Chinchilla bumblefoot??

Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum

Help Support Chinchilla & Hedgehog Pet Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Screechy

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2017
Messages
7
Ive just adopted this chinchilla from someone who didn't really seem to care for him. Although he had a large cage it was empty other than a shelf, water bottle and food dish. The base of his cage had blue fluff (some sort of absorbent material) sprinkled sparingly throughout. You could still see much of the black plastic base. I've already gone and added a bunch more shelves, toys, hammocks/beds, covered everything in fleece and switched out that blue fluff for fleece on the base. Today I was able to look at his feet and they seemed awful! Is this possibly bumblefoot?? It seems really bad. Should this be brought to an emergency vet or can it wait for an appointment? He was very squirmy and he doesn't know me well enough yet for me to hold him still for others. I'm not sure how the vet would be able to asses his feet if it is bumble. Would they have to administer a sedative to get him to sit still? Would this cost more or affect him negatively? I'm a student and therefore have very low income. I'm so worried about this little guy. I can feel his bones leading me to believe he was unbelievably malnourished.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6758.jpg
    157 bytes · Views: 36
First off, pic attachments haven't worked on here for awhile, you'll need to upload the pics to a photo share site and then link them.

Without a pic I really can't say, but bumblefoot is an infection, so is there puss, swelling or bleeding? Sitting on a flat surface all the time is not natural for chins and can lead to pressure sores with can become infected leading to bumblefoot. A good rundown of one person's experience with treating bumblefoot can be found here. Another suggestion for helping to prevent it is add not only shelves but perches, like birds use but thick enough to support a chin, it helps with blood flow in the feet since they have to kind of rock on their feet for balance.

Depending on how bad the feet are a vet check is a good idea, the chin might need antibiotics and painkillers, but since I can't see any pics I can't say how much of an emergency it is. Since you say the chin also seems malnourished making a vet appointment as soon as you can get one might be a good idea anyway, to get an over all health check. You don't need to get the chin sedated for them to look at the feet, the easiest way is to burrito wrap the chin with the feet sticking out the bottom. That gives you control over the chin and access to the feet to put stuff on them and assess the damage. Another way to get a look at the feet is to grip base of the tail and lift the chin's rear end up. With both methods it's easier if you have two people, one to hold the chin and one to look and/or apply stuff to the feet. With chins they don't handle sedation well, so it's best to avoid it if possible, though it is sometimes required.

I don't know if this is your first chin or not, but most chins never like to be handled or held in place, even after years. They are prey animals so being held still is instinctively terrifying for them, so unless they are too ill to, they will always fight it. Burrito wrapping is pretty much the best go to method for treating them when you need them to stay still.
 
Sorry that's my bad with the image!

So I ended up taking Squid to the vet because I was horribly worried about him. The vet said he was in fact underweight and had "pododermatitis likely secondary" :( He cleaned the wounds with an antiseptic and prescribed both Meloxicam( Metacam?) which is described as an anti-inflammatory, and Enrofloxacin (Baytril). The Baytril is prescribed to take twice daily, and the Meloxicam once daily. The vet sweetened the Baytril with what smells like cherry but the Meloxicam smells really bitter. So my questions:

1) I read on some other posts on here that bitter Baytril could be followed by a raisin, but he really seems to enjoy the cherry. Could I follow the Meloxicam with a raisin as well? Or ... v

2) Can I give him the Meloxicam prior to the Baytril he enjoys? So as to not ruin his appetite? Are they able to be given at the same time or should I stagger the two medicines throughout the day?

3) Both of the medicines have a sticker that says it must only be given with food. What constitutes? 2-3 pieces of hay? A bunch of pellets?

4) I haven't seen Squid touch his pellets or water bottle since i got him 24 hours ago (I know not long). Is he just just adjusting? He munches on his hay quite a bit and loves chewing on his pine shelves and applewood sticks. But I haven't seen him poop much at all which further encourages the thought he's not eating very well.
I have the Martin little friends Timothy chinchilla food that came with him, the bag is mostly empty. Should I consider maybe switching it up? Oxbow and Mazuri seem to be very popular options I could look into?

These forums are packed with information, I can't emphasize just how much I appreciate the help and patience with every one on here.
 
Back
Top