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Sugar Gliders
Mating Wound
Mating Wound
Behavior
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Apr 27 2012
08:43:26 PM
So, I have 2 female gliders that are cagemates. Last week, Harmony was in heat, and Melody would absolutely not leave her alone. She was riding around on her back, etc. Although I found this odd that one female was "mating" another, I was up off and on all night long checking for wounds. Well, today I take my female gliders to the vet for nail trims, fecals, and wellness checks. Upon looking over Harmony, she has a fresh mating wound on the middle of her back, right between her shoulders. It either happened last night or this morning. Not very bad, not deep, but still a wound nonetheless. She also has a discharge from her pouch, so she is now on antibiotics and a solution that I put on the wound twice a day. So, now Harmony and Melody are going to be separated for a week so the wound can heal. I just wanted to share, because I would have never thought that a female would give another female a mating wound, but boy was I wrong.
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Apr 27 2012
11:57:33 PM
Willows Tree Fuzzy Wuzzy Visit Willows Tree's Photo Album USA 1294 Posts
I kind of thought this could happen, but your post is the first I've actually heard of it occuring.
I've also wondered about pairs where the male(s) is neutered, since they seem to still "mess around".
Good luck..I hope she heals quickly.
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Apr 28 2012
12:27:51 AM
fazioli Face Hugger Visit fazioli's Photo Album 906 Posts
My neutered male still "mates" with my female but has never hurt her. I have another pair that are both males and have never seen them mount one another.
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Apr 28 2012
12:28:41 AM
kyro298 Glider Sprinkles GliderMap Gliderpedia Editor Visit kyro298's Photo Album kyro298's Journal CO, USA 15262 Posts
I've definitely seen people mention it. Glad you caught it though!!
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Apr 28 2012
09:00:13 AM
Paislee Glider GliderMap Visit Paislee's Photo Album NL, CA 131 Posts
I had the exact same thing happen, except the wound is on one of my males. It is between the shoulders as well. Unfortunately I didn't catch it before the wound was opened by one of the others though. My vet suggested open wound therapy with an antiseptic solution he gave me. Its been well over a month and the fur is growing back but the other gliders still groom him in that area so I have yet to put him back with the others, which is heartbreaking to me. He seems to be getting a little depressed. I do supervised playtime but he is still not able to cuddle with the others in the daytime. :( I'm hoping within the next week or so that he will have all fur covering the wound so he can get back to the others. So when you do decide to put the two girls back together keep a good eye to them, she may want to groom the area and you will end up with the same wound all over again.
Behavior
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Apr 28 2012
09:40:22 AM
Omis n Kais g-ma Pouch Protector Visit Omis n Kais g-ma's Photo Album TX, USA 7524 Posts
Thankfully you saw the wound before it got bad. I'm sure it has to be normal for a female to try to mate a female. Omi tries to mate Kai and both are boys. Maybe it's a dominance issue. I don't know.
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Apr 28 2012
09:50:09 AM
KritterCare Face Hugger Visit KritterCare's Photo Album KritterCare's Journal USA 633 Posts
The same thing happened with my girls. I took her to the vet as soon as possible and the vet got some antibacterial surgical ointment to put on it. It worked great. The girls had to stay separated for about a month and a half, except for supervised play time, but they've been doing good since then.
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Apr 28 2012
01:51:41 PM
fazioli Face Hugger Visit fazioli's Photo Album 906 Posts
See, Harmony was in heat last week. And if I remember correctly, (please don't quote me on this), they are in heat for around 2 days? I was very diligent in checking for wounds then, and nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, she had a wound on her Friday morning. So, I truly don't know what had happened overnight, because the next morning, they were snuggled together in their pouch. I am almost thinking after reading all your comments, that obviously I might have to be keeping them separated for longer than a week. What I find interesting is when I first took these girls in back in February, Harmony seemed to me to be the dominant one. But, now I am truly not sure. I appreciate all of your comments!!
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May 14 2012
06:37:45 PM
fazioli Face Hugger Visit fazioli's Photo Album 906 Posts
Update: It has been a little over 2 weeks since the mating wound incident. Harmony is all healed and we re-introduced Harmony and Melody a few moments ago. I have to say, I was a bit nervous about this intro, but everything is fine so far (fingers crossed). I will definitely be keeping a very close eye on them throughout the night to make sure all is still well. My fear is that the mating wound thing will happen again down the track and I will have to separate them permanently.
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May 14 2012
06:45:20 PM
JazzNZoeysmom Zippy Glidershorts GliderMap Visit JazzNZoeysmom's Photo Album USA 5354 Posts
Sending you best wishes that all continues to go well!
Mating Wound

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Sugar Gliders
Mating Wound