# Vaginal trauma or Urinary Tract Infection..? Help!



## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

Please help me!

One of my sweetest, favorite mice has something going on 'down there.' If you read the descriptions next to each image, you'll get more of a sense of this issue.

Please, if you are squeamish, then for gosh sakes - _keep it to yourself_. I'm looking for mature opinions and help for her. There are no vets around here who treat mice, so I need all the help I can get.

Note: Notice that in one of the pictures, there is a poo, and it looks softer than it normally does. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with anything, but she is definitely not constipated. She's been drinking and eating and playing today, like always. Yesterday, she was arching her back as if it hurt, but I thought that was merely due to the plug.

Please, please help me. I love my Huggles so much.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm not sure. But I'm tracking this post, because I like to be as informed as possible about mouse problems, and this one is new to me.


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## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

I posted this on thefunmouse forums which I never really use, just in case they had differing opinions than those here. The response I got was:



> Oh, dear...that is a vaginal prolapse. How many litters has she had previously? This is pretty serious, she'll def. need to see a vet, especially if she's pregnant now. With a condition like this, it is generally reoccurring, and it could wreck havoc on her if she has to give birth, hun. That looks quite infected, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was in a lot of pain.
> 
> Get her to a vet, ASAP, in the meantime, clean it as gently and softly as you can with a warm, damp paper towel, and if you have some KY jelly, keep it moist and lubricated. DO NOT push on it, or anything, that could make it worse. If she isn't already on paper-based bedding, I would put her on it immediately.


At first I thought that that was a good guess, but after doing a little research, I don't believe that that is what it is at all. In real life, there does not appear to be any bump (bulge, really) or even much swelling left - it's just the redness and ooziness. Huggles is acting completely normal and didn't even mind when I put some KY jelly onto her mouse vag, as suggested by an admin at thefunmouse forum above. Huggles has never had any babies or been pregnant. At least my little girl doesn't appear to be in pain. I honestly originally thought it was just caused by rough mouse sex the night before (Mr. Jingles, the male, is LARGE).


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

It may well be an infection... but it certainly doesn't look like a prolapse to me.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

It doesn't look serious to me either.How about this bit of info which I copied from elsewhere as a possiblity;

How do I tell if a mouse is in estrus?
Female mice in estrus will be receptive to mating. By picking females in estrus, you can maximize the breeding of your mice, or obtain multiple females mated at the same time. You should expect two-thirds to three-quarters of mice in estrus to mate, on average. Females in estrus have swelling of the lip of the vulva closest to the anus. Pick up the female by the tail in the proximal third, and with thumb and index finger holding the tail, let the mouse grasp the cage bar with forepaws and gently press down with the other fingers on the lower back and sacrum to tilt the genital-anal region up (a lordotic position). In estrus, the vulva is swollen, but the vagina does not gape open.

The estrus cycle is 4 to 6 days, so about 1 in 5 females on average should be in estrus at any time if the females are cycling randomly. However, females housed continuously together can cycle together, or can exit the estrus cycle. Young females (6 to 8 weeks) are less likely to have stopped cycling. Exposure to male pheromones will restart the cycle, as can changing social groupings among females. Transfer of bedding from a sexually mature male's cage can be used to stimulate cycling.


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## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

WillowDragon - I don't think it's infected. It doesn't have the signs of infection other than what it looks like in those pictures. However - infection doesn't set in until between 2 - 5 days after the infectious agent enters (in people, anyway).

Here are some picture updates today:









On my shoulder, looking and acting the same as always. 









And here is the mouse vag. Funny, it actually looks worse in pictures.. but do you guys see an improvement?


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## neurozool (May 22, 2010)

Maybe he bit her down there? It still looks pretty bad- even with it looking better in RL.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I would say she needs to see a vet.
It's possible that there's something stuck inside. Like maybe a piece of litter or something, that could sauce the inflamation and irritation. It's possibly a lot of things, but you never know. ):


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## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

neurozoool - That could very well be. I didn't think of that.

Rhasputin - Do you think part of the seminal plug could have.. stayed inside her, causing this? I'll be taking her to a vet asap, once I can find one who sees mice. :|


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm not sure. It really shouldn't cause a problem like that.
She's never been bred before, right?

This is a LOOOONG shot, but 5% of human females are allergic to semen, so it's possible, though i have no idea about it, that maybe your mouse is allergic?


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## Lizzle (Apr 7, 2010)

> This is a LOOOONG shot, but 5% of human females are allergic to semen, so it's possible, though i have no idea about it, that maybe your mouse is allergic?


 :shock: That's actually.. a large percentage! Whoa..

If you read this http://forum.thefunmouse.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13607, you can see that several people suggested that this is actually normal for this particular mouse when in heat. I actually am going to take that advice for now - if I brought her to a vet when she had an undetectable infection, that would be completely pointless. Will monitor and note changes!

And correct - she has never been impregnated before.


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## neurozool (May 22, 2010)

I have never bred before, so I would have no idea what is normal or not- and I am not in the habit of looking at that area for what is normal (although I should) so I would go with what the people with the most experience breeding say. If they say she is in heat- I would do what you are doing and just keep an eye on her. I would keeping looking for a vet though, Just in case!


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