Male Anal Mucus.. HELP!

[RonnieLucas]

My little guy, Wally (3 years old), was bounicng around his cage last night, when i noticed he had a mucusy clear string hanging from his anus. He promptly ate it which was really gross, but now im really worried. His poop looks fine, he's not constipated, his personality hasnt changed, hes still eating drinking sleeping... all that stuff is normal. He ate some catnip a few weeks ago and I took him to the vet out of sheer panic. The vet gave him a calcium shot, and gave me a bottle of Baytril incase he gets "an infection." the bottle says to give .2ml of Baytril twice a day for one week. Is this anal mucus an infection? Should i start the 7 day Baytril regimine? I couldnt find anything on the internet about mal anal leakage.

I changed his water and food dishes, along with sterilizing the ones he was using. I was giving him tap water, which i realized today, is not good. I use mazori food, and will be switiching to purified water... is there anything else I can do to prevent this?

I am at a loss here. any advice????

 

[ticklechin]

Are you sure He is a He?

 

[RonnieLucas]

:-/ i think so. when i took him(?) to the vet i said "he, him" many times and was never corrected. im at work now or else i would take a picture and upload. I'm sure i could be wrong because judging by pictures online, they look pretty similar to each other, and i was kind of thrown into being a chinchilla owner so i really dont know much. not a very good start to my chins-n-hedgies forum career.

 

[Jenn]

If the vet didn't take a close look at the genitalia, or just presumed you knew "he" was a "he" or is not all that familiar with chins, he may not have corrected you if that is the case. Can you post a good clear picture so the members here can see the gender and then we can go from there?

 

[RonnieLucas]

yes i can. I am at work now and will not be home until 7:30-8pm EST, but will take a pic and upload as soon as i get home. Thank you.

 

[RonnieLucas]

So it turns out that my little guy is my little girl! No pix but I compared to google images and there is no gap between the anus and urethra cone. Still worried tho.. Can anyone tell me what's going on? Looks like the mucus may be coming from the vagina and not the anus

 

[ticklechin]

If the mucus is not pus colored or smells, the chin is in heat.

 

[RonnieLucas]

took HER to the vet last night and he said the same thing. looks like i just got a girl who wants a little attention! thank you everyone. wish my first post here wasnt such a mis-informed panic attack, but hey, whaddya gunna do?

 

[ticklechin]

Welcome to the world of chinchilla ownership where mini-heart attacks happen daily!

 

[Kalandra]

took HER wish my first post here wasnt such a mis-informed panic attack, but hey, whaddya gunna do?

Mis-informed panic attacks are completely allowed. We would rather you find out your boy is a girl and for there to be no real problem than to see you struggle with a real problem right off the bat!

Welcome to the forum... now we need images!

 

[AZChins]

I don't know if this will make you feel better...

A million years ago when I got my first female chin I saw some discharge coming from her little area down there and I flipped out! I got her in to see an emergency vet when I saw it. Turns out that she was just in heat and it was normal.

I think that being terrified is part of the learning process when one adopts chinchillas and they become part of the family. Last Saturday I had customers over and I nearly fainted because my little chinnie girl Vallie decided she would go into a deep sleep on her side and not wake up when I touched her. So, I started the panic and she popped up onto her feet and glared at me.

Chinchillas really are wonderful little animals...really, they are.

 

[Brittany]

Welcome to the world of chinchilla ownership where mini-heart attacks happen daily!

Ain't it the truth?

One of my girls has really bad heat cycles. her bottom gets really wet, and well yeah, it's pretty disgusting for about 2 days. Most people on here say they rarely notice heat cycles. First time it happened with my girl I drove several hours in the middle of the night to an e-vet. Even though I'm used to it now it still makes me nervous until she clears up again.

 

[javachin]

I just recently discovered one of my females turns into a clucking chicken when she's in heat. I had never heard that sound come from a chin before. I got it on a recording and a good friend of mine reassured me it was a normal chin noise. She's totally healthy and looks like a complete dork when she's doing it. Good luck with your new found girl!

 

[Kalandra]

Ain't it the truth?

One of my girls has really bad heat cycles. her bottom gets really wet, and well yeah, it's pretty disgusting for about 2 days. Most people on here say they rarely notice heat cycles. First time it happened with my girl I drove several hours in the middle of the night to an e-vet. Even though I'm used to it now it still makes me nervous until she clears up again.

My word. Its stories like these that make me happy I have hedgehogs and don't have to deal with heat cycles. I would be a nervous wreck all the time if they did something like this!

 

[Khammy]

I have 2 girls in one cage. I wonder if the same thing happens like for 2 human females living together where their cycles start to align? Haha..

 

[RonnieLucas]

javachin - mine has been making wierd noises at night as well, and not the normal chin chirp. this clucking may be a little more common then we think! thank you for the well wishes everyone. Wally is doing fine . I am picking up some fleece and new climbing toys for her today!

 

[javachin]

javachin - mine has been making wierd noises at night as well, and not the normal chin chirp. this clucking may be a little more common then we think!

LOL Glad I am not alone. She was barking non stop last night. She's miserable! I could finally tell when she fell asleep...the house was silent!

 

[tcraighenry]

I was posting about this earlier. We haven't seen mucous but Vincenza turns into a little brat and makes all these weird little noises when she's in heat.