Red spot on penis

[Olant]

Hello everyone. We are a couple who have a red male squirrel for about 3 weeks now. Called Deserter mjs , he is about 8-9 weeks now. He has started urinating on his own for about a week now. He eats healthy and has about at least 4 hours of exercise. Today while we were giving him a general check, we saw that the tip of penis has got a red spot. It is the color of fresh blood which is why we are afraid. We do not know if this is natural or if he was hurt. He does not show any sign of discomfort, inactivity or any scratching or biting in that area. Any clue as to what might be the issue?

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

Have you noticed whether he sucks himself while he's sleeping? Can you post a picture? Don't worry, I posted a picture of "that" one time myself. I got a male about 8 weeks old and he had been sucking himself from near starvation. Even after he was no longer starving he continued doing that in his sleep. If we/you determine that may be what it is, dabbing some aloe vera juice on his penis will taste bitter to him but not hurt him and he'll stop in no time. It will help with healing the irritation also.

[Olant]

Thanks for the (s)quick response! All we have noticed is that he cleans himself by licking before going to sleep. Once in a while, he does kick or appear to run in his sleep but that's about all. We will check tonight once again to be sure and will update. As for photos, we don't have a quality cam, however the spot is a tiny spot and only at the tip. We will update it tomorrow. Good night!

[Nancy in New York]

Just make sure if this is at the very tip of the penis, that he can still urinate and that it doesn't scab over.

[Olant]

Sorry for the late update. We checked last night and he did not do anything except sleep like a baby and have a few dreams (if they dream of course). However, the spot is still there and is at the very tip only. We are worried about him and would really appreciate any kind of tips/advice/clue as to what is happening and what should our course of action be.

Nancy, he can urinate (all over us and the windowsill) without any problem. And he doesn't show any scabbing. Any other idea as to what might be the issue?

[Nancy in New York]

Well if he isn't self sucking, then I suspect perhaps a spider bite or some other insect bite may be the culprit. Can you post a picture?
The fact that you have had him for three weeks, means he wasn't in contact with anything outdoors.
Do you have any animals in the house?

[Olant]

Well if he isn't self sucking, then I suspect perhaps a spider bite or some other insect bite may be the culprit. Can you post a picture?
The fact that you have had him for three weeks, means he wasn't in contact with anything outdoors.
Do you have any animals in the house?

Finally, we got a camera (a little fuzzy) and we got a picture of that spot. We are really worried and would appreciate any pointer. We don't know if this is normal or not. :dono

We also got some more pictures of our cute Deserter with his lovely beautiful mother (Dad's with the cam). He is really cute when sleeping and extremely active and utterly crazy when not. As said earlier, he eats and behaves normally for a squirrel. mjs We are planning his release stage.

[newsquirrelmommy]

OMG he is just precious sleeping like that:Love_Icon I love those ears:D

[Olant]

Yeah, he is simply great. He loves running around :wahoo and nibbling everything in his path sometimes to our dismay :nono.

However we are worried about the spot on the tip of his penis. It doesn't look normal to us. Can someone help us out? :thinking

[farrelli]

From the photo (which isn't too good) the spot doesn't look too bad. If he's peeing OK, it's clear, and not sucking on himself, he should be OK. You might try some cranberries in case it is a urinary tract infection, and if it gets worse, you'd have to get some antibiotics and we could tell you how to dose.

[Olant]

From the photo (which isn't too good) the spot doesn't look too bad. If he's peeing OK, it's clear, and not sucking on himself, he should be OK. You might try some cranberries in case it is a urinary tract infection, and if it gets worse, you'd have to get some antibiotics and we could tell you how to dose.

Thank you for your reply! We will feed him some cranberries and will monitor him. We will update in a few days. Is there something else we ought to be careful about?

[farrelli]

Just make sure he isn't sucking it. Also keep an eye on him peeing correctly. If a scab forms over the hole and he can't pee correctly, he bladder could burst and he could die. As long as he's peeing though, he should be fine.

If you could get a better picture if it doesn't clear up, that would be great. In the current picture, I see something that looks like a red spot, but I can't even make out a penis. It's hard to make anything out.

[JLM27]

Is everybody sure that this is a male?

[CritterMom]

Is everybody sure that this is a male?

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!!

Can you take another shot, clearer, of the genitals? Little boys are NEVER mistaken for girls but girls get mistaken for boys a LOT! I think this is a little girl you have! And I bet she would like you to stop spreading rumors all over the internet about her "penis"!!!:rotfl

[ques96]

Is everybody sure that this is a male?


I was thinking the same thing but.... I am a newbie :dono

[farrelli]

The image looks like a girl, but I just assumed that the difference would be obvious.

If it is a girl, she still may have a UTI, but she also might just be in season.

[Chickenlegs]

Sure looks bigger than 8 or 9 weeks old.

[JLM27]

If that is the opening of the urethra, then she does possibly have a UTI. In that case she should have antibiotics, because UTIs can become dangerous and even life-threatening. However, this needs to be looked at by an experienced rehabber. I will post a redirect for it.

[kastillo]

I vote female, genitalia is too close to the anus for male.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I agree, a normal female!:D

[Rhapsody]

:osnap :poke :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl

I saw the pic and right away my thoughts were --People dont you see thats a female and not a male? :poke
There will always be space between the anus and penis IF its a male. :)
(and the penis will look like a penis)

[island rehabber]

Definitely a female. :D
She most likely has a UTI. Do you have access to enrofloxacin (Baytril) or ciprofloxacin (Cipro)? They are the best antibiotics for UTI. Second best would be Bactrim/SMZ-Tmz or Sulfatrim. We can help you with the dose if you have her weight in grams.

[MollyBear361]

looks like a Deserterette to me :poke

[Olant]

And we thought Deserter is a guy all along. :shakehead The red spot has reduced today. There is no scabbing and no anomalies that we see, genital or otherwise. Should we give medication? We are afraid of antibiotics and would rather resort to them last.

2 weeks ago, she weighed around 120 grams (her upper teeth were just "sprouting"). Currently, her fur, nails and front teeth are growing. Based on the growth plans, she is roughly 9-10 weeks now (8-9 weeks at the time of the first post).

[newsquirrelmommy]

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!!

Can you take another shot, clearer, of the genitals? Little boys are NEVER mistaken for girls but girls get mistaken for boys a LOT! I think this is a little girl you have! And I bet she would like you to stop spreading rumors all over the internet about her "penis"!!!:rotfl


:rotfl :rotfl

[JLM27]

You need to be careful with UTI's because like with us, the symptoms can be inside and these little ones can't tell us that it hurts. Then it can develop giving them much pain and finally end with urethral blockage or kidney failure or a fatal systemic infection. Watch her very carefully to see if she has problems urinating, seems lethargic, stops eating. . .

Myself, I would give her the antibiotics to be safe, since she can't talk to you to report symptoms.

[farrelli]

There is very little downside to giving antibiotics. Can you get a hold of some? If so, we can tell you how to dose them. Cipro and Baytril are best.