Female 5 Mos. Old With Enlarged Bum

[jesse ruth]

Hello! My sweet Marshmallow seemed to be showing signs of being in heat. She became a little aggravated one night but then settled down with her roommate, another female pickles, and has been fine. The next day I noticed her little bum sticking out. when I picked her up and looked the whole of her genitalia was enlarged. However she is doing just fine. she is eating plenty and drinking like normal and popcorning and playing with pickles just the same. I am making an appointment with the vet on Monday. However I just want to know what anyone on here thinks. I just cannot find anything supporting any of my conclusions. Nothing supports a UTI because her tummy is fine and I pressed all over her stomach and she had no pain. She is also pooping fine. She is not pregnant because I have had her 3 months so I think I would have found out by now and also I felt for babies and felt nothing. I thought she was just in heat but then I read that the heat cycle only lasts 1-2 days and this began Sunday and the enlargement on Monday and it is Friday night right now. So now I am really worried and going to go to the vet but I just want opinions because I would love to know what I may be dealing with. any help is appreciated. Thank you from Jesse, Marshmallow and Pickles also cant do pics bc camara on phone isn't working sorry

 

[Wiebke]

I would not worry too much if there are no signs of infection or pregnancy. Marshmallow is too young for ovarian cyst issues (these only affect sows from 18 months onwards at the earliest), but she is now at an age where she is experiencing some teenage hormones. sows have them as well as boars, only that theirs generally don't end up with the potential of fights and fall-outs, so they are less well known and often go unnoticed. It is however good that you are having her checked up by a vet.

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[jesse ruth]

Okay I updated my profile information. Thank you for letting me know about that! Puberty! I didn't think about that one. I am still making that appointment as soon as possible but I am not really so worried. she is just fine as rain. Like I said she popcorns, eats all the food, drinks plenty of water, and runs around just like normal. So puberty makes sense, however I am taking her to the exotic vet because I have some questions and I have got to make sure. I can only pay for one guinea pig examination but I am taking pickles too because they like to huddle together whenever they are being moved like that. I appreciate your help so much it has really calmed my nerves and I will update this when I am done with the vet.

 

[Wiebke]

Okay I updated my profile information. Thank you for letting me know about that! Puberty! I didn't think about that one. I am still making that appointment as soon as possible but I am not really so worried. she is just fine as rain. Like I said she popcorns, eats all the food, drinks plenty of water, and runs around just like normal. So puberty makes sense, however I am taking her to the exotic vet because I have some questions and I have got to make sure. I can only pay for one guinea pig examination but I am taking pickles too because they like to huddle together whenever they are being moved like that. I appreciate your help so much it has really calmed my nerves and I will update this when I am done with the vet.

Thank you!

You will find our tips for taking piggies to a vet helpful: Tips For Vet Visits

 

[Freela]

My only inquiry would be are you absolutely, 100% sure that she is a female... testicular growth might be more apparent at that age in young males. If you're 100% sure, I would just keep an eye on it and hopefully it's just female hormones at play.

 

[Keiko The Pig]

I agree with freela. My boar Keiko is around the puberty teen phase and boy are his parts starting to stick out and make themself known! Especially when he rumbles they become very apparent for some reason lol. Hope all goes well with the vet!