Sticky snot on female cone?

[Spree]

Hi guys!

Noticed Squirrel was nibbling at her bit today twice, so I picked her up, flipped her over and she had some Aubiose stuck to her cone with some sort of mucus-y type stuff, very sticky, coming from the cone. Couldn't get the best look as she was squirming.

Something to see the vets for, or normal, or hell, even a Degu period?
They (both female, no space between cone and anus) have been squabbling a hell of a lot recently too :s

Will try get a photo but any ideas?

[deguconvert]

Yes, it could be a cycle. I don't know if a urinary infection could present like that . . . so maybe call your vet and see if you can get a read from them on it?

[Spree]

Thanks for the swift reply, just been in and flipped them both over, deffo both females. Had as much of a better look that I could and Squirrel and there's mucus just inside the folds of the vaginal opening, but a very very small amount. I'll see how it it tomorrow after work and go from there. Was kinda worried she was pregnant, possibly from the store) but she was in a cage with Foxy and only Foxy for months before I got them, so she would have had them by now if she were preggo.

[deguconvert]

Sounds like a cycle, alright. We have four girls, and strange as it may sound, I've never caught any sign of their cycles. Which I only just realized, LOL! Some girls just seem to "show" more than others.

[moletteuk]

I've never noticed any monthly discharge from my girls, but conversely it is quite apparent from their behaviour when they are in season.

I'd be a bit concerned because she is fussing at it, which indicates there is some discomfort, so maybe vet.

[deguconvert]

I have to agree with Moletteuk.

[Spree]

Thanks for the replies all!
Since I picked the aubiose off her vent, she hasn't been fussing it at all, and there's no more snot, so I think it must have been a cycle. Am I right to say Degus can get PMS like humans, as holy hell she's been squabbling and chasing Foxy about a lot more, we had a couple of very loud, animated spats today!

[Spree]

They seem to have stopped squabbling for the moment, but Squirrel is just sat chirping, about once a second, just a short, highpitched 'chip' or 'pip'.

[deguconvert]

Yes . . . some of the girls get really bad PMS, too. One of our owners found that introducing a neutered male to her two girls made a world of difference to them, in particular the girl that was having lots of PMS. If it becomes more aggressive and problematic, this is an idea to keep in mind?

[Spree]

That's something I have been considering, from my post yesterday, they fought viciously on and off until Dad went to bed (about 12am), like full on throwing themselves at each other in aerial body slams and squealing and so on, with a breaks wherein Squirrel would sit in the hayrack and constantly make the pipping noise, getting louder and more frequent when Foxy went near her.

Mum says that today they've been fine, Squirrel has been mounting Foxy a lot, and they've been fine since I got home from work, so maybe it was just a bih=g hierarchy related thing, but a neutered male is something I am thinking about!

[moletteuk]

My girls' activities from this first time of being in season for the winter seems to have been more severe than I remember, so maybe it hits them particularly hard for the first one each breeding season.

[Spree]

Quite possibly, they've been squabbling on and off for few days now, and today I came down to Foxy having a gammy eye. Gently cleaned it with some cooled boiled water and found a small nick on the edge of he upper eyelid, so carefully applied some Tamodine to it. She was good as gold despite being the skittish one and sat there quietly and allowed me to clean and attend to it.