Penis Swelling

[YukiHammy]

Recently, my male hamster Yuki had a swollen penis. The swelling was as big as my finger tip. It wasn't shiny and it looked like normal flesh. It went down after 5 minutes and was a normal hammy penis. I AM aware of hamster erections, I'm unsure if this was one though.
Actually I think it was an erection but I'm not sure as I've never seen Yuki have one. The swollen penis was spherical.
I have no idea what to do, it looked kinda similar to a tumour but I'm unsure because it went away! However my hands were sticky after handling him.
I have no knowledge of this, please help.

[souffle]

It isn't normal for a hamster's penis to swell like that. It is usually due to a blockage in the urethea causing urine to back up and the tissue to swell and can be a penile plug due to an infection or a crystal or bladder stone moving down into the urethra. If this gets stuck it is a medical emergency and requires surgery to clear or the bladder will rupture.
I'd keep a very close eye on him and any sign of this happening again then see a vet. If it remains red looking or stays out the sheath this can be a penile prolapse and also needs checked out in case of infection.

[YukiHammy]

Originally Posted by souffle

It isn't normal for a hamster's penis to swell like that. It is usually due to a blockage in the urethea causing urine to back up and the tissue to swell and can be a penile plug due to an infection or a crystal or bladder stone moving down into the urethra. If this gets stuck it is a medical emergency and requires surgery to clear or the bladder will rupture.
I'd keep a very close eye on him and any sign of this happening again then see a vet. If it remains red looking or stays out the sheath this can be a penile prolapse and also needs checked out in case of infection.

Thank you for your advice. I will be doing a daily health check for around 1-2 weeks to make sure he is ok. I will go by your advice.

[souffle]

Also hamsters have a penile bone and during mating this is what allows them to mate. They would not have a swelling such as you describe.

[YukiHammy]

Originally Posted by souffle

Also hamsters have a penile bone and during mating this is what allows them to mate. They would not have a swelling such as you describe.

I do not have much knowledge of hamster mating. My friend who had a bit of experience in hamsters told me they could get erections. And the stickiness. He probably just weed on me.
I have a photo now and they look different to yesterday.
Are my hamster's testis ok? by Fishlover643 on DeviantArt

[souffle]

That isn't his penis - that is his testicles there. Was he a bit warm or just out of bed at that point? The testicles are quite mobile and move in and out of the body cavity depending on how warm they are and how relaxed. They are about peanut sized and can poke out at rather odd angles!

[YukiHammy]

Originally Posted by souffle

That isn't his penis - that is his testicles there. Was he a bit warm or just out of bed at that point? The testicles are quite mobile and move in and out of the body cavity depending on how warm they are and how relaxed. They are about peanut sized and can poke out at rather odd angles!

Thank you. I always thought that area was his penis? Thank you for helping.

[DrKMcK]

Hello YukiHammy and welcome to Hamster Central. Glad to see Yuki is just fine. This is a link to help you see the difference between male and female hamsters. The photos help it become clearer. It isn't always easy to tell the difference until you gain more experience.

Hamster sexing - National Hamster Council

[souffle]

A male has two vents or exits from the body. The anus where he poops from and furthest back near the tail and the penis which contains the urethra where they wee from and also allows mating and sperm transfer. The larger bulges as the back end are the testicles where sperm are made and as I mentioned these can be quite mobile and push in and out of the scrotum at the back end. It's a pretty much similar situation in all mammals including humans