Think we might have the wrong gender degu

[eithura]

Hi everyone, I really hate to be that person posting pictures of our degus genitals but here we are lol.
We got our two new girls (hopefully) a few weeks ago, to join our bereaved single female(5yrs old), and they're now around 10 weeks old. We checked genitals initially when we got them and a few times since and we're satisfied they were female. However lately we've noticed a lot of mounting from one goo in particular to our older female. I know this is typical hierarchy behaviour as they mature but we did another genitals check and now we're a little worried as ones parts don't look as definitely female as the others. So I'm hoping for a few more helpful eyes on the situation.

Both photos are the same degu were concerned about. Taken at the same time. We've only ever had females not males so I have nothing to compare to. I'm really panicking right now that I've put my older girl in a really bad situation and it's noones fault but my own.. if the she is a he ..any advice on what to do from here? How much trouble are we in here?1

ibb.co/qg9HgXN

ibb.co/6mHM0MB

[savvy]

OK, first of all you're not the first to post pictures of degu junk and I very much doubt you'll be the last. We're really quite used to it, so please don't worry.

With some degus it can be really hard to tell and yes, there is a gap, but from what I can see its not a big gap, so I'm going to hedge my bets and say female, BUT I think second opinions would be welcome as I've little experience of 10 week old degu pups.

This might help for reference.  deguworld.proboards.com/thread/13070/degus

[eithura]

Thank you for your thoughts, hopefully a few more people can weigh in aswell. I did look at that thread and the video before I posted but still came away unsure. I feel like she does look more female than definitely male but the worry is really eating me up lol

[teemu]

To me the pictures look female as well. The gap is really not large, and the shape of the area is more like in females. I have noticed that aside from just the larger gap, male degus have a perineum ridge (basically kind of raised strip of skin) that runs from the anus to the cone, while females have more of a bump surrounding the lower part of the base of the cone that takes up almost all the space between the cone and the anus. Basically, the actual genital opening is under the cone, and there is more protection around the area, while males just have the cone and thus the area between the anus and the cone is smooth. So your pup there really looks more like a female.

(I haven't really seen the differences in the genital area aside from the gap length discussed, and it is not as pronounced in pups, but this has held true for all my own degus and all sexing examples I have seen, so I think it is worth mentioning.)

[moletteuk]

Great description from Teemu. I think female too.

Looks like one of your youngsters is going to be super bossy!

[deguconvert]

I agree ... female.

[savvy]

I hope the above has put your mind at rest.

[eithura]

Apr 12, 2023 20:33:41 GMT savvy said:

I hope the above has put your mind at rest.

Yes thank you everyone I feel much better. I'll keep an eye on her over the next few weeks. I'll pay the degu tax of a cute picture for the help


ibb.co/CnYd0Jh

[teemu]

They are indeed very cute together. Your older girl looks really happy to have company with her

[moletteuk]

thank you for your payment, lol.

[deguconvert]

AWESOME photo!!

[laiyah]

Lol. I admit, I adopted my goos from a rescue and they lived in my house for over a year now, and I still got worried when I saw M mount P several times in one day. (I was very confused because it happened like eight times that very day)

So I understand your anxiousness lol.

The picture is great ! The payment is very appreciated.