# hormonal boys (yes, that's a catchy subject)



## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

so Harvey is clearly being all hormonal. he indulges in his "boy time" heavily, makes musical noises, bites, and pines away. poor baby! now i am worried about Sweetie  who is still too young for that. so a couple of questions: while i know that all hedgeboys like their "boy time," how can i tell the difference between a more normal and problematic hormone level? also, when it comes to the point where Harvey is, does it ever subside, like with the time of the year or no?

also... please do not think that i want to neuter any hedgie because i really, really don't. but i am going to ask this just so i have the information: what led some of you to neuter your hedgies and are there any risks involved? any other info you could share on the subject?

feel free to share stories and otherwise educate me because i'm new to this specific problem. i was waiting for Sweetie to grow up before looking into it... but Harvey came along.


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## Venusdoom (Jul 1, 2010)

What do you main by biting? Is he biting you?

Igor is only 3,5 months old and I haven't seen him having 'boy-time'. At what age does this start?


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Venusdoom said:


> What do you main by biting? Is he biting you?
> 
> Igor is only 3,5 months old and I haven't seen him having 'boy-time'. At what age does this start?


yeah, he's biting, but that's ok. i just hate seeing him so dejected. 

i think it starts after 6 months? Sweetie is 5 and it hasn't started yet.


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

Hi there,

Could you elaborate a bit more on why exactly you feel he has a problem because other than the biting (if he's biting you) I'm uncertain why exactly you're concerned. 
I always thought the idea of male hedgies having their boy time was one of the "funnier" fun facts about them. Both of my hedgies have mood swings (and I have a male and female) but I figure they're just like the rest of us!  For ours, if they are being moody (spiking up, huffing, popping more than usual~ we just give them their space) then later on, or sometimes the next day, they are back to normal. Our male is CONSTANTLY playing with himself in one way or another but I've never viewed it as a problem (except that cleaning his cage sometimes is a bit different than cleaning hers lol...). I think he's about 10/11 months old or so (not sure because he's a rescue) but I never actually thought about the fact that he may grow out of it. I don't have much experience, since we've had him only since April, but I just always viewed it as an okay thing. I may actually start to worry about him if he stops doing it! :lol:


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## Venusdoom (Jul 1, 2010)

What do you mean by 'all the time'? I mean, everytime you look at him he's doing it or...???


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## mel2626 (Sep 28, 2009)

Venusdoom said:


> What do you mean by 'all the time'? I mean, everytime you look at him he's doing it or...???



Me? Well, yes and no. Every time he's awake he plays with himself in one way or another (with his mouth, paws, rubbing himself on something etc). I mean, he doesn't do it constantly~ it's not the only thing he does. It's more of a wake up ritual and then a few more times in between, probably before bed too, after a bath...you name it.  I guess I just view it more as him making himself happy as opposed to feeling bad for him not having a female to mate with.  Boys will be boys as they say!


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Boy time can start at 6-7 weeks old. Certainly not all of them do at that age, but it is possible. Most of them start about 3-4 months. Some of them are discreet about it, others don't care and will do it any time and any place. I've had a few boys that I've never found any evidence of them doing it and others, every time I pick them up I get a wet hand. :lol:


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Nancy said:


> Boy time can start at 6-7 weeks old. Certainly not all of them do at that age, but it is possible. Most of them start about 3-4 months. Some of them are discreet about it, others don't care and will do it any time and any place. I've had a few boys that I've never found any evidence of them doing it and others, every time I pick them up I get a wet hand. :lol:


Sweetie is hyper-active, so i think he'll run off some of the steam.


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

ok, Linda Woodring from the HWS list said that she hadn't heard of any behavior getting so obsessive that it'd be bad for them, so Mr McSteamy can keep at it without his mama fretting too much.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

McSteamy - haha!!


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

Mine is going through puberty badly. Right now he's a mean biter. He took some skin last time he bit me and he's constantly in a ball. Having a very aggressive male right now sucks. I heard that puberty will last for a month or two. On top of him going through puberty he's quilling and that makes him really pissed. There are days when he's happy sleeping and crawling on me but today he's really aggressive. The key is to be patient.


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

This thread has really helped. Oreo is going on 4 months and while he's very discrete about it he enjoys his boy time. But he's also been very aggressive lately and biting as well. I know he's quilling, has been for the last month poor guy. Can anyone give any more info on puberty in males. Will this aggressive behaviour end?


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## casxcore (Jul 28, 2011)

Wait.. now they go through puberty too? I guess I never considered that.. When does this usually start to occur? Walter has already gone through quilling but the past two nights he has been a giant grump and I was just hoping it was temporary.. nothing has changed that would cause it. I've never seen him doing any kind of "boy time" and I've never picked him up and got a "wet hand".. But he is almost 6 months old.. :? :roll:


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## lcam85 (Nov 30, 2011)

My little guy is starting to get back to normal again and be his lovely cuddly self 
I put a shirt of mine back in his cage for him to sleep with and that seemed to help. Also I think his quilling is starting to come to an end and that will be easier on him as well. 
I need to find something to have him dig in though cause the fleece isn't cutting it


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## hiddenhillshedgehogs (Dec 30, 2011)

lcam85 said:


> My little guy is starting to get back to normal again and be his lovely cuddly self
> I put a shirt of mine back in his cage for him to sleep with and that seemed to help. Also I think his quilling is starting to come to an end and that will be easier on him as well.
> I need to find something to have him dig in though cause the fleece isn't cutting it


We made our hedgies "dig boxes", they can be made from an array of different things; example fleece strips, their shavings (if you use them) with bits of kibble hidden throughout either in toys or on it's own. I've heard of people using everything from a tissue box to a tupperwear container. I believe there are a few older threads in the "Toy" section. If not i'm sure if you posted an inquiry you will get lots of ideas on what has worked for other hedgies. There's so many things you can use, get creative! But make sure you use "Hedgie Safe" materials.


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