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Protruding Penis And Dandruff Looking Stuff!

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AbiS

AbiS

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I started a thread this morning because I was not sure which of my 2 piggies had a normal penis as Barney's was protruding but I could not see Toby's at all.

I started this new thread as I think I now have a second problem with Barney.

Problem number 1
Having had a good look at Barney's winkie just now I can definitely say that his is not right. This is a photo of his bits:

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I am so upset because it has been like this for as long as I can remember and I did not realise that you aren't meant to be able to see piggies winkies. Toby's used to stick out as well which is why I hadn't noticed. It was only when I checked them over today that Toby's wasn't visible so I knew that something wasn't right with one of them. I have tried to wash Barney's bits with cotton wool and warm water and I have also tried to put oil on to see if it would go back in but have had no success. I have booked an appointment with the vets for 2nd April. This was the first appointment I could get with the exotics specialist. As he has been like this for a long time and he is peeing fine and his winkie is not red so I thought he would be ok to wait until 2nd. If anyone things differently please let me know.

Problem number 2!

I was giving Barney a cuddle after his winkie exploration and noticed all of this dandruff type stuff in his fur. This was not there last time I had cuddles with him. Last cuddles were a few days ago - he does not really like being handled so we don't do it every day because it just makes him cross.

I have tried to get some photos:

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Does anyone have any idea what this is? I'm really worrying about him now.
 
My Enoch is neutered and his penis can be seen like Barneys can. It has been like this ever since I rescued him last January!

When people say it shouldn't be seen, I think they mean 'protruding' which is where the penis is hanging down constantly.

Here are some photos of a boars bits which are all perfectly normally. I hope it puts your mind at rest

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

As for the dandruff, I'm not sure. My Erika sometimes has dandruff but she is black and dry skin shows up more on darker coloured piggies.

I once took my piggies to the vets thinking they had mites but it turned out just to be dry skin. My vet explained that the actual skin was healthy and normally with mites, the skin is red and sore looking caused by scratching.

But if you are unsure, I would recommend a vet visit.
 
I really wouldn't panic. Piggies have variants of normal as do humans (ever watched embarrassing bodies?). Mr Ted (my NB)!often has his bits out. Unless it is different from normal (for him) I wouldn't stress too much. Mr Ted also has dry skin so can look flaky at times but again this is normal for him so I don't worry about it. If you are worried then please by all means get him to the vets. But if he is well in himself and there has been no change since you got him I doubt there is much to worry about.
 
Thank you both. That is why I love this forum - you can be panicking about something and get good advice and reassurance. I did think that I have just cleaned them out and am down to the bottom of the bag of hay - the dandruff could actually just be hay dust (oops) - think his winkie has put me in panic mode so I am looking for lots of things that can be wrong! I have checked his skin and it looks fine.

I will keep his appointment for the vets on 2nd April because I want them to have a health check anyway.
 
It's a cauliflower willy! :) This looks just like Frankie's did (that I mentioned in your other post). Don't panic! Hang on...I''ll try to find some info...
 
I've found this one:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cauliflower-willy.49719/

It's not the thread I was thinking of, but if you do a Google image search for 'guinea pig cauliflower willy' (and try to hold back the giggles) you'll see that it's fairly common. Frankie's developed during his adolescent stage, but righted itself after a few months. Just keep a regular eye on it to make sure that he's not getting any hay stuck up there.
 
Cash is like this and has been for as long as I can remember - never had any problems and it's always spotlessly clean too (such a good boy!). Like others have said just keep an eye on it and check for any muck or damage he might pick up on it because of how it extrudes.
 
Jerrybelly said:
I've found this one:
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/cauliflower-willy.49719/

It's not the thread I was thinking of, but if you do a Google image search for 'guinea pig cauliflower willy' (and try to hold back the giggles) you'll see that it's fairly common. Frankie's developed during his adolescent stage, but righted itself after a few months. Just keep a regular eye on it to make sure that he's not getting any hay stuck up there.
Click to expand...

Oh thank goodness! He is just a bit frilly! lol! had never heard of 'cauliflower willy' before. I will ask the vet to show me exactly how I am meant to clean willies when they are having their check up. I have never had a problem with Toby but I have had to remove about 5 pieces of hay and 3 sperm rods from Barney - understandable given that he drags it across the floor! It sounds like his little winkie is tucked away (I have only seen that a couple of times when he has intentionally popped it out to clean it) and it is just skin on the outside. That make me feel much better!
 
Jerrybelly said:
Oh and Gorgeous Guineas do an excellent range of shampoos. I seem to remember that one of them is designed for piggies with dry skin: http://www.gorgeousguineas.com/shampoos.html
Click to expand...

I will keep an eye on the flakiness - I think I was just freaking out and it is probably just hay dust. I do have Just for Boars shampoo from gorgeous guineas - I haven't given them a bath before - I feel guilty at the thought of it. A bum baff is as far as I have got with them!
 
It could be the light but the photo of the white part of his fur looks like fungal or mites to me as I can see possible red underneath? The dandruff could just be dry skin but with the red skin too it leads me to think fungal. Does the hair come out easily when pulled? if you rub his hair the wrong way does it stay upright or fall back into place easily? If it was mange mites then the dandruff would be skin debris, so that is a possibility too. See what the vet thinks. If it is fungal then it is only mild and a shampoo in Alphosyl shampoo would help as it has conditioner too, just make sure you patch test behind the ear for 48 hours first.
 
Thank you for posting this thread @AbiS . It's not nice when you notice things awry with GPs but it is useful to share information. Both of these things are things I need to keep an eye on. Please let us know how you get on at the vets.
 
helen105281 said:
It could be the light but the photo of the white part of his fur looks like fungal or mites to me as I can see possible red underneath? The dandruff could just be dry skin but with the red skin too it leads me to think fungal. Does the hair come out easily when pulled? if you rub his hair the wrong way does it stay upright or fall back into place easily? If it was mange mites then the dandruff would be skin debris, so that is a possibility too. See what the vet thinks. If it is fungal then it is only mild and a shampoo in Alphosyl shampoo would help as it has conditioner too, just make sure you patch test behind the ear for 48 hours first.
Click to expand...

I think it might just be the light - I didn't spot any red on him when I had a look at his skin - it looked healthy to my untrained/inexperienced eye. I rubbed his hair the wrong way at the time and it just went back down as normal. I haven't tried to pull any of his hair out but after I have given him enforced cuddles (the little monster hates them but I want them - he is ok so long as he has a carrot in his mouth!) I am usually covered in hair but just put that down to normal hair loss - however I am beginning to realise that I am not entirely sure what is 'normal' any more *sigh

He hasn't been scratching or looking uncomfortable or in pain though. His black hair is usually really shiny - I shall try to give him more cuddles today, if not then tomorrow evening and have another really good look at it. Hopefully it will have cleared up a bit once they have flattened their hay down and it will turn out just to be dust. Wishful thinking perhaps!
 
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PiggieOwner said:
Thank you for posting this thread @AbiS . It's not nice when you notice things awry with GPs but it is useful to share information. Both of these things are things I need to keep an eye on. Please let us know how you get on at the vets.
Click to expand...

I will let you know - hope your piggy is ok x
 
Hopefullly it is just the light then, see what the vet appointment brings.
 
The willie looks normal to me. I have only ever had piggies with "slightly" out willies so thought they were all like that. My three boys ive had that were neutered were all slightly out and my big boy joel is the same, however I have been told he is intact.

Hope all goes well with the dandruff issue and it turns out to be nothing to worry about x
 
Good news folks - I had a really good look at Barney yesterday and all of the little 'bits' in his fur have gone so I think we can safely assume that it was just hay dust.

I am still taking them to the vets on Wednesday for a health check. I did want to wait until the weather got better but as I have made the appointment when I thought there might be something wrong I will stick to it.

I will be taking them in a carrier with a heatpad underneath a puppy pad and hay and then wrap a towel around the carrier. Do you think that will be enough to keep them warm on the car journey? The heating isn't too great in the car.
 
AbiS said:
Good news folks - I had a really good look at Barney yesterday and all of the little 'bits' in his fur have gone so I think we can safely assume that it was just hay dust.

I am still taking them to the vets on Wednesday for a health check. I did want to wait until the weather got better but as I have made the appointment when I thought there might be something wrong I will stick to it.

I will be taking them in a carrier with a heatpad underneath a puppy pad and hay and then wrap a towel around the carrier. Do you think that will be enough to keep them warm on the car journey? The heating isn't too great in the car.
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Sounds perfect to me. And who knows - by Weds it could be back to warm weather again!
 
Hi Abi, One of my neutered males, Mitch has the same problem. We've had him since last June & it's always been the same. I've been doing a bit of checking lately & found this good webpage by Peter Gurney:- http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/penprot.htm

I'm now giving his bits a good cleaning. Didn't find a hard sheath but it was a little 'cheesy' so cleaned it with a cotton bud & warm water. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort so I'll just do a weekly clean & see if it will eventually pop back in.
 
I'm going to get the vet to show me exactly how to clean their bits because, even having read up on it I really don't feel confident. Barney has always needed an extra bit of checking because he gets hay stuck up there and I have had to remove a few sperm rods. Will be good to find out if it will ever pop back in or if it is fine just the way it is. Problem with Barney is that he doesn't like being handled and struggles like mad when we try to turn him over - makes me worry that he will hurt his spine with all of the twisting he does.
 
Instead of turning him right over try standing right against a table/counter top, putting him on top of the surface and then hold him with his back against your chest/stomach so he's sort of in a sitting position. That's how I clean my boys and it's a lot easier to keep hold of them and pop their parts out that way!

(Sorry if that's what you meant anyway when you said 'turn him over'!)
 
From the photo - Barney's winkie is perfectly normal. Might have a bit of a frilly foreskin developing so he will need checking monthly especially as he gets older. HOWEVER - Please don;t mess it around too much with cleaning and chemicals atm as there is currently no need and you could "create" a situation that currently isn't there.

HTH
x
 
@Pebble - that's great thank you, and just what I wanted to hear. I really didn't want to mess around with him because I'm not really sure what I am doing and do not want to make him sore or introduce an infection etc.
 
To be honest I never really bothered with my boys that much in the past but they were all neutered. I checked them by eye for any bits of hay sticking out of their penises daily. But i never checked inside their bits, of course I would remove them if found. I did this by gently popping the penis out so as not to pull and graze inside the shaft. At this point I would give any yucky bits a quick wipe with some boiled and cooled water on a cotton wool pad.

Other than that I have never done anything else and none of mine have had issues. I think personally too much messing down there is causing unnecessary stress for the boy and also risking introducing foreign germs which they may not be equipped to "fight".

When you go to vets ask them what they think re cleaning as it may be a diffferent story for intact males which I have very little experience of. Please let me know what they say as I currently do have intact males but have only had them for a few months now!
 
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