# Hedgie pp is peeking, is that normal?



## babycakesss (Aug 1, 2013)

After the vet, I started noticing my hedgie acting a little odd. His pp peeked out quite a few times today and his hind legs look a bit weak, is this normal? I've had him for just over a week and I'm worried. He still does dig though.


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

> His pp peeked out quite a few times today


Do you mean his penis was out? Or...?

If so, is he peeing regularly? Someone recently posted about their male hedgehog's penis staying out frequently paired with strange walking; the vet diagnosed urethral stones. Poor little guy couldn't pee, and treatment didn't come soon enough to save him. So, if this behaviour is paired with a change in his waste elimination, it could be a serious problem that requires immediate vet attention.

If he is peeing normally, is anything caught in the sheath? Is he trying to bite/scratch/otherwise get at it? Again, he'd need your immediate attention to help him with that; someone posted about their hedgehog taking extreme measures get at a bit of caught-something.

Or, is he arching his back and shaking back and forth for a few seconds, producing a white goo? That could be the infamous boy-time

There could also be more options. I have very limited hedgehog-experience (one little guy for a couple of months); this is just based on forum-reading.


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## babycakesss (Aug 1, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> Do you mean his penis was out? Or...?
> 
> If so, is he peeing regularly? Someone recently posted about their male hedgehog's penis staying out frequently paired with strange walking; the vet diagnosed urethral stones. Poor little guy couldn't pee, and treatment didn't come soon enough to save him. So, if this behaviour is paired with a change in his waste elimination, it could be a serious problem that requires immediate vet attention.
> 
> ...


Yeah! He arches his back when his pp comes out! And, it's usually when he's eating. Is this normal??


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## Annie&Tibbers (Apr 16, 2013)

If he's arching his back, shaking back and forth rubbing it on the ground, and white goo comes out, then he's masturbating. This is normal male-hedgehog behaviour. Different hedgehogs have different times that they engage in this behaviour -- the link from the previous post is a good discussion of the different scenarios where it happens.

But, it could also be any of the above scenarios. Is he peeing normally? Is anything caught in it? Does he try to paw at it?


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## babycakesss (Aug 1, 2013)

Annie&Tibbers said:


> If he's arching his back, shaking back and forth rubbing it on the ground, and white goo comes out, then he's masturbating. This is normal male-hedgehog behaviour. Different hedgehogs have different times that they engage in this behaviour -- the link from the previous post is a good discussion of the different scenarios where it happens.
> 
> But, it could also be any of the above scenarios. Is he peeing normally? Is anything caught in it? Does he try to paw at it?


From a quick look, doesn't look like any things stuck in it. Is there anything in particular I should look out for? He's still getting to know me so its hard to lay him down on his back.

Yes, I saw him rubbing his pp on the floor mat but no goo. I did find transparent goo once in his cage, not white. He licks it but not paw at it.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Semen can be white or clear  sounds like he had a little boy time.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## babycakesss (Aug 1, 2013)

Tom said:


> Semen can be white or clear  sounds like he had a little boy time.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Is it normal he's licking he's pp though? I've seen him do it everyday.


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## Tom (Jul 21, 2013)

Some male hedgehogs will lick their penis when they are having their "boy time" - but make sure he's not biting it as there have been posts (very recently in fact) about a hedgehog basically biting his penis to shreds


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## babycakesss (Aug 1, 2013)

Tom said:


> Some male hedgehogs will lick their penis when they are having their "boy time" - but make sure he's not biting it as there have been posts (very recently in fact) about a hedgehog basically biting his penis to shreds


Would you know how I can prevent it from happening?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

As far as I know, it's only likely to happen if there's something caught in his penis (or the shaft around it), or if it's hurting or irritating him (like with a UTI). Probably the best thing to do is just pay attention - watch for any changes in drinking and/or urine amounts and any change in color of urine. Normal color would usually be light yellow to clear - dark yellow usually means dehydration, orange-ish/pink/red would be blood. And just make sure he isn't around anything that could get stuck - cat litter, shavings, anything smaller than maybe the size of a dime or so.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Do you mean preventing him licking, or preventing him biting? If licking, he'es a boy. Some are discreet about it. Some do it less frequently, but most of the boys will do it at some point in time, and most continue to do it all their lives. If he is young, he may do it with less frequency as he gets older. The only way to stop it is to have him neutered.

If you meant biting, Kelsey has that covered. :smile:


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