Chin with a broken pelvis

[CJR]

My chinchilla is a three year old standard grey female named Tia. I have had her for exactly one week as of this past Thursday, and on Tuesday I noticed that she favors her left hind leg. I was watching her during play time and I saw that when she hops about, she doesn't put much weight on it.

I suspect that her leg has been this way for awhile, as I noticed when I first put ledges and shelves in her cage (she didn't have any previously, poor thing), she was very strange about leaping onto them. The videos I watched online showed chins leaping nimbly-bimbly, quick and fast, but she is very slow and looks like she's calculating the jumps constantly. I did see her fall off a ledge once (about an eight inch drop, she landed on her feet), but she seemed fine.

Every time I have given her rosehips (something she has to hold to eat), she always holds them in one hand instead of both. I noticed that when she tries to hold it in both hands, her left hind leg buckles and she can't rest on her hind legs like that. So I made an appointment for the vet yesterday.

Well, we had to go through a blizzard (we've had snow storms all week in my area), but Tia, myself and my friend Chris got to the Smoketown Animal Hospital (in Smoketown, PA; more info at the *) in one piece. They are very friendly and knowledgeable there, they weighed her and gave her a complete exam, watched her hop around to see her limp, and then xrayed her.

Turns out Tia has a broken left pelvis. The doc, Dr. Hall, said there isn't really anything I can do, just make sure she doesn't jump too far or exert herself too much. I told him that I was covering her mesh shelves in cardboard covered with fleece and he seemed very pleased with that.

The fracture is either really old or really recent (like within the past month), because the bones haven't calcified yet and tried to reattach. Doc said it's either because
a) The fracture was too far apart and they can't reattach
or
b) it's recent enough that it hasn't had time to calcify.

Other than the pelvis, she's perfectly fine and healthy.

I'm just wondering... does anyone here have any experience with a broken pelvis in chins? Any advice? I'd really appreciate it.

* - Smoketown is actually located in a subdivision of Lancaster, but this animal hospital has -two- exotic vets and Dr. Hall is excellent!

 

[mishellyshel]

I have had NO experience with this, however; the first thing that comes to mind is to make sure there are not high shelves that she can jump on and possibly fall from.
And perhaps instead of a very tall cage, maybe a wider longer cage would be better for Tia. I would concentrate more on fun tunnels and thing like that instead of high shelves OR put lots and lots of shelves in spots that are close to eachother.
I would also make sure she has lots of soft stuff, like maybe a fleece bed, fleece covered tube and/or fleece hammock.
And while I do love a fleece covered cage instead of the shavings......in her case I would lean more toward the shavings so in the event she did fall she would have a softer landing.

 

[starleomach]

I would agree. Few low shelves or no shelves I would skip the hammock as those are less secure and they move when a chinchilla gets in and out. A fleece tube would be ok..then you wait

 

[ticklechin]

I have one that is a tripod and has dislocated his hip twice in his 16year old life-his cage has no jumps higher than 6 inches and he is on solid surfaces. He gets supplemented daily with glucosamine chondroitin, .2mg a day for his bit of arthritis in that hip, so if it becomes a issue for you in the future, ask your vet about giving it.

 

[tunes]

She has a broken pelvis or had and it healed badly? If it's in the healing stage, then she shouldn't be in any cage, but rather a small cat carrier that restricts her movements. If you completely restrict her movements, and she's going to hate you for it for a while, there's a good chance the pelvis will heal up into a more sturdy base for her. If instead she's allowed to move around a lot, a pelvis can shift and you can end up with issues like blocking the ability to urinate and defecate.

That is pretty much the standard treatment for any small animal, whether it's a rat or a smallish dog. Confinement, restriction of movement, pain relief, and hopefully, healing.

It's pretty sad that the previous owners didn't care enough to get this taken care of, retired or not. I've not heard of a chin ever breaking their pelvis from a jump or a fall before, and I'm sure it's not self-inflicted, so the other thought that comes to mind is that they stepped on her.

 

[CJR]

She has a broken pelvis or had and it healed badly? If it's in the healing stage, then she shouldn't be in any cage, but rather a small cat carrier that restricts her movements. If you completely restrict her movements, and she's going to hate you for it for a while, there's a good chance the pelvis will heal up into a more sturdy base for her. If instead she's allowed to move around a lot, a pelvis can shift and you can end up with issues like blocking the ability to urinate and defecate.

That is pretty much the standard treatment for any small animal, whether it's a rat or a smallish dog. Confinement, restriction of movement, pain relief, and hopefully, healing.

It's pretty sad that the previous owners didn't care enough to get this taken care of, retired or not. I've not heard of a chin every breaking their pelvis from a jump or a fall before, and I'm sure it's not self-inflicted, so the other thought that comes to mind is that they stepped on her.

She *has* a broken left pelvis. The bone is completely snapped in half. The doctor said she doesn't act or seem like she's in pain. He also said the fracture could be very old or very recent, as I said above...

So if I do restrain her like you say, can she come out for playtime at all? Or do I just leave her alone? She really loves hopping around the bathroom and sniffing at me... I just don't want to crush her spirit, you know?

Her cage as of right now has two levels, each connected by wide ramps that she uses all the time. She doesn't jump from level to level. There are also two shelves, a narrow one and a big one, that she likes to sit on. The small one is maybe seven inches from the level, and the big one is four inches from the small one.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes to see if this can heal. I can't stress that enough. I've only had Tia for a week and a half, but I am completely in love with her and her "I'm a princess" spirit.

There is normal bedding in the bottom floor of her cage - I really like Kaytee Soft Sorbent, as it was the one bedding that didn't upset my (previous) pet rat's respiratory system and isn't dusty as all get out. My rat had to be put down on January 31st of this year due to tumors that we couldn't operate on because of her advanced age (4 years... she was very, very old, but spry to the end).

 

[AZChins]

I'd let her have a little playtime in a few days. Chins heal very quickly but this break is going to take awhile before she is back to normal. It isn't really her moving around that you have to worry about it's the bouncing and jumping and falling that chins tend to do all the time. The playtime you will want to give her needs to be on a flat surface where she can't get up onto anything. In the bathroom my chins get up on the vanity and the toilet and in the tub...so I don't know if that would be the best place for her to have her playtime right away.

I agree about not wanting to crush her spirit! Give her toys and other fun things to chew up and destroy to take her mind off of being more restrained. Talk to her, take her carrier in with you when you watch television (they love TV so much) and just keep her occupied...she'll be alright.

 

[CJR]

I will put her in a towel-over-fleece lined cat carrier tonight and keep her in there for the six weeks. She will still get plenty of love and attention. If she still limps after the six weeks, I suppose I should get her x-rayed again, correct?

In other news, I did call the previous owners (third time I've contacted them now since I've gotten her, lol) and they told me that they were out of the country for a two week period from January 24th until February 6th. I came to pick Tia up on the 18th. They had someone watching the house, but it is possible that she sustained the break then.

I did notice something strange - when I got her, they told me that she loves to run in her wheel and does it all night long. Ever since I've had her, she hasn't run on her wheel at all - I haven't heard nor seen her do it. I marked it with a small post-it one night to see if it had moved or fallen off the next morning, and it hadn't.

If she did break her pelvis while they were away, it would make sense that she doesn't run in her wheel anymore. And since they don't pay attention to her, I doubt that they would have noticed that she didn't use her wheel as frequently in that week and a half span before I picked her up.

In any case... I just hope it heals. Like I said, once I get home tonight I will clean out a cat carrier, line it with towels covered with fleece, and settle her in there. When I put her in a small travel-like cage, she likes to jump on her hidey hut and sit there... I suppose I should not include her hidey hut or anything to jump on? Just the fleece, maybe her granite slab, food, hay and water?

 

[menagerie]

I totally agree with Peggy. Confined to a small cage or carrier and no exercise time. You want those bones to have a chance to knit back together. Even letting her out to run a little can cause the bones to remain separated. This is why in people they would also put you in a cast and on bed rest. It's no different for a chin, except you can't really cast them.

Did you by any chance get a copy of the x-rays? I'd love to see them. Chin people are funny like that, we love to look at x-rays.

 

[Claire D]

I'll third (since Meanie already seconded ) the total confinement. No outside exercise, no wheel, nothing that she has to jump on. She needs plenty of rest so that she can heal.

Give her loads of wood to chew & ignore that "sad" face - it is far better for the chin to be confined now than have her cause irreparable damage (possibly fatal) just so that she can have a bit of a run or a jump about.

 

[tunes]

You might also consider a bit of alfalfa hay every other day or so. The added calcium in the hay might do the bones some good.

 

[CJR]

All right. She will definitely be confined. I do not have the xrays, but I will call the vet on Monday to see if they can email me a copy. In the mean time, I will try to find other chin xrays to see if I can circle the area where the fracture is.

 

[CJR]

Okay, this is from something I found on google images that I cropped and repositioned. Tia's break is located in the circle - the slash is how it's broken. The top half of Tia's pelvis is maybe a centimeter apart from the bottom part...

I found the original picture here, and I did not get permission to use it, I'm sorry. I just wanted to show everyone where her break is. It is a complete break, like I said above.

 

[CJR]

You know, now that I think about it, I don't think that's actually where the break is. I will get the x-rays sent to me on Monday and show you those... Disregard that picture... I don't think it's correct. I have a bad memory and I was so in shock when they showed me the x-ray, I just couldn't think.

 

[menagerie]

I was so in shock when they showed me the x-ray, I just couldn't think.

I'm not surprised, when the vet showed me the x-ray of a staple in Lily's stomach I got a bit woozy and the brain shut off for a moment.

 

[CJR]

Well, she was very unhappy about it and glared at me with all her chinnie might, but she's in a small cat carrier now with a calcium/mineral chew, a stick of wood, her pellets, hay, and water. She was so mad at me, she wouldn't even take the rosehip I offered her...

I set up a little TV for her though and popped in "Mona Lisa Smile" (never seen it, my mom likes it though) and she almost immediately hopped to the front of the carrier and started watching. It's cute... but she won't even look at me now. It's like she's saying "How could you do this to moi? A princess such as myself needs much more room!!"

I'm very upset seeing her in that little carrier, but if it helps her.... then I guess it's for the best.

 

[sublime5981]

Stick to your guns and don't let her sway you. She will get over it and you'll feel alot better knowing you did what was best for her. My parents had to do it with their dog and it killed them to confine her but, it was worth it in the end.

 

[CJR]

Yeah... Meanie suggested a homeopathic remedy for me to give her, too... Symphytum 30C & Calcarea Phosphorica 30C. I'm going to try that.

In slightly better news, she really likes TV!

 

[CJR]

Update!

Here are Tia's actual x-rays, I just had them sent to me by the vet. I'm sorry about the huge images! Descriptions of each are below the x-rays...

This is her pelvis - I encircled the fracture in lime green.

Her (completely okay) right leg - I'm including it for comparison.

Her left leg - you can see the fracture in the bottom left, also encircled with green.

Needless to say, when the vet showed me these I just... :vomit:

Per advice from Meanie, Tunes and others (thank you guys SO MUCH!!!), Tia is confined in a small cat carrier and will be for the next six weeks. Also, today I am (hopefully, I still need to find symphytum 30c) starting her on a homeopathic regimen consisting of calcarea phosphorica 30c and symphytum 30c. Meanie advised that should dissolve one pellet of each in 1mL of water and administer it to her via syringe.

Hopefully this will knit up... That fracture looks really severe (to me). What do you guys think?

 

[Claire D]

Wow! That's a nasty, nasty break. Poor girly.
It looks pretty recent to me - there does not appear to be much (if any) sign of periosteal reaction - the bone trying to make new bone to heal itself - so you're doing exactly the right thing in keeping her confined.

No wonder you felt ill when you saw that. I would have too!