hamster frequently shows penis

Question
OK, so I have a 4 month old male teddy bear hamster. The past month or so, I've noticed that when I pick him up after he has been sleeping, his penis is almost always out. Also, sometimes I'll sit him on my lap and feed him broccoli and then he'll just sit there for a while. He seems perfectly calm and comfortable but then when I pick him up, his penis is out again. It always retracts fairly soon after he becomes active again. So is this normal behavior, is it some kind of disorder that needs treatment, or is my hamster just kind of a pervert?

Answer
Hi Theresa

This sounds very strange - I can't say that I've come across this before.  I know that their testicles can sometimes look very odd, mishapen and lopsided, but I have never actually had a hamster who displays himself like this!

I would hate to say that he is a pervert!  This is probably just normal behaviour for him in the same way that dogs sometimes do this.  If he is behaving normally apart from this then I doubt there is anything to worry about, however, if he appears to be sore, any discharge, swelling etc, or lack of peeing then it would be good to get it checked out.

I hope this helps you.

Regards
Sheila