Is this what I think it is coming out of her cloaca?

here's another shot of her pouch so you can see she definitely has girl parts too. (ignore her poop)

From your first picture, I was going to say it's a penis. Then you show the 2nd pic with the pouch and the red thing. Could she be a hermaphrodite?

Oh WOW can it be true. I guess it could be that def looks like a penis and a pouch. How old is she?

That was my thought. Just want to make sure it is indeed a penis and she doesn't have worms.

You can get a better view at the links here:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OfflJ...2-30-21_575.jpg
https://picasaweb.google.com/101797608762658821204/InstantUpload#5693988223358112178

The only thing is that I don't see the bifurcation at the end And, as a side note, unless it's the color of my laptop, does her pouch look a little funky to anyone else?

I didn't see the bifurcated part either, but thought maybe it all wasn't sticking out.

The pouch looks brown to me.

I don't think the penis is out enough to show the fork, Aimee? Maybe if it were out farther. Definitely lookin' like. Penis to me.

How old is the glider?

The pouch looks odd to me too. Does she have teats in the pouch? If not, it could be his pom is still kind of inverted. Sometimes it doesn't completely pop out. I would be seeing my vet to find out what he or she thinks. If this glider is, in fact a boy not a hermaphrodite you could wind up with his cagemates prego.

What is a bifurcation?
The hair right around and inside the pouch is yellowish. It's always been that way as far as I know.

Would the pom be that far up? My only other glider, is a boy, and his pom was down by his cloaca. He was neutered about a month ago.

She was checked by the vet and he didn't have any questions about whether she was a girl. I also rescued her from an experienced glider rescue home and they had no doubts of her gender either.

This is absolutely intriguing. At first, it did look like a penis to me. Perhaps it isn't out enough to see the bifurcation like Tracy said. BUT that's definitely a pouch...hmm. I have no idea but I can't wait to find out.

That's entirely possible, Tracy, it didn't even cross my mind.

Mandi...don't count on SEAVS having a lot of knowledge about hermaphrodites, it looks like a pouch so they'd think it was a pouch, especially if there was no penis showing at the time. That's not to say they don't know anything or can't learn, but I wouldn't take their word for it at this point. I'd have it checked out.

The pouch looks to be a strange color to me..and a little odd. No discharge? No smell? It's normal for there to be some discoloration on the fur around the pouch, but what's showing in the picture looks to me like part of the inside of the pouch, not the fur.

No discharge or funk. I took a close look, it's just the fur. I tried to get a closer shot using the micro setting on my camera but she was too squirmy. I'll try again tomorrow, she's pretty irritated with me right now. I think I may have made her self-conscious. ;P

I'm reluctant to take her in to the vet because if they don't know have experience with hermaphrodites and her penis isn't out when we go in then I'll end up having to pay for a pointless visit, and SEAVS is not cheap. The vet I took her to originally, that looked at her and said "yep that's a girl" has been a glider owner in the past, so he knew enough to know she had lady parts, but I doubt he'd know much about hermaphrodites either.

There are other ways for them to find a penis - it doesn't have to just be out when you go there. The visit wouldn't be pointless.

I know I'm not adding much to the post but is her being a hermaphrodite an actual possibility? I realize it happens in humans but I've never even considered it a glider thing as well. I'm assuming she would just have a penis and no pom, correct?

I thought I read a thread on the GC a while back about hermaphrodites. Someone was looking for information about verified cases. From what I could gather it is not common, but not unheard of.

I'll have my husband call SEAVS tomorrow and make an appointment. Now I'm really curious.

It is possible. I would ask the vet to check really well inside that pouch and make sure 1. There's no infection and 2. There are actually teats I. The pouch.
I would ask the vet to check for a penis and also palpate the tummy and check for a scrotum that is not out. The vet visit will definitely be worth while. I can understand a vet just taking for granted this is a girl with what appears to be a pouch. Whenever I see a vet with a female I always watch to see they thoroughly inspect the pouch. A young female's teTs and inside of pouch will still be quite furry. As they mature the look changes considerably. I am anxious to hear what they find.

Blow up that picture. The bifurcation is there, the tips are just stuck together. (thanks, Val).

Dancing had a hermaphrodite. That there penis is most certainly biforcated, that pouch may also be somewhat of a scent gland but who knows!

I mean its a pouch and scent gland possibly

Looks to me like one of them there he/she's!

Yes, I did have a hermaphrodite glider and SHE even had a joey. We didn't discover the penis until a few months after the joey. Spryte broke her leg when the joey was ip and the joey lived long enough to come oop but did not survive. We (the vet and I) thought at the time it was the anesthesia and the meds that effected the joey so didn't have a necropsy done on the joey. It was clearly a case of "failure to thrive" for the joey. Months later we discovered Spryte's penis and then had to second guess about the joey. There is every possibility that the joey had severe genetic defects. Spryte didn't live much longer either. She got sick and was on meds but didn't make it. Time, circumstances and finances prevented a necropsy with her.

Karin also had/has a hermaphrodite glider, Deuce I think it was.

It is rare but it can/does happen. They should not be bred as there can be other genetic problems. They are usually sterile anyway, Spryte was the exception, according to the vet.

It is possible that the scrotum is inverted. My Odo, I thought was a female when he came out of pouch.

At 6 months I saw a penis, a month or so later the scrotum showed up but was empty.

He is a cryptorchid and we will not be neutering him.

Here is a link to the post about Karin's Glider, Deuce. I had read the post a few months back about him. It's really fascinating, I had no idea this happened with Gliders...http://www.glidercentral.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/748355/Deuce_a_special_boy_hermaphrod

I would take the pictures to the vet with me just in case "she" doesn't want to show anything. Kinda like taking your car to the mechanic and it doesn't make the sound that has been driving you crazy for weeks.

Well since she's a rescue I don't have much background info on her, and the best guess at her age is about 2 years old. I've had her for 6 months and the rescue home had her for a minimum of 8 months. She was also with her mate Jack for a year before he was neutered and they never had babies so my guess is that she is infertile.

That most definitely is a pouch. I don't know what to look for in regards to teats, but I have held her and stretched her out and looked closely and it in no way resembles a scent gland. Plus, she doesn't act like near as much a boy as Jack does. With the exception of the penis, she's all girl....Hmmm, that statement kind of made me a chuckle a little bit.

My Spryte was very much a "girl", she just had extra parts.

Taking the photos with you is a good idea. You can also take my photo with you to show them it does happen in case they have doubts. Spryte was verified by two different vets that she had a penis.

Pracilla Price also had a hermaphrodite that had several liters. Her condition was not discovered until she was retired & being rehomed & someone saw the penis.

Since maile gliders have a scent gland on their chest, the yellowing inside her pouch could be a misplaced scent gland inside the pouch. Usually no staining occurs inside the pouch unless there are joeys in there or there is some type of infection. And if she's all good & well inside the pouch then I would suppose it couldn't be entirely impossible for there to be a scent gland in there.

As long as she's happy & healthy & has no issues with testicles that have not been able to drop, she should live a long healthy life ~ generally speaking.

She looks pretty! I'd love to see 'other' views of her

So do normal females who have not had litters have different colored fur there? Her fur there (which is really inside the pouch - I had her stretched out when I snapped the picture) is yellowish but she's a basic gray.

Here's a better picture of her sweet face.

Females DO have scent glands inside their pouches (or at least that is what I was told). It helps to make their joeys smell like THEIR joeys. It isn't as "productive" or active as a male's chest or head gland.

I didn't see this question answered, sorry if it already has been.

A glider has a bifurcated or forked penis. The end of it is shaped like a snakes tongue.

I didn't realize this thread had two pages. What is the purpose of a forked penis? The next time she has hers out I'll check to see if it looks like a snakes tongue.

In the picture, you can actually see it, Mandi, if you blow it up. You just can't see it as well because it looks like the ends are kind of stuck together. It's definitely forked.

I enlarged the first pic. and it looks like a bificular penis to me. The pouch does look odd.

Could it be that the pouch is not fully formed and that's why it looks this way?

I got to see this beautiful little girl today. Her pouch is absolutely, 100% fine. It's definitely a pouch - looks normal, no discoloration at all.

Awwwwww, you got to see her. How awesome! Does she have the little boy part too?

Unfortunately, she didn't want to show us the little boy part - but she suuuuure is a sweet little thing!!!

If I'm not mistaken, the female has a double uterus so the penis is forked for each. Now, I'm not positive about this - it's something I heard. I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong.

Shelly, they have 2 vaginal openings and just the other day Bourbon told me they have 3 uteri! I always thought what you said until she told me about that other part.

Shelly,

That's correct. Two uterus her and a forked (Bificular meaning 2) penis for him. Bunnies are the same way!

Aimee,

She did look really sweet in her pic.s! Did you think the pic. I tried to enlarged looked like it could be male?

If you enlarge mandi's pic, the penis is clearly there and bifurcated.

Her pouch is definitely a pouch, I was able to hold it open and see inside.

This isn't true. They have 2 uteri and 3 vaginal canals. 2 lateral canals are used during mating for the sperm to reach the uteri and the third, median canal is used to give birth.

Marsupials' reproductive systems differ from those of placental mammals. Females have two lateral vaginas, which lead to separate uteri. A third canal, the median vagina, is used for birth. The males generally have a two-pronged penis, which corresponds to the females' two vaginas.

That sure looks like a penis to me!

Yep, Aimee pulled on her belly and her pouch opened right up. And as you can see in the pictures she's got a penis. She does not have a pom. I'm not familiar with hermaphrodites but I wonder why she wouldn't also have developed a pom if she has a penis...

since she is a hermaphrodite maybe she just developed the penis but is sterile so no pom? idk just an idea. instead of the pom developing the pouch probably took its place? idk this has enticed me.

For some serious reading on hermaphrodites...(very scientific)...

http://mcdb.colorado.edu/labs1/xue/reh%20abstract.htm

Every embryo has both male and female cells. At some point in development USUALLY one set or the other (either the male or the female cells) dies so the other can develop. When this "die off" doesn't happen, you can get hermaphrodites.

Bottom line is, it is a genetic malfunction (not really a genetic defect, more of a malfunction) where the body does not send or receive the appropriate signals to kill off the unneeded cells.

Good info Dancing. And thanks for translating.