Sustained fertility in a non-scrotal mammal, the Indian hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris), after CdCl2 administration.

The effects of a single subcutaneous injection of CdCl2 (0.04 mmol/kg body weight) were studied on the testes and caput epididymidis of a non-scrotal mammal, Hemiechinus auritus, and scrotal laboratory mouse. The histological structure of the testes and caput epididymidis of the hedgehog remains normal after 21 days of CdCl2 injection. Testes and sex accessory glands did not show any significant change in weight. The testes and sex accessory organs of mice under comparable condition showed weight loss and involution in tubule diameter. A temperature differential of 1 degree C was found to exist between the rectum and the cremaster sac of the hedgehog. This small temperature difference and the absence of a counter-current mechanism may be involved in conferring the CdCl2 resistance to the testes and epididymis of the hedgehog.