Genital Abnormalities

[Zoo Keeper]

So this is what we have! The top bit is a penis. He IS peeing from it. The middle bit has shrunk and the hole has closed up. It was very red and irritated but that appears to be subsiding. I'm thinking it was a bite. The bottom bit is an anus and there's a little poo coming out it in the picture. Their formula was increased and their bellies are much more full and rounded. He definitely a feisty little one. In other news, they have lice. I'm treating with DE but welcome any suggestions for getting rid of the little bastards.

[sundoesshine]

any suggestions for getting rid of the little bastards.

They are a scrappy little duo, so glad you got them. If you haven't already seen it, you can go to Forum/Specific Ailments/Lice & Fleas/how do i treat for fleas and lice? Looks like many good ideas to try for them.

[stepnstone]

Revolution will rid fleas as well as lice, only takes a drop or two and repeated in 10 days.
It is Rx but unless one has access to getting a script it can be ordered on line without
script from: https://www.joespetmeds.com/item/stronghold-flea

Stronghold is the name sold under in the UK, it is Revolution.

[Mel1959]

Good news everyone! I got the babies back! Attachment 317562

I am sooooo glad they are back in your care! So you have all four siblings together? If so, that makes me happy!

I will send your latest picture to my vet. So I have this straight, the penis appears to be passing urine and the rectum is passing feces??

I’m glad they’re getting the nourishment they need. I hope the suckling will subside.

[Zoo Keeper]

I am sooooo glad they are back in your care! So you have all four siblings together? If so, that makes me happy!

I will send your latest picture to my vet. So I have this straight, the penis appears to be passing urine and the rectum is passing feces??

I’m glad they’re getting the nourishment they need. I hope the suckling will subside.

Yep, I have all four! And yes, the penis is passing urine and rectum is passing feces. He peed and pooped for me today.

[Mel1959]

Do they anticipate getting two of them back? Or have they come to their senses and realize the babies are best left with you?

[Zoo Keeper]

Do they anticipate getting two of them back? Or have they come to their senses and realize the babies are best left with you?

I think the wife would be happy to leave them with me since the male has become agressive but the husband is still thinking they may get them back and keep them as pets....he hasn't been bit yet.

[Mel1959]

Well, squirrels tend to bond with only one human....that may not go well for the wife.

[Mel1959]

I sent the most recent picture to Dr. E along with the description you posted about the genitals.

[Chirps]

The most recent pic looks like the middle bit is a scrotal sac? Does a boy show that bit without the testicles descending or does the sac usually expand/appear as the testes drop into it? Never seen a young boy, and even in my wild adults it's hard to see their boy bits. So now I'm guessing he's all boy and the weird appearance of the middle bit was just due to suckling/biting after all?

And thanks Zoo Keeper for getting them back!

[Mel1959]

The most recent pic looks like the middle bit is a scrotal sac? Does a boy show that bit without the testicles descending or does the sac usually expand/appear as the testes drop into it? Never seen a young boy, and even in my wild adults it's hard to see their boy bits. So now I'm guessing he's all boy and the weird appearance of the middle bit was just due to suckling/biting after all?

And thanks Zoo Keeper for getting them back!

I initially suspected that it was the scrotum sac, but wasn’t certain when there was mention of an opening. When I hear back from the vet, I’ll post.

[MotherOfBadgers]

I initially suspected that it was the scrotum sac, but wasn’t certain when there was mention of an opening. When I hear back from the vet, I’ll post.

Tbh if the middle bit wasnt the penis/top not an umbilical hernia my guess wouldve been it's just a bite that's been further sucked on thus stretching the skin. In my experience the scrotum doesnt really have that slack in the skin so early on. I do have to say though that this one does seem to have a penis placed somewhat off. May make mating difficult but oh well.

Glad OP removed the babies from the incompetents and just hope that they wont be given back to those people.

OP has expressed disagreement with keeping squirrels captive but this boy may be unreleasable down the line due to complications from such injury to vital organs so early on. Development of the penis and urethra and the animal's ability to urinate on his own at appropriate time intervals should be monitored to determine if he is NR.

[MotherOfBadgers]

You are not being cordial but stern, you're being condescending and rude. Making assumptions about what you think I'm doing or not doing and then insulting me isn't going to help this situation at all.

Do you really think you can be like that and then get a positive response???

Facts are neither positive or negative, they just are, and the only response I was interested in was the status of the squirrel.

I don't want to have a (no pun intended) pissing contest but I have to correct you on something: my "assumptions" were based on information you provided. As I already stated it's absurd to be mad at someone for not knowing something you never told them. You never mentioned other people housing this baby until after my "condescending" post. And that bit of information was vital and affected the input of later posts from other people. It's not irrational to assume that someone who says "i have a baby squirrel and this is what his penis looks like, what should i do" is the one who has the squirrel in every sense of the word "have." In fact I would say it's not an assumption at all. It's responding to the informal provided to me.

And not to be a nit picker but you got them back and posted a picture of them in the same cage thus not separated sooo..... my input amd advice can only be based on what is presented. An assumption would be "zookeeper only took the picture of them in one cage to make it one picture and have them both in it and right after taking the pic ZK separated them into different cages and did xyzabc123" -- i have no reason to assume any of that based on information provided. This is just a demonstration of the same concept with different and more current information and lack of further specific information.

Anyway for the sake of peace here I will extend an apology to you for being a mean mommy (though I did preface all of my condescension with that exact term). I've been away dealing with a dying human so haven't had the chance to touch back on this until now. So, I'm sorry.

I'm glad that you have them back and I must say the latest picture looks MUCH better than the previous two (the condition of the wound). As stated in my previous post I am now fairly confident that this was just a bite that likely was also suckled, making it look as horrible as it did in that second photo. I'm glad to hear the baby is passing urine when stimulated and that you are now feeding them the proper food in the proper quantity.

I do worry for you a bit when the original handlers come calling to retrieve the babies. Have you decided on a plan of action or an excuse that will keep the animals out of their hands but not completely destroy your relationship with this couple? Perhaps you can say that all 4 are male and keeping males in captivity is dangerous because males become aggressive upon sexual maturity and neutering isnt an option/wouldnt help the issue, and at the very least that you cant have two males together so worst case scenario you hand over one male? They did seem interested in only keeping females (i get the vibe that they wanted to breed and just tried to hide their intentions from you but who knows).

Anyway congratulations and good job on getting them back and on improving that wound. Please keep us updated with pictures. as I mentioned in my previous post you should still closely monitor this one for a loooong time to make sure there arent any lasting or developmental problems that result from this. If he can't mate then he will be frustrated but it's not gonna kill him. If he has a hard time passing urine though that can kill him in the wild and even in captivity if it's bad enough. Just please make sure he is urinating appropriately before releasing him.

Lastly I am a little concerned that there hasn't been any new pictures since the 27th, over a week ago. I guess I should assume that you have the whole situation under control and that the animal is fully healed and released to the wild and you no longer need any help and that's why you stopped posting.

Anyway good luck, for the sake of the babies in your care.

[Mel1959]

I never got a response from my vet after sending the last picture. That indicates to me that she did not consider it to be abnormal enough to warrant a response. I made contact with a member of the office staff prior to sending the picture so I know it was shown to her.

How are the babies doing? Can you post a current picture of the baby so we can see how things have changed?

I will say that I had one that was being suckled by its brother and his penis remained somewhat elongated. He was released but identifiable by his penis.