How to sex my baby African crested porcupine?

[sarahatpetwise]

I had our first baby AC porcupine born 2 weeks ago. He's quite friendly and the parents are great with 'him'.
I am not too sure how to sex them though. I don't fancy looking at the adults! I can't find any info on the web, I've tried contacting a couple of zoos, but no one has got back to me.

Can anybody help?

[Nerys]

from what i understand, the differences are internal, not external, so...

you either need to umm.. feel inside.. or feel enough round the outside to "feel" whats on the inside..

i've got a friend who breeds them, i'll ask him for a more exact description of the procedure!

N

[sarahatpetwise]

If you could find out nerys that would be great. I think it could be a male, but it seems fairly hard to tell!

[DCsnake_charmer]

How is it possible to keep a porcupine as a pet? Im not being funny when I ask this but does anyone have an anteater? I have always found them interesting????

[sarahatpetwise]

I think porcupines make great pets. Apart from the fact that they need a large enclosure. I keep mine in a 10ftx20ft enclosure with access to 30x40ft space to roam during the day.

They eat a lot! It costs me £50 a week just on fruit and veg!
But, they are very affectionate. They will follow you around like dogs and love to climb up on you! They are one of the best pets I've had!

[DCsnake_charmer]

Originally Posted by sarahatpetwise

I think porcupines make great pets. Apart from the fact that they need a large enclosure. I keep mine in a 10ftx20ft enclosure with access to 30x40ft space to roam during the day.

They eat a lot! It costs me £50 a week just on fruit and veg!
But, they are very affectionate. They will follow you around like dogs and love to climb up on you! They are one of the best pets I've had!

I love it!!!! But what about the prickley things

[sarahatpetwise]

my two only put their quills up when they are startled, which is very rarely. They have never ran back at me or shown any signs of aggression.

Believe it or not, the quills aren't that bad! You can stroke them on their backs, head and they loved being tickled on their nose! You can definitely see how the quills can be lethal, but when they are down they aren't too bad!

[quilson_mc_spike]

im sorry but nothing will change my thought from this picture:



i couldnt imagine the pain the owner of this dog was going through poor dog i beilive he healed.... X x X

[Nerys]

ok.. our guy who breeds them says...

as far as visually goes, its similar to guinea pigs..

in the male porc, the penis is held within the body, but you can still just about see the sheath externally..

he said, they get theirs into dog crates, then lift them up so they can stand underneath and look up, you need a couple of hefty people to lift, and hope not to get pee'd on whilst you are under it!

both sexes genital openings should look like a Y, but in the male, there should be a button at the top of the Y

\o/
.|

Male

\./
.|

female

the 'o' is the male is the end of the penis sheath. you should also be able to feel the penis shaft under the skin, just above the genitals, it should feel like a small ridge.

have a look at some of the guinea pig sexing guides, and compare that to your porcupine see if it helps at all??

anyway, hope that is of some help! if not, let me, know, and i will ask my guy more, lol

N