Elongated Vulva?!?

[caiti]

So I brought my chin, Chloe, home with me this weekend to my parents (she made it fine, by the way) and I noticed as she was grooming herself, her vulva is not shaped as it normally is. It is usually round but right now it more comes to a point. I know she is a female, it's not anywhere near as large as a chinchilla penis. No discharge, normal pink color and it doesn't appear to be swollen, just misshapen. I would take a picture since I brought my camera but the idiot I am forgot the USB cord to upload them to the computer.

Does anyone know what this is?

 

[CJR]

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but, to me, it sounds like you are describing the urethral cone. My older chinchilla (about 3) has a small cone, but my younger one has a very large one that kind of looks like a penis sometimes.

 

[caiti]

Hhhmmm. It's just I never noticed it before. I was thinking maybe it would be some symptom of estrus if she's in it. And I know nothing about chin reproduction so I wouldn't really know if it was that or not. I guess I'll just monitor her and keep an eye on it.

But I guess estrus is out of the question because yes, I think I am describing the cone. I hope it's not a symptom of a urinary tract disease. So, then where is the---I'm going to stop right now. I obviously know nothing of chin anatomy...I'm not even gonna go there, ha (I'm confused thinking about it right now). This is sad, I'm an animal science major...jeez. But chins have never been and most likely never will be in any of our curriculum. Pretty much only food livestock. And they're parts are a lot bigger and way easier to look at.

Pash, thank you for responding.

 

[RDZCRanch]

There is the urethral cone and then a slit between the cone and anus and that slit would be the "vulva" for a chinchilla. If you think about it, the cone has a little tiny opening at the end...no way a chinchilla could pass a kit through there.

Sometimes when chins go into heat, it will cause their urethral cone to swell more towards the base, making it come to a "sharper" point.

 

[Riven]

You say "it" is usually rounder. I don't know if you are referring to 'it' as in her cone usually, or it compared to photos etc. Some females just have a longer cone, others have rounder ones. Not every woman is shaped the same, it'd be silly to think all chin would be.

 

[caiti]

Riven--I am referring to her cone usually. Normally, hers is rounder and less pointed. That's the reason I was concerned in the first place, because it was out of the ordinary for her, specifically, not in relation to other chins.

Tab--That sounds like what is happening (hopefully). I notice the base of it is a bit larger, and it seems to kind of push the end out more, creating a pointed shape. Thanks for the info, you can see why I was so confused because yes, there's no way a kit could come out of that, haha.

Thank you, I feel better knowing that she's probably ok.