Reeny's thread about her girl's quarter-sized mating wound made me think it was a good idea to do a public reminder...

For those who breed or plan on breeding, you will most likely deal with a mating wound at some point in time(probably multiple times), so please read this thread!

The large mating wounds you read about(or, God forbid, actually have to deal with yourself!) are not actually wounds caused by males. They're ruptured abscesses. The abscess is caused when a male bites down to hard and the teeth make a small, usually unnoticeable, puncture wound. That wound then gets infected and since it's small it heals over rather quickly, thus leaving no opening for the pus to escape. So it builds up under the surface of the skin until it eventually ruptures. The rupture is the large, open wound that you then can't possible miss. :\

When this happens, depending on the size of the wound, you will most likely end up having to take the glider to the vet to get them oral antibiotics and possible stitches as well. If this is your first time dealing with a mating wound DO NOT try and do at-home treatment to avoid a vet visit! If not treated properly the wound can end up getting re-infecting and abscessing/bursting all over again into an even BIGGER wound!

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the time "mating wounds" are an indication that the female doesn't want to breed. Sometimes it's simply that she's gone into heat too soon after having had joeys or that she's been breeding back to back and needs a break. In which case, you should consider separating the pair during her next heat cycle so she can have a break. If that doesn't work, then neutering the male might be another option. However, neutered males will not always solve the problem since neutered males will continue to breed their females. So be sure to continue watching for mating wounds even after neutering. If they continue to occur then the female will need to be housed with another female and not with any males.

I hope this helps.

That is really good information but I have to add to it.

Males ALSO can get these types of wounds. They are not always "mating" wounds. Sometimes (according to my vet) it can be something as harmless as a skin puncture by another glider's toe nail allowing bacteria to enter under the skin and abcess, which then leads to this same type of wound. And they can even be caused by little joeys trying to ride piggy back on their parents.

I currently have two gliders with wounds like this. One male, one female. They are cage mates and up until the wounds appeared, they also lived with their 1 yr old son. Both boys are neutered. The son is not injured so we believe that he might have caused the two wounds on his parents.

I have had to deal with many of these wounds and vet care IS needed.

Thank you, this is very helpful and informative.