SkinnyPigRiver
Junior Guinea Pig
I had to do a lot of collective researching to find information on this subject, so I thought it might be worthwhile to have an identifiable thread.
When checking out my baby piggies the other day, I noticed that River had this weird white sort of... round lump in her vagina. I wish I had taken a picture, because I can't find anything similar online. What I CAN find is images of what it probably is/was; a mucus plug.
Sows have a mucus plug that "blocks" their vagina. It comes out when they're in heat. Every picture I've seen of the entire object looks like a used condom, which I honestly think is pretty funny. Around the same time, River started being a real bully to Melody, as she was most likely in heat.
Checking her today, there is nothing evident on River's genitals that shows the remnants of this plug. It would seem that the odds are it came out (piggy periods!) and is somewhere on the fleece, and I'll probably never even see it. She's so much calmer today, further evidence, I believe, that she had been in heat.
What I read tells me that when boars mate with a sow their own fluids produce a mucus plug that looks a lot like the "period plug" (as I'm referring to it in my mind). I think, what I want to establish with the help of the amazing moderators, is a definitive thread that contains information about sow plugs. I'm going with that term because it seems to be the most popular.
It sort of blew my mind that there was so little information to be found on what was obviously a regular occurrence in female guinea pig biology. I'm hoping we can collect more photos and details on the phenomenon. It's not surprising we don't know so much about piggy biology. Scientists only recently discovered the human clitoris extends into a vagina-encircling inner structure. Yeah, I went there.
Can anyone add information about the mucus plugs sows form in between heats? I'd appreciate knowing all I can!
When checking out my baby piggies the other day, I noticed that River had this weird white sort of... round lump in her vagina. I wish I had taken a picture, because I can't find anything similar online. What I CAN find is images of what it probably is/was; a mucus plug.
Sows have a mucus plug that "blocks" their vagina. It comes out when they're in heat. Every picture I've seen of the entire object looks like a used condom, which I honestly think is pretty funny. Around the same time, River started being a real bully to Melody, as she was most likely in heat.
Checking her today, there is nothing evident on River's genitals that shows the remnants of this plug. It would seem that the odds are it came out (piggy periods!) and is somewhere on the fleece, and I'll probably never even see it. She's so much calmer today, further evidence, I believe, that she had been in heat.
What I read tells me that when boars mate with a sow their own fluids produce a mucus plug that looks a lot like the "period plug" (as I'm referring to it in my mind). I think, what I want to establish with the help of the amazing moderators, is a definitive thread that contains information about sow plugs. I'm going with that term because it seems to be the most popular.
It sort of blew my mind that there was so little information to be found on what was obviously a regular occurrence in female guinea pig biology. I'm hoping we can collect more photos and details on the phenomenon. It's not surprising we don't know so much about piggy biology. Scientists only recently discovered the human clitoris extends into a vagina-encircling inner structure. Yeah, I went there.
Can anyone add information about the mucus plugs sows form in between heats? I'd appreciate knowing all I can!
