# Higgin's POOR LITTLE EYE - Please help



## Kiwi-Man (May 4, 2010)

I hope somebody out there can give some info. Worried sick. I noticed this little, pinkish bulge from under his eye the other night. I immediately brought him to the vet (Wow! expensive!!) & they put him under for examination. They found nothing and all his blood tests & organs tests were great. Basically, they thought I was crazy. Took this photo when I came home that night & re-sent it. ANYBODY experience this!? Sent it to the vet and she said that it could be either a fat deposit from a bit too much weight, a cyst, or...cancer & if that were the case, they'd remove his eye!  Oh man. We switched up his diet to Royal Canin light. Gonna monitor him this week. Hopefully it takes disappears. Anyway here's the pic....


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I have dealt with two little protrusions of skin that looked like that and sadly both ended up being cancer. 

Did the vet check his mouth out well. My one girl had a slight protrusion at the corner of her eye but once gassed the tumour was on the roof of her mouth up through into her eye. 

Did the vet give you any drops for his eye that might help if it's just a swelling or irritation? 

Basically you have a choice of surgery, or wait and see. None are ideal options but I don't think there is an ideal option in this case. 

I'm sorry this is happening to your beautiful boy.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

It could be a cancer popping out, however let me throw something new out here....

How old is this hedgehog and how long have you had him? I ask to see if this hedgehog has been with you for a long time and this is a new problem or if the hedgehog is pretty new to you and possibly just normal for the hedgehog.

Poptart has these in both of her eyes. She had them when she came to me several years ago. I asked a few "old timers" at the time and was told that they have seen these in some hedgehogs they have cared for over the years too. There is a thread on here for it too: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8777&p=74277&hilit=cherry+eye#p74277

Poptart's are not always visible. They seem to show up mostly when Poptart is stressing and trying to hide or if she is looking a certain direction. Otherwise it disappears under her eyelid.

With that in mind, I have also seen one that looked similar in Riley. Riley's was a spindle cell sarcoma causing a cherry eye. His was always visible though.


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## Kiwi-Man (May 4, 2010)

They did a total examination of his mouth & tongue & detected nothing. There was no medication given because they detected nothing, which kind of blows my mind because it's pretty obvious. I'm devastated here. We're gonna monitor this week and if this doesn't get better we're gonna get it tested. I just don't want to put him through all this right away if it can be avoided. He's super energetic and affectionate, no loss of appetite, & runs on his wheel all night. Nothing seems to have changed except this little bump that seemed to pop up in JUST 2 days.


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## Kiwi-Man (May 4, 2010)

Hey Kalandra, thanks for ANY possible good news. I'll take it for now. He just turned 2 in April. Does cancer just pop up like that in simply 2 days. I'm hoping you're right, but again, I have to be realistic too. Higgs is family now & I'll do what it takes to make him happy & healthy.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Unfortunately, yes it can pop up from one day to the next. 

Peanut's was in the corner of her eye and when it appeared so did a scratch on her nose. I assumed she had scratched herself but a few days later the scratch was gone and the protrusion was still there. 

It is great that Owen's mouth and everything checked out so if it does happen to be the worst, surgery might be an option. 

Sending prayers for him that it goes away and is what Kalandra has mentioned.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

It can pop up over night. Riley's did. I woke up one morning to a hedgehog with a bloody eye. He had scratched at it. We initially treated it like an infection that had popped out his third eyelid. It actually started to go away, then came back with a vengeance and became quite large. We did a biopsy of it and found that it was a spindle cell sarcoma. I had a veterinary ophthalmologist remove it. Sadly, he didn't get it all and the tumor came back in a different location (in his neck). Which was better, in the sense it gave Riley several months of good quality time. Riley was 1 year 1 week when the bloody eye occurred. So yes cancer can happen even in the very young.

We will keep our quills crossed here that this turns out to be nothing but a little fatty pocket that you are noticing for the first time.

OH and I have no idea if Poptart had these when she was young. She was almost 2 when she found her way to my home. She turned 4 this last March.


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