# Boy hedgehog question



## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

So Quilliam has a kind of lump under his belly kind of by his butt? Im assuming these are his testicles lol, If I touch the area I can kind of feel two. Is this, in fact, his testicles?

He is my first boy hedgie lol.


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## sarahspins (Jun 25, 2013)

Yes


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## laura'sharley (Sep 29, 2013)

Yep those are his testicles.


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## Ashley Lodge (Oct 10, 2013)

Hehe! Yeah, wait until you see him have his 'man time'! Hilarious!


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

Uh oh, I'm getting a boy hedgie. I've honestly been owned by many a girl pets in the recent years (actually I think I had a boy cat about eight years ago) but mostly they've been predominately female.

What is this "man time" that I am reading about? What are some of the nuances of owning a boy vs. a girl hedgehog?

Also, do many people get them neutered? Is there any benefit in this? I know in dogs/cats this is supposed to reduce the risk of boy-related cancers. I was thinking of having this done if there is a health benefit.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Male hedgehogs masturbate. They're kind of notorious for it. :lol: It's a little awkward at first, but eventually you learn to recognize when they're going at it so you can leave them be. And you learn to just laugh at them being silly boys.

There can be benefits of spaying females because of things like ovarian cancer, but I don't think there are really benefits for boys. Sometimes if a male is really aggressive neutering can help a bit, but properly handling and bonding can probably help just as much.


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

"Man/boy time" would be referring to masturbation. 
I don't think people get them neutered unless there's an issue with the hedgie and neutering would be needed...


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## MochiAndMe (Jul 13, 2013)

Posted at the same time as Abby.


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

Thank you for the response. At least I know he (the new hedgie) isn't convulsing or having a seizure if the natural boy stuff happens. Thank you for alerting me to that.

. . . why did I fall in love with a boy? Geesh.


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## abbys (Oct 13, 2012)

Haha, yeah, if you ever see him kind of tuck his head under him while arching his body up, he's most likely enjoying boy time.


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

oh, eww. Ok, well I guess that's just a "thing." I'll promise to love him even if some of the behaviour is a bit . . . well, ya know. 

See, very few care booklets even mention stuff like this! I'm so glad all of you are here.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Other signs would be him suddenly breathing really fast, convulsing, or getting poked by a misplaced "leg", or finding strange clear or white dry crusty patches on his liner or snuggle-sacks...

It's not a heart attack, it's not a seizure, he didn't break a leg, and he's not vomiting.


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

Laughing as I read your post Annie&Tibbers. Thank you for finishing out my night with a smile.


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## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

Haha yes Ive had him a while now and I have seen evidence of "boy time". He is pretty discreet though and only seems to do it when first waking up haha. It doesn't bother me much except sometimes is a pain in the butt to wash lol.


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## sarahspins (Jun 25, 2013)

Brittany said:


> Haha yes Ive had him a while now and I have seen evidence of "boy time". He is pretty discreet though and only seems to do it when first waking up haha.


Webster is the same and I have joked that he's just getting to his "happy place" when we wake him up


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

Are there any other boy-specific things I need to be cognizant about? It sounds like most hedgehogs have their own little personality irregardless of gender. 

Do we need to be aware of any type of food that is specifically linked to testicular cancers or the like?


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

Food: Not that I know of.

Other concerns: Making sure nothing gets caught or tangled. This can be really hard to see since most of the time, my little man keeps his bits tucked away. I'm terrified one day a long hair will get wrapped, and I won't see until it's too late. :\ In some ways, this makes me envious of the person whose hedgehog enjoys bathtime in every sense of the word... Litter and shavings can also be caught in the sheath. Again, hard to check unless he's scarily cooperative...


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## SiouxzieKinz (Oct 10, 2013)

I'd never thought about that - hair getting tangled. I guess I'll be vacuuming much more often now (or at least before I let him down on carpeting). I'm used to being owned by much larger animals; ferrets, cats, dogs where this would not be a concern. 

I'll definitely approach this with more caution as I gain more experience with him once he's home. I think I even held a girl in the pet store so I wouldn't know what to look for if something does get um, lodged. Perhaps this will be an excellent opportunity to see how squeemish my vet gets as I approach the subject with her during Dakarai's first vet visit.


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## Brittany (Sep 15, 2013)

Im not extremely knowledgeable on the subject so someone else might be able to give more/better information, but I've heard females are more subject to cancer in their reproductive areas. I don't know if testicular cancer is just as common, but I've heard of cancer in females. 

Like Annie&Tibbers said, litters and shavings can get caught in the sheath...all the more reason to go with the fabric liners. Im not too worried about hairs because the only time im not watching him is when he is in his cage, which has a top, and is always clean. When he is out i'm always watching him, and its usually clean anyways.

Having a boy hedgie is great! I had a girl first and now my guy and they are both awesome! Have fun with him!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

If you're worried about cage liners and hairs, get a sticky lint-roller thing and run it over the liners before you put them in. That should help!  Vacuuming before playtime on the floor is a good idea too.

And agreed on the cancer thing - I'm sure it's not unheard of for males to end up with testicular cancer, but I don't think I've heard of any cases on the forum & it seems to be much more common with females. I know some people have asked whether neutering a boy is worth it, but usually it's not, given the lower risk & it's actually harder to neuter male hedgies than to spay female, due to their testicles being more inside them than other animals like dogs.


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## mellykins (Oct 4, 2013)

SO I'm really glad I found this because I was really worried he had mites or something like mites because he'd suddenly stop what he was doing, tuck his head under and start sort of shaking then get mad at us when we tried to pick him up. 

For some reason I thought they used their hands


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