# Is it common for some hedgehogs to only have one eye?



## SpudPig (Aug 9, 2014)

I have come across several classified listing online and locally with people selling one eyed hedgehogs. I didn't pay much attention until I noticed a rescue had 2 one eyed cuties in. Is it common for a hedgehog to have one eye? I'm just not sure why there seem to be so many of them.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

It's not necessarily common, but not uncommon either. Hedgehogs have eyes that are very shallowly set in their sockets (similar to pug & boston terrier dogs). If something irritates their eye, sometimes they can be scratching at their eye & scratch it out of the socket. It can also come out if it swells due to something else going on. If any of this happens, there's usually either surgery done to remove the eye & sew shut the socket, or sometimes the vet will give the owner pain meds & antibiotics and they let the eye dry up and let the hedgehog dig it out (which sounds awful, but that's the reason for the pain meds). Either way works, and ends up with a one-eyed hedgie. Nancy currently has a hedgie with both eyes gone, completely blind. Since hedgehogs have such bad eyesight to begin with, they do just fine with one or both eyes missing or being blind after a brief adjustment period.


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