Orbital acinic cell carcinoma of presumed Harderian gland origin in a captive African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris)

This report describes a 4-year-old, male, intact African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris) that was presented for evaluation of left-sided exophthalmos with swelling and protrusion of the nictitating membrane. A suspected neoplasm, presumed to originate from the Harderian gland, was identified in the ventromedial orbit in association with the nictitating membrane. The mass was surgically removed and diagnosed as an acinic cell carcinoma, but reoccurred 5 months post-operatively. Humane euthanasia was elected, and a necropsy with histopathology confirmed the initial diagnosis of acinic cell carcinoma. This case suggests that acinic cell carcinoma should be on the differential list for a non-painful orbital mass in the African pygmy hedgehog. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.