the best pet.
thank you.
amandine  

Answer
Hi Amandine

How old is Lili? It sounds like a cataract but the cause doesnt always have to be from a medical condition. It could simply be from old age, although they can form at any age if underlying condition is the cause as you stated in your message.
Is she ok health wise?

If this started out slowly, often as a small white dot behind the pupil which progresses to the entire pupil discolored to a milky white color, it is probably a cataract.  Treatment in the case of it being caused by an underlying condition would be to of course diagnose the problem and treat it, such as diabetes, which is not real common in rats, btw.

In humans, its a breeze to remove them, but not with rats. I am sure it has been done by some super brave exotic specialist though and if so I can find out for you if you want to have them removed, but to be totally honest, rats have terrible vision as it is, so if she does end up with a total loss of vision in both eyes, it is not a super crisis. I have a rat that lost his vision to unknown reasons (we think he had an infection in his brain that he somehow survived back in December) and he is totally blind.  He was just about 14 months old when this occured and he is doing fantastic. I have him in a single story cage and he even uses a litter box! He waves his head around like he is one of those bobble head statues, but not doing the usual head sway  rats do. He holds his head straight up with his nose to the ceiling and waves it like...Stevie Wonder does! Its strange, but hey, whatever works. As long as I dont move his cage stuff around he is fine. He prefers a dark room so he lives in my walk in closet in his cage with a dim light and a red heat lamp (the closet is cold even though I shut the vents to the A/C doesnt go in.  So my Smudge is living proof a totally blind rat can prevail.  He does live alone now though leaving three brothers behind but he could not get along in their huge ferret nation cage. He would get hurt. I could not expect one of the boys to have to live in a single story cage with no ramps and things to do...it wouldnt be fair to the other rats that are healthy.  However, Smudge is fine and happy....I was worried and had a back up plan if he didnt adjust and became depressed.  Just so you know though, this does work out no matter how unfortunate it is that she may go blind, they really do adjust great.  They put humans to shame the way these rats are so strong and such troopers!

Check out my website for some ideas on diet if you want, also.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm

Also for any readers, if you want to add to the diet, please write and let me know. I am always open for new ideas!