I have an 8" long lap tortoise of indeterminate age, due to him being a rescue. He climbs in my lap, absorbs my body heat, and I rub his neck while he falls asleep. It's very cute and he's getting his out-of-enclosure enrichment. Except a few days ago, he decided to stick out his penis and whip it around while I was holding him. Understandably, he stays next to me on the couch, on a towel, and not on my lap now. lol
I'm a little worried about possible complications if he decides to keep sticking it out. I'm mainly concerned about substrate or gravel from outside getting stuck to it and getting drawn back inside his body, him causing injury to it while plowing around in his enclosure or him having a prolapse and needing it chopped off. I can't really find much information about this, except penile prolapse seems to be a fairly common occurrence. It seems like a very perilous design for a tortoise's penis, honestly. I just want to provide the best care for him that I can and this seems like something that can cause problems.
I'm a little worried about possible complications if he decides to keep sticking it out. I'm mainly concerned about substrate or gravel from outside getting stuck to it and getting drawn back inside his body, him causing injury to it while plowing around in his enclosure or him having a prolapse and needing it chopped off. I can't really find much information about this, except penile prolapse seems to be a fairly common occurrence. It seems like a very perilous design for a tortoise's penis, honestly. I just want to provide the best care for him that I can and this seems like something that can cause problems.