Just wanted to let everyone know that I have been dealing with a mating wound the last few days. Discovered that Luna had a quarter sized wound on her Right back shoulder area on Wednesday night. I was surprised I didn't discover this sooner as I had been in and out of her cage. Her little joey went to her new home last Sunday.
She went to the vet yesterday morning and she debrided and sutured the area. Dr. Schneider is a wonderful vet and did a great job. When Luna was waking up out of anesthesia she of course wanted to go right for the wound. The wound went around the back towards her neck. We were able to keep her away from it. Dr. Schneider put topical lidocaine on it too, and she already had metacam.
I kept her on me all day yesterday and slept with one eye open all night. She seems to be doing well thank God. I just gave her the antibiotic and the pain med just so she stays comfortable through today.
I am so glad she left that wound alone all day. Got up a couple of times during the night. Hoping her recovery continues to go well.
Poor Luna!!! Sorry you've been dealing with this but it sounds like you've got things under control and have a great vet, to boot! Good luck and please keep us posted so we know how she's doing! Sending healing thoughts your way!
Oh, poor baby! That looks like a massive wound! You're such a good mom to get her to the vet so quickly!
This emphasizes the importance of checking your gliders body daily (at least twice), having an emergency vet and having an emergency vet fund!
Good job!!!
Make sure her wound is fully healed, with the fur having grown back, before you out her in with her cage mate. Even a visible scar will make them think something is wrong and they'll want to groom it to fix it. Also, it may take several weeks before this heals completely. She can have supervised visits with her cage mate, to make sure they don't forget each other. One more thing, the metacam is hard on the liver, so shouldn't be given more than three days. If she needs pain meds after that (which I would imagine she would!), you'll need to ask for a different pain med. Are you still using the topical lidocaine?
Thanks for the advice. I didn't need to use the topical lidocaine. She settled down once the anesthesia wore off. I did give her the metacam this morning and I have one more dose for tomorrow. Hopefully she will be ok.
This is actually the second mating wound I have had. Daisy had one last year and I had her separated from Sweet William for about 5 weeks.
This mating was a little loud and I usually check the females since I have had a mating wound before. Just didn't see this one. Last time I got Sweet William neuter. Hopefully Peri and Luna will be ok together or I will neuter Perwinkle too.
poor Baby! I know what you are going through. I have a little rescue (Chip) at the moment that is finally all healed up. His wound was at least that big, but since it was infected, couldn't be stitched! It took forever. I hope for a speedy recovery for your little Luna
Here is an update on Luna's mating would. I would like some opinions on this.
I guess the nurse in me thinks that a wound like that needed to be cleaned, debrided and sutured.
I have been told that some people leave the wound alone and just watch it. In my opinion it starts with a puncture wound from mating and then it festers underneath and the male then overgrooms it and creates a quarter size wound. Which then I think needs to have surgery.
I am rethinking this process, and need some help and opinions.
I have also been told about Scarlet oil which I found today. I have seen pictures of gliders from Bourbon with mating wounds and the recovery using the scarlet oil was amazing.
Mating wound are something a think most breeders experience at some point. I have had two at this point. Daisy's wound healed beautifully with no complication. I did do surgery on Daisy just like Luna. Unfortunately Luna's wound is not looking great. It has had a lot of drainage since day three. The top wound is separating from the underneath tissues. My vet that did the surgery is away in Canada. I do have a back up vet but he is away until tomorrow. I didn't like the vet that is covering.
I bought two products today. One was the Scarlet oil and the other is a product called Vetericyn. The girl at the feed store said it is new and people are getting excellent results. It was expensive but I think worth a try.
The label reads: One-step topical water-based HydroGel spray that clears wounds, treats infections and kill bacteria including antibiotic-resistant MRSA. Use to treat topical infections, yeast, infections and rashes. This steroid-free,antibiotic-free, no rinse solution is non toxic and speeds healing. For management, treatment regimen and acceleration of healing process of traumatic wounds, cuts, abrasions, skin irritations, skin ulcers, post surgical incision sites, burns, scratches, rashes, chronic inflammation, wound odors. In solution this product kills 99.999% of bacteria, single cell organisms, and fungi making it ideal for prevention and control of infections and maintenance of sanitary conditions by killing bacteria such as E coli, Salmonella, Staph(MRSA), Strep, Moraxella Bovis, Pasteurella & Actinomyces. Safe for use around mouth, nose and eyes.
I think I am going to try this product. I will keep a journal with pictures etc over the next 10 days. I have the Scarlet oil as a backup it this doesn't work. If I think Luna needs to be seen by a vet I will get her there immediately. I may email my vet even though she is in Canada to get her opinion.
I currently have two gliders, Everest and Sierra with "mating" wounds.
I have been using the Vetercyn on them and they are healing very nicely.
The Vetercyn was first given to my by the vet that treated my horse when she sliced her throat open. It helped her heal so fast it was amazing.
Reading the lable carefully, I decided to try it on my gliders. It IS safe and seems to help them heal faster.
Just use a q-tip to apply to the wound two to three times a day.
I just now went and looked at those photos... THAT IS BAD and NEEDS to be treated by a vet. The wounds Everest and Sierra have started off pretty small. Please, take your little one to the vet. I also recommend some Baytril (or other broad spectrum antibiotic for atleast 10 days). Your little girl has a very serious wound. I have deal with probably 8-10 mating wounds over the years and NONE of them were ever that bad.
Last edited by Dancing; 10/14/1010:26 PM.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
Aw Reeny..... My heart goes out to both you and Luna!
My suggestion is that you use warm water compresses on that wound for 5 minutes, then apply the vetericyn. Frankly, I'd ask the vet to give you a different antibiotic also. Minka had (yet another) mating wound recently that was going south on me quickly (the "bad smell" type of going south) and I called for an antibiotic prescription IN ADDITION TO using QuickDerm twice daily (it works well for her). The smell went away within 10 days & is healing quite nicely...but there's going to be a rearranging of who lives with who after she's totally healed.
Minkasmom (Papillon Kisses) Slave to: 25 gliders,4 cats, and ONE husband (can't handle two, lol!) Remembering all my lost loves
Yes for 3 days. I just used the Veterycin I swear it looks better than earlier this evening. It really doesn't seem to be bothering her. I hope. I may just run her by the vet tomorrow. Wish my real vet was back from Canada. Since she did the original surgery.
My heart goes out to your little girl reeny. I am so sorry that she has to be going through this, as well as you. I hope that she will start healing quickly with this new medication.
My prayers are with you and your little girl.
Re: Mating Wound
[Re: reeny]
#1017864 10/15/1001:48 AM10/15/1001:48 AM
I didn't think to keep a photo diary of my two with the Vetercyn. Wish I had. If you could, it would really help others to "see" how great this stuff works.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
I think the wound looks better tonight. Here is a picture of Luna's wound as of 10/15/2010.
I did call the vet today. Well my back up vet who use to be my original vet. He is excellent but I think that Dr. Schneidner knows sugar gliders better. Dr. Harris is very expensive. He has recently heard of Vetericyn says he is having excellent results with it. He and I would like to get a culture of the site just to make sure it is not infected. I have an appt with him tomorrow morning.
The scab is off the site and now the tissue underneath can breath and granulate in. I took a picture of the scab it is hanging by some suture material.
You all be the judge but I think it definitely looks better.
Went to the vet today. He did do a culture. He thought the wound look pretty bad. Wants me to clean it with a betadine scrub besides the Vetericyn. It is difficult to do because I could use more than two hands. I also don't know how to rinse it well enought to get the betadine off the skin. I am a little afraid of aggrevating it too much just incase she would start to mess with it.
I think it is looking better again today. Will post pictures tomorrow.
It looks like it is getting the granular look to it (healthy tissue regrowing). This is a really LARGE wound and will take time to heal all the way.
With my horse, the vet told me the best thing is to flush with just water several times a day and then apply the Vetercyn after.
She said that we (mammals) are mostly water and our cells love water and flushing with water will help keep the cells hydrated and promote the new growth/healing.
Also to keep the wound at least partly open so it can drain. If fully closed, any bacteria will only fester and make it worse. So although the wound on this little girl is open, it is a healthier way for it to heal.
Now I know that is not an easy thing to do on a glider and you have to keep the glider warm until dry. But I know how well it worked on the horse. She healed up at least 3 times faster than I thought she would.
620-704-9109 Judge not until you have walked in their shoes and lived their lives. What you see online is only part of the story.
I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance
The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.
Well the wound is definitely looking better. I didn't use the betadine today. Need to get a few supples to do it properly. Dr. Schneider is back in town tonight and she emailed me and I sent her a few pictures so she could see the progression of the wound.
Will talk to her tomorrow and how to best use the betadine. In the mean time I have been using the Vetericyn.