# Hedgie Inexplicably Lost an Eye?



## Kitta Furen (Jan 12, 2012)

When I first got my hedgehog, she came from a sub-standard local pet shop that didn't really know how to take care of hedgehogs. They had five hedgehogs together in one guinea pig sized cage. Because of the general standoffish nature of hedgehogs (and how sharp their quills are), my hedgie only had one (1) eye when I brought her home because the other had been injured/infected/eaten by one of her cage mates.

I've owned her for about 1 year and 6 months now, and come to find that, while not all hedgehogs have the stereotypical "grumpy" attitude, mine does. She doesn't really like me handling her, it only seems to stress her out. So I provided her with the largest cage I could afford that had solid translucent walls, got the softest fleece blankie for her, and got her the nicest hedgehog wheel on the market (The Carolina Storm) to make sure that she had the most comfortable life an antisocial hedgehog could. 

I frequently clean her cage and provide her with fresh food and water. However, because she has a shy/grumpy personality, she was always either snuggled in her blankie or curled into a tight ball hiding her face when I did all of this. I didn't get to see her face very often at all, and when I did I only saw one side of her face because she was running on her wheel at night.

That's why, when I was bathing her today, I was absolutely *mortified* to find that she no longer had her other eye!!! 

Her face is completely eyeless now, with only empty sockets staring at me when I clip her nails. What on earth could have happened?! She lives in the safest habitat imaginable, no corners on anything, nothing pokie in her cage, and no animals harassing her at all. (I keep my cats VERY far away from her cage at all times, even though it has solid walls.)

*Does anyone here know what could have caused this?*


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## alexvdl (Dec 19, 2012)

Hedgehogs are sharp animals.

Also, you don't interact with her at all other to clip her nails and bathe her? No daily snuggling and holding and petting?


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## Kitta Furen (Jan 12, 2012)

I love her dearly, and I used to try to get her to enjoy enjoy snuggling and petting because I 'd heard about so many other hedgehogs that did, but she never really warmed up to it. She prefers exploring for brief periods, and then burrowing under blankets or hiding in dark corners for long periods of time. If I watch her though, she seems to sense it and goes "huff-ff-ff!" as if to say that I'm bothering her. Tiggywinkles isn't much of a social butterfly, but she definitely has a sort of rock star 'march to my own beat' attitude.  

She doesn't show any loss of performance though, she still moves at a breakneck speed and doesn't run into things. I've been browsing the forums a bit and see that most people who own blind hedgehogs don't notice any difference in their behavior compared to hedgehogs that can see. Still, it's a bit of a surprise when a hedgie does look in your direction and there aren't any eyes to look into. 0_0'


So you think she lost her remaining eye by stabbing herself? Does this happen very often for hedgehogs?


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## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

Sometimes they can scratch their eyes out by accident or poke themselves and then the eye gets irritated and they scratch it out for some relief. It usually heals up on its own. Sometimes, when the wound is fresh, a vet will do minor surgery to clean out the socket and sew up the eyelids. As this has taught you even thought your hedgehog doesn't like being handled you should check her over nightly to make sure she is not injured. Also although some hedgehogs have been deemed irreparably grumpy most can make progress over long periods of time. How long did you try to get her to come around? How long each day did you handle her? Did you try the 'putting an old t-shirt in the cage' trick?


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