"Special Needs" chins

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chrisbradley6

just a little chin-crazy!
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
153
Location
chicago suburbs
I wanted to start a thread for those of us who have "special needs" chinnies to discuss them. if your chin a little different? maybe an ongoing health or behavior issue? discuss it here, and share some ideas and opinions of others who might know what you're going through.

i got this idea because i recently adopted 2 special needs chins and would love to have some conversations with others!

one of my chins is a tripod. the breeder told me that there was an injury at her birth, and she is missing her left front paw. I was concerned that she would be able to jump around her cage as well as a normal chin. she seems to be very cautious when i put a new ledge in, when she explores it. once she tries it a couple times, she seems alright. if i watch her closely when she's jumping around or stretching out, it seems like i can see like her shoulder bone moving where her missing paw should be. it makes me sad because it reminds me of what she's missing! who else has a tripod? do you do anything different for them, or set up their environment differently?

i also brought home a pair of brothers, one of which has a balance issue. the breeder had him FULLY checked out by a vet, no problems found. he flops over sometimes, wobbles a little when he walks, and can't jump like a normal chin. I tried to alter his cage by putting a lot of things on the floor of the cage, as well as tubes and ledges up higher for his "normal" brother to jump to. this little guy seems so curious, and jumps on his twig house (which is about as talk as he is). i'm thinking of adding a big ledge (like the level the FN comes with, altering it to make chin-proof) so he has more room to explore. i put lots of hanging toys at his level and a fleece tube right on the floor (which he LOVES!). any other suggestions?
 
My tripod lived until he was 17, he was a tripod since birth. His only issue was when he got to be around 10 he had arthritis issues and was on supplements for it which helped. As far as his cage, I just kept the levels close together and he had ramps to use if he wanted to. The other special needs was blind with no tail, he had balance issues and obvious blindness issues-cage had to stay exactly the same and had no ledges, just full floors with ramps and you had to make noise before you approached him so he knew you were there. Chinchillas adapt really well to their situation.
 
wow! i cant imagine having a blind chin! that would be tough.

my tripod started using her flying saucer wheel last night. i was so proud of her! she wasnt going fast, but just trying it out for a few seconds at a time. she wasnt showing much interested in it before, so i was wondering if she was even going to try it. but i'm so excited that she's starting to learn! :clap1:

i was having a little snuggle session with Tripp (my off-balance boy) and he must have really enjoyed it because when i put his back in his cage he started popcorning around the cage! it was hilarious to see him popcorn and flop over. lol then do it again. haha! what a cutie.
 
Special needs indeed

I am a proud owner of a 3-year-old tripod. His leg was amputated after battling an unknown infection/wound on the top of his right foot. To this day we've never known its cause. Our other chin (his sister) repeatedly gets smaller outbreaks of this same condition in the same exact spot. Just last month we healed a small "outbreak", then two days later we discovered a larger "outbreak" that was slightly infected. It took a cone and three weeks of bandage changes to get her back to normal. Something triggers her to scratch her foot, as if it itches. Since she scratches it with her teeth, she breaks the skin. Once she breaks the skin, it's another trigger for her to chew at it. It's been a vicious, heartbreaking cycle. Our vet is at a loss for a diagnosis. We've ruled out most everything, and are now treating it as an allergy, but the medication only works to a point. I'm scared she will eventually lose her leg as well.

I have researched extensively for the past two years and still have no answers. This isn't exactly a textbook situation.

Does anyone out there have any experience or insight from something similar?

Thanks
 
The the person who thinks this forum is a waste of time, you shoud have started your own thread and not put it in this thread, you would have actually got more responses, I have heard about what you are talking about and could have helped-BUT since I already responded to this thread there was no need for me to look again.
 
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