# Blind Hedgehog



## mesyhedgehog (Dec 5, 2009)

I did not know in to which forum to post this in so I figured id'e post it here. 

Does anyone have any experience with blind hedgehogs, or how to care for them? We are scared that one of the 5 babies in the litter might be blind becuase its eyes are a redish-brown instead of black, and it doesn't seem to be responding to any sight. It is also smaller than all the rest, maybe because it couldn't go through the other ones to reach the milk. We thought it might have been albino because it is white, but then realized there is a small tanish-brown patch on the top of it. Also, this has nothing to do with anything, but its also the only baby with at where the front most quills come out from. 

Can someone tell me how to identify a blind from birth hedgehog?


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

Some hedgehogs that are not albino have ruby colored eyes. Is it possible the eyes are just not fully open yet? Sorry it's late and I'm confused and not much help lol could you possibly post a picture of the little one?  Nancy may not be back on till morning, hopefully someone else with more exp. will be along soon to help.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I had a rescue hedgie who was completely blind. She got around in her cage with no problems at all, wheeled like mad and if it hadn't been confirmed by a vet I would never have thougt she was blind just by looking at her. Hedgies don't have great vision to begin with so they seem to adjust very well to being blind. The biggest thing with my blind girl was we kept her cage the same all the time and she came out more during the day than my other hedgies.


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## Ausage (Jan 5, 2012)

The easiest way to determine if an animal is blind is to suddenly move something close to the animals face. If it reacts, then you know it can see, even if poorly. If it does not react at all it is blind.


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## Christemo (Oct 5, 2011)

And, blind animals learn to deal with their environments fast. (My cat learned to climb down the steps slowly... can't go up them, but can go down like a boss!)


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## LarryT (May 12, 2009)

I've got a rat terrier that's blind and she's 16 years old and she does great. She still digs holes all over the yard looking for rats :roll: :lol: One of her eyeballs had to be removed a year or so ago cause it was bulging and causing her pain, she's been completely blind since about 10 years old such an amazing dog she is.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

How old are the babies? I assume older than 3 weeks since you know the eye colour. You can't tell if they are blind or the eye colour until the eyes are fully open. 

Being blind won't affect it at all. If it's smaller than the others, it may be getting pushed away from the milk bar by the larger ones and you may need to rotate babies to allow it to get more food.


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