# Penis problems



## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

I'm really sorry, this is a ton of information, but I can use all the help I can get.

So my hedgie enjoys "boy time" ALOT. (Everyday, anywhere, anytime) He's always done it and it grossed me out a bit at first but I soon learned that it's pretty common behavior for male hedgies. 
I've had him for about 3 years now (I think he's 4) and a few days ago his penis came out (like it always does when he's excited) but this time it didn't go back in after he was finished his 'boy time'. The first time it happened, it was out for half an hour, then just went back to normal. The next day it happened again after he was done doing his thing and stayed out for almost an hour. Again, it went back to normal. The third time it happened, it stayed out for 24 hours and it started to look pretty serious. It was really red and quite swollen. I took him to the vet right away.

It seems that it is a problem with his foreskin. I believe it's called Paraphimosis. It happens in dogs and other small animals (chinchillas apparently). The vet anesthetized him, reduced the swelling and put his penis "back in". ($300)
She told me that there was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again, and that my best bet would be to get him to STOP masturbating. She said that if it becomes a chronic ongoing issue, that she might neuter him, but is reluctant to because it is so invasive.

It happened again last night, but it went back in after about 40 minutes. I left a message with my vet, and I'm waiting for a call back.

Any advice?

How do I get him to stop "boy time"? Is this even possible? 

Thoughts on neutering? 

Financially this could not have happened at a worse time. I've always been able to take care of things like this, but right now I really don't know how I'm going to make this work.


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

He has also been losing a significant amount of quills (like up to 20 a day). The vet did 3 skin scrapings and didn't find any mites, but dosed him with some Revolution anyway because of the dry skin and quill loss. 
He doesn't have any bald spots and is actually growing a TON of new quills all over his body. 
Not sure what to make of this


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I've found that some boys just do it, constantly and I really don't think there is any way to stop them short of neutering. 

I really know nothing about this condition, but my first thought is if there happens to be something underlying that is causing it to start happening now. Being that he is reaching elder age, often the old guys will increase the frequency and if so, perhaps that's why he'es having the problem now. Could there be a tumour. Is he healthy and active otherwise?

Although neutering a male is more complicated than spaying females, there are many hedgehog owners who have had it done. Financially, I have no clue how much it would cost, but if you have to shell out $300 again, you would probably be very close to what the surgery would cost. If this is a vet you see regularly, possibly he would allow you do make payments.


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

He's a bit overweight and recently started having green poop too, (vet said to bring him and a sample in if it lasts for more than two days.) 

Other than that he's very active, eats and drinks regularly, and is very friendly and cuddly. Even though he's been having some troubles, his behavior has not changed even a little bit. Even when his penis was scaring me and making me cry and freak out, he ran around and acted like nothing was wrong at all. 

The vet is checking in with me regularly and I'll try to keep everything posted because after reading these forums for years I know how frustrating it can be when no one follows up with a final outcome.


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

I'm not sure if anyone is even reading this but I figure I may as well document it. Might be useful for someone in the future.

I'm going back to the vet this afternoon so I may expand on this later.

His penis has come out after boy time again (twice since visiting the vet a 5 days ago). It didn't go back in right away so I put a little lubricant on it (sterile, unscented, water soluble--the stuff they use in hospitals when inserting catheters). Put the lube on and put him back in his bed to rest. When I checked on him again it had gone back to normal.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I haven't commented since I can't really help at all, but just wanted to say that I have been checking it when you post updates, and I'm glad you are.  It's always good to have the more unusual medical issues posted about so that others may be able to reference back to it someday. I hope the vet visit goes well and you guys can figure out what to do for your hedgie. I know I'll be looking for an update (hopefully positive)!


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

Yep so everything went really well at the vet today! She's really pleased with how everything looks. 
It's seems like his penis problems will probably be ongoing, but she assured me that using a little lube to help it get back in and keep it from getting too dry won't be harmful (even if I have to do it everyday) She says it won't build up under his foreskin or anything but that I should keep an eye out for UTI's since his penis will sometimes be exposed and vulnerable to irritations.

His poops are still a little greenish but I brought in a stool sample and she assured me that everything looks normal. When I told her about the green mucous over the phone she was really concerned but it happened after he had been put under and "manually manipulated", and hasn't happened since. His poops are solid. No diarrhea.

Another thing that might be worth mentioning is the conversation I had with her about Revolution vs Ivermectin. I asked her what she would use to treat mites and she said Ivermectin. I told her about what I had heard (regarding how dangerous it can be) and she acknowledged that there is a definite risk of neurological damage from Ivermectin but that the danger lies in the size of the dose. She says that it can happen in any animal if the vet is not administering the appropriate dose. She did not try to deny the risks, but said that she has treated hedgehogs in the past with Ivermectin with greater success than with Revolution. I still ended up insisting on Revolution, but I thought I'd share that bit of info to contribute to the Revo/Iver conversation. 

So I guess I'll just say that if I don't post again, you can assume everything is well! I always wonder at the end of a long thread what the final outcome was...


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Glad to hear it's getting better, I hope it won't happen again but you can't be sure of course.

About the Ivermectin, most hedgehogs get sick or die after the second (or third) dose, from what I've read. It builds up and becomes fatal. I really don't see why you would use something potentially fatal if there are other options. Also given the fact that some hedgehogs might be more sensitive than others.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm glad it was a good outcome! Hopefully it won't be too much of a problem in the future.

Agreed with Draenog. Yes, I'm sure some of the cases of hedgehogs becoming ill or dying are from actual miscalculated overdoses, but more often the vet's dosing is fine, but they still have problems after the second dose. My vet tried to tell me the same thing about dosing, and I still flat out refused Ivermectin, so he shrugged & went along with the Revolution. I still wonder exactly what the issue is with it with hedgehogs, but I definitely don't see the point in risking more hedgehog lives to find out! Glad you insisted on the Revolution as well.


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

Tiny update.
It's been nearly a month since my hedgie was sedated and had his penis put back in for him. It came back out twice in the week following his mini "therapy", but hasn't happened again since!! *knock on wood*

As for the green poops, I slowly switched from Castor and Pollux cat/dog mix to Blue Buffalo (weight management one I think) and his poops are soo much better. Occasionally a little bit of green, but mostly pretty darn perfect.

Only problem now is the ongoing skin flakes/quill loss. Two days ago the flakes got crazy..like really huge. And since last night he's lost 200 quills!!! All of a sudden, no warning, just started dropping all over the place!!!

He got his second dose of Revolution over a week ago, but the vet gave me the most ridiculous tool to administer it with. Was anyone else here ever given an insulin syringe (with needle attached) to give a 0.1 mL dose out of a 2.5mL container??? The needle wouldn't puncture the cap, so I had to open it but then the needle wasn't long enough to draw up the solution. I tipped it a little and then it all spilled out onto the table. I got like 3 miniscule drops onto him. Called the vet to complain and she told me to just wait two weeks and see what happens.


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## Bilbo (Mar 29, 2014)

The only thing out of the ordinary that has happened in the last week is that I've been finding a lot of wood bugs (pill bugs) crawling on the floor in my house. I think they get tracked in on people's feet when they come in from the backyard. He ate one for sure that I know of. I think maybe it was dead already when he picked it up.


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