Swollen penis, no fur ring, lethargic

[FluffyBoiApollo]

I need advice & help. I CANNOT get to a vet- my partner was recently in a really bad accident and we DO NOT have a car or income right now, as he can’t get to his job down the mountain anymore. We are living off minimal savings right now until we find a job within walking distance. This was the worst possible time for this boy to get sick so here we are, and I am trying my best but figured I would ask for help here to see if anyone had dealt with something similar.

Okay so:

Very long story, trying to shorten: yesterday my 5 year old boy was lethargic, and it was slightly too warm (maybe 75-80°) and we cooled him down quickly by opening windows and turning in the fan and giving him a cold granite tile, but he was still lethargic. NO other signs of heat stroke btw. Ears were fine and breathing regular. (I did not know the room he is in gets so much warmer than the rest of the house, and we live in a mountain cabin type of home with no central air or heat) He was pooping and eating fine but seemed to be drinking less water than usual. I wasn’t sure if he was peeing at all either so I checked for a fur ring.

When I went to check, his penis was very slightly swollen and dry. No fur ring though. It did not retract fully on its own. I applied some water to it to help it. No luck. Later applied coconut oil because I didn’t have lubricant and water was not working. No luck. We were sitting with him for HOURS watching how he was acting and sitting with him in the coolest room in the house and me checking his penis periodically. Also feeding him pellets and some old fashioned oats and making him drink water through a dropper because I was thinking he hadn’t been drinking enough that day and maybe he just needed to cool down.

Nothing really got better all night and we put him back in the now freshly cleaned cage with the chilled granite but we moved the cage downstairs for the time being so he stays cooler until we get the AC cleaned out and into the window.

Next day now, and he is moving a tiny bit more, and I see that he peed last night so it’s not a bladder stone or anything, but now his penis is very swollen, and his poops are softer than normal. We walked 2 miles to get him infant gas drops and water based lubricant. After my attempts to get him lubricated, which did not work, and letting him sit on the couch for a couple minutes, I thought maybe it would go back on it’s own now with better lubricant but it actually came out more! I gave him the gas drops (De La Cruz baby gas relief, 0.3ml for 20mg simethicone)- which he took like a champ- and tried massaging his belly which he hated and made him squeak/grunt a lot but he didn’t fight me much like he normally does when he’s upset.

So I’m really thinking it’s gas, but WHY then is his penis swollen??

Again I have no car to get him to a vet, and we cannot afford vet + Uber/Lyft (which is INSANE in price because we live up a mountain away from the city) while we are currently just hoping to be able to pay our mortgage and other bills. I don’t know what else to do.

 

[Amethyst]

Without a vet exam there is no way to know why his penis is swollen, if you are sure there is no hair ring, then other reasons for it hanging out are pain or illness. If the penis stays out too long it can get irritated and swell. You need to keep it moist until you can get it to go back in, if it stays out too long and dries out it can start to die and/or hurt and he could end up chewing on it or even end up chewing it off which will require emergency vet care or he could bleed to death or die of infection.

Overheating can also cause organ damage, including brain damage, so that could have something to do with it, I'm not a vet though so I don't know. If it is gas, that is painful and could explain it if the reason his penis is out is from pain. If the gas drops don't work with in about 12-24 hours then it's something more serious then gas (like a blockage) and you need a vet to treat that.

I would see if you can borrow money, either take out a loan, see if you can apply for a vet credit card (Depending on where in the world you are) or sell something so you can get him to the vet. Some vets are even willing to do a payment plan if you can't pay the whole amount, but you would have to talk to the vet about that. If that isn't possible I would look to surrendering him to a shelter so he can get treatment.

 

[FluffyBoiApollo]

Without a vet exam there is no way to know why his penis is swollen, if you are sure there is no hair ring, then other reasons for it hanging out are pain or illness. If the penis stays out too long it can get irritated and swell. You need to keep it moist until you can get it to go back in, if it stays out too long and dries out it can start to die and/or hurt and he could end up chewing on it or even end up chewing it off which will require emergency vet care or he could bleed to death or die of infection.

Overheating can also cause organ damage, including brain damage, so that could have something to do with it, I'm not a vet though so I don't know. If it is gas, that is painful and could explain it if the reason his penis is out is from pain. If the gas drops don't work with in about 12-24 hours then it's something more serious then gas (like a blockage) and you need a vet to treat that.

I would see if you can borrow money, either take out a loan, see if you can apply for a vet credit card (Depending on where in the world you are) or sell something so you can get him to the vet. Some vets are even willing to do a payment plan if you can't pay the whole amount, but you would have to talk to the vet about that. If that isn't possible I would look to surrendering him to a shelter so he can get treatment.

Thank you, that makes sense.The gas drops seem to be working because he is a lot more active today. Penis still not retracting though so I will just keep it lubricated as often as I can. Thank you so much. I had read one other place that the penis problem could be from pain, so it all makes a lot of sense now! He also doesn’t eat enough hay and I recently have been feeding him more pellets because he weighs less than 400g and I was hoping he would gain some more weight because he LOVES his Oxbow pellets.

 

[hedgewitch]

OK, not a chin owner but hedgies. Several years ago I had a male rescue develop a swollen penis, no other signs of illness. My vet looked him over and confirmed no other signs of illness. I was told to use a solution of 50/50 sugar/water (like a simple syrup, mix til sugar is dissolved in the water). Using a cotton puff, soak some syrup and hold it on his penis. Two things drawn fluid (if it is fluid causing the swelling) from a body - sugar and salt... and you don't want to place salt on his penis! ouch! I was told to do this for approximately 5-10 minutes at a time (or best tolerated time I could get my hedgie boy to cooperate) 2-4 times a day. IF it was going to work, results would be noticeable within 24 hours or less.
Not being a veterinarian and not really knowing too much about chins I'm just throwing this out as a possible means of relief for the little guy.
Any chin people heard of this? Or do you think it is safe to try? I'd be curious to hear feedback. I may never have a chin as I'm overwhelmed with hedgie rescue taking over my living room but I certainly enjoy learning about any and all critters...especially such cute and fascinating little guys like the hedgies and chins.

 

[Amethyst]

OK, not a chin owner but hedgies. Several years ago I had a male rescue develop a swollen penis, no other signs of illness. My vet looked him over and confirmed no other signs of illness. I was told to use a solution of 50/50 sugar/water (like a simple syrup, mix til sugar is dissolved in the water). Using a cotton puff, soak some syrup and hold it on his penis. Two things drawn fluid (if it is fluid causing the swelling) from a body - sugar and salt... and you don't want to place salt on his penis! ouch! I was told to do this for approximately 5-10 minutes at a time (or best tolerated time I could get my hedgie boy to cooperate) 2-4 times a day. IF it was going to work, results would be noticeable within 24 hours or less.
Not being a veterinarian and not really knowing too much about chins I'm just throwing this out as a possible means of relief for the little guy.
Any chin people heard of this? Or do you think it is safe to try? I'd be curious to hear feedback. I may never have a chin as I'm overwhelmed with hedgie rescue taking over my living room but I certainly enjoy learning about any and all critters...especially such cute and fascinating little guys like the hedgies and chins.

Yes, I've heard of that now that you mention it. I didn't mention it because I forgot (never had to do it with any of my animals), and also I didn't know how much to use or for how long (just saying use sugar and water is kind of vague, lol). I would think it's probably the same as with a hedgie though.

 

[Amethyst]

Thank you, that makes sense.The gas drops seem to be working because he is a lot more active today. Penis still not retracting though so I will just keep it lubricated as often as I can. Thank you so much. I had read one other place that the penis problem could be from pain, so it all makes a lot of sense now! He also doesn’t eat enough hay and I recently have been feeding him more pellets because he weighs less than 400g and I was hoping he would gain some more weight because he LOVES his Oxbow pellets.

If possible to get him to eat more you can try getting some critical care, you can make "cookies" out of it. Also if he is underweight just give unlimited pellets and hay.

 

[FluffyBoiApollo]

OK, not a chin owner but hedgies. Several years ago I had a male rescue develop a swollen penis, no other signs of illness. My vet looked him over and confirmed no other signs of illness. I was told to use a solution of 50/50 sugar/water (like a simple syrup, mix til sugar is dissolved in the water). Using a cotton puff, soak some syrup and hold it on his penis. Two things drawn fluid (if it is fluid causing the swelling) from a body - sugar and salt... and you don't want to place salt on his penis! ouch! I was told to do this for approximately 5-10 minutes at a time (or best tolerated time I could get my hedgie boy to cooperate) 2-4 times a day. IF it was going to work, results would be noticeable within 24 hours or less.
Not being a veterinarian and not really knowing too much about chins I'm just throwing this out as a possible means of relief for the little guy.
Any chin people heard of this? Or do you think it is safe to try? I'd be curious to hear feedback. I may never have a chin as I'm overwhelmed with hedgie rescue taking over my living room but I certainly enjoy learning about any and all critters...especially such cute and fascinating little guys like the hedgies and chins.

Thank you for this suggestion. I had heard elsewhere of someone doing this for their chinny so I’ll give it a shot. I hadn’t tried yet because I don’t have pure sugar in my house, so I’ll go out to get some today. I’ve been keeping it lubricated and attempting to gently push it back in a few times a day, but it’s still distended the same amount today so it’s obviously not really working like that. He’s acting better than day 1 still so I think he’s getting better, whatever it was (probably gas I guess because I’ve been giving him simethicone/baby gas drops).