Foot broken?

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.
Filia

Filia

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 9, 2012
Messages
53
Location
Virginia
I'm afraid that my chinchillas foot (toe, to be more specific) might be broken! :(
My mother was feeling independent to take my chinchilla to the bathroom to play, on her own; but she doesn't like to hold him..so she let him jump in a cat carrier and...I wasn't in the room so i don't have the finest details, but apparently the carrier lid shut on his little toe....
It bled for awhile, and he wont walk on that foot much...Do you think it could be broken?

I'm new to owning a chinchilla, so I'm really stressed out! I'd rather not take him to the vet if i dont have to. Do you guys know any ways of being sure its broken? If so, what should I do?

I've had my chinchilla for about a month now, and surprisingly our bond is quite close. Although he's still not comfortable with me holding him still...He's 4 months old, for any reason one might need to know...
 
It happened last night. He still wont use that foot much. Is it possible it could just be sore which is why he wont use it?
 
It could be, but chinchillas mask pain well. Pain can put them off their food, causing all kinds of issues. You really should have it x-rayed.
 
Okay, thanks...

I'll be taking my cat in for her rabies shot tomorrow, I'll talk to the vet about him then.

And you're right, my chinchilla hasn't been eating much, it seems. I found evidence of diarrhea in his cage...Poor little guy...

Hoping for the best!
 
He needs to see a vet NOW, not later. Stop procrastinating. Do NOT simply mention it to the vet. TAKE THE CHIN TO THE VET. I cannot say this any simpler.
 
Let me ask you this - if you had a broken leg, would you talk to the doctor about it on the phone? Whether it's a chin, a cat, or a human, a broken limb is extremely painful and can result in a serious infection if the bone does any damage to the surrounding tissue.

Your chin needs to see a vet today. I don't care how good of a vet you have, he can't diagnose a possible broken limb without actually seeing the chin.
 
If I had a broken leg, I would know I had a broken leg. Pippin can't tell me if he does or doesn't.

Anyway, he has been eating and drinking properly now. He must have been stressed the night it happened.
I looked into it and found no vets who treat chinchillas near me. What now?
 
Filia said:
If I had a broken leg, I would know I had a broken leg. Pippin can't tell me if he does or doesn't.

Anyway, he has been eating and drinking properly now. He must have been stressed the night it happened.
I looked into it and found no vets who treat chinchillas near me. What now?
Click to expand...

That's precisely the point. He CAN'T tell you...so you need to investigate and be sure.

Where in Virginia are you located?
 
Look for a vet that treats "exotics". That may be your best bet. Like everyone else has said, he NEEDS to see a vet. Waiting may only result in his health deteriorating faster.
 
Thanks guys. I took him to the a this morning. His toe was not broken, however it was slightly amputated..The vet said he's fine though, and gave me a antibiotic to help cure a small infection he has.

Although, this vet doesn't seem very familiar with chinchillas. After some simple questions I asked, such as what her opinion on treats was; she informed me it's fine to feed them anything as long as its a scarce amount...I don't think that's right, is it?
The antibiotic is mixed in with a sweet syrup that includes sugar. She told me because of the small amount I should give him, it wont bother him. Not sure how much sugar is actually in it though. It's 0.2ML of the syrup twice a day for a week. I'm still planning on giving it to him, but because of my lack of confidence in the vet, I would like to know what you guys think. Thanks!
 
I wouldnt let some one that doesnt like holding chinchillas mess with my gus, I would tell them that they can look but dont do anything else. And I feel sorry for that chin, that was an accident that could of been avoided, but just using common sense
 
Did the vet "fully" amputate the toe? If the toe was that damaged the toe needed to go. As far as the rest goes, vets for the most part know nothing about chinchilla care and feeding them "anything" will get you more trips to the vet. The orasweet is what antibiotics are compounded with to make them taste better and that is fine. What antibiotic was given? Some with make the chin stop eating.
 
The vet said his accidental amputation was clean enough of a cut that she didn't have to do any further cutting to it like she thought she would need to. I trust her on that part, an injury is an injury, right?
I'm not sure what kind of antibiotic she gave me; the bottle doesn't give any info about the drug itself. I'll give him his first dose this morning, and see how it goes on from there...Thanks!
 
I'm not understanding this.. "an injury is an injury"? There are several different types of injuries that a chin can have. Don't just trust that vet's judgement, especially if they don't specialize in chins. Ask as many general questions about chinchillas as you can. Write them down if you have to. Chinchillas are very secretive when it comes to injury and illness because they're animals of prey, so even if he seems fine, he may not be. It is crucial that you take him to the vet when these things happen, because you're right, he can't tell you if something is wrong. How is he doing now?
 
He seems to be doing fine now. I don't see what more the vet can do to help. He doesn't seem to like his medicine though...And I'm not the type of person who feels comfortable grabbing him and shoving it down his throat....
The vet never actually said: "His toe is a little infected" she gave me the antibiotic just because he would chew on it sometimes (which I haven't seen him do since te visit) So I guess he's recovering fine...
 
Filia said:
He seems to be doing fine now. I don't see what more the vet can do to help. He doesn't seem to like his medicine though...And I'm not the type of person who feels comfortable grabbing him and shoving it down his throat....
The vet never actually said: "His toe is a little infected" she gave me the antibiotic just because he would chew on it sometimes (which I haven't seen him do since te visit) So I guess he's recovering fine...
Click to expand...

Unfortunately sometimes you have to FORCE them to take their medications. The importance of the antibiotics is to avoid infection, he needs it. You need to burrito wrap him and force it into his mouth. I know it sounds like abuse to you but you're doing more wrong by not giving him the medication that he needs. It just like if you had a chin that wasn't eating on his own. You have to force feed them out of a syringe otherwise their gut motility will stop and they will go into GI stasis.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top