wild adult female dragging crotch? video and photo provided

[astrll]

happy new year everyone!

muchi (from this post) was scratching herself and then suddenly started dragging (?) her crotch across the floor. she carried on like normal afterwards so i’m not sure if her crotch was itchy or if there’s a problem.

she’s a healthy squirrel with lots of energy. she has dominance over a lot of the other squirrels. i don’t see any injuries at all or notice any change in behaviour.

like i described in the linked post, she’s been flirting with another squirrel lately — could it be related to that? i tried looking around the board for similar experiences but mostly came across males and babies.

here is a video of her —
https://youtube.com/shorts/5BzJBLQqwno

sorry it’s not in focus! i was so confused about what i was seeing because i’ve never seen a squirrel do that before! after this video she did it only one other time a few days ago. here’s a still from the video —



thanks in advance ❤️

[CritterMom]

Both sexes spread their scent this way - seems to coincide with mating behavior. The females have a remarkably short amount of time they can get pregnant so they want everyone to know!

[astrll]

Hey again!

I’m STUMPED! Muchi is still dragging and I’m not so sure it’s scenting anymore. She’s dragging to the point that the fur around her anus is gone. She’s also super itchy everywhere else.

I would give her ivermectin, but I think she’s pregnant. I don’t have access to Revolution anymore because of new restrictions in Canada.

Speaking of her pregnancy, I feel like she should’ve had her babies already. It’s been just a little over five weeks since I noticed her swollen look. Her vulva looks saggy, and I don’t see any signs of nipples. She’s really cranky and territorial lately too.

I don’t know! I know something is wrong but I can’t figure it out. Could all these signs add up to something? Can squirrels miscarry? Is it a UTI? Ahhhh I really want to help her, she seems miserable

Thank you in advance!!!

[astrll]

Today muchi’s belly looks smaller and the swollen look has gone down slightly. She’s still really itchy. I don’t see any nipples though! Or maybe I can’t see them through her winter coat? Gah! I wish she could tell me what’s going on! She seems miserable

[astrll]

Hello again!

It’s been a while but I FINALLY was able to get some Revolution for Muchi. She definitely was pregnant because she has really swollen nipples now. But a couple things still bother me—

1. She’s still SO ITCHY. I’ve never seen a squirrel be so itchy for such a long time. I can’t tell if it’s a side-effect of just being a mom? I gave her Revolution on April 21 and it seemed to make zero difference. She’s still itchy and sometimes I see a little black bug crawling all over her nipples.

2. Can squirrels get pregnant AGAIN while still nursing the first set of babies? Her swollen butt look had gone down for a couple weeks, but now it seems like her butt is swollen again. She looks pregnant again?!

Everything about Muchi’s pregnancy was weird to me from the beginning — she started the mating ritual way too early, took forever to show signs of pregnancy, and seemingly got pregnant again?

I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on with her since November! Five months the poor girl has been so so itchy

I will try to get video and pics! She’s being oddly distant lately.