Prolapsed kit?

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greychins

greychins

NWI Chinchillas
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
1,589
Location
Hammond, IN
So, I just got a call today from someone who has a kit they believe has prolapsed. They said the kit is approx 2 weeks old, and it looks like there is a "bloody stool" hanging out, but that it is definitely not a stool.

I have had no experience with prolapse, so I was unsure of what to tell the lady - I said I would call her back.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do for the kit, or thoughts on what might cause a kit to prolapse? If she cannot save the kit, maybe there is something she is doing wrong which could be corrected... something that caused the prolapse?
 
The kit needs to go to the vet to have the intestines replaced and then stitched to hold it in place. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. I just dealt with a kit that prolapsed last night and luckily the intestines are staying in place.

It's difficult to know what causes this entirely. Kits can prolapse for many different reasons including diarrhea, problems with the nursing mother, internal development in-utero, etc.
 
Is there any home-remedy? When she first said that, I did suggest going to the vet, but she asked if there was anything else that could be tried first. I got the feeling that she was calling me (she said she also called a few other people with chinchillas-for-sale ads online, but didn't get ahold of anyone) because she was looking for an answer that didn't involve going to the vet.
 
if they have never dealt with this before and do not have anyone else experienced that has done it before she needs to take it to the vet. it needs to go back in if there is any chance for the chin, but again if they have no experience with it the vet is the best option they can hurt the chin or the intestines/bowel and then it will suffer a lot more. just remember the longer it goes untreated the more likely it is to start dying/failing and the less chance it has for recovery
 
There aren't any home remedies, and the longer she waits, the less chance of survival. The chances of him making it are already pretty slim.
 
There is no way to fix that without a vet. and it is rare that it can be fixed but the longer one waits the less likey it can be fixed. sometimes it is a development issue and sometimes it is an illness. one occurace is a fluke more than one in a short time is an issue, food/water or illness
 
Sorry to update so late, I was only able to access a computer for a few minutes on my break at work to read replies. I called the lady back, told her what you all said - take it to the vet. I told her that that was really the only option since she did not seem experienced (she mentioned that all of her chins are pet store chins and because of several escapee chins, that is how hers have gotten pregnant *rolls eyes*, but that was "totally an accident") that she really needed to go to the vet. She said that she would "think about it" but "wasn't sure she wanted to spend that kind of money on a kit considering the parents cost her so much money." Oy.

I did mention, as noted above, the best chance of saving the kit is if the kit gets seen sooner rather than later... but I got the feeling that if she didn't go by now... if she thought her "best chance" was to call up random people re-homing chins...she probably isn't going to.

She ended the call, telling me "surely" there was something that could be done that I "just did not know about," and she was going to find out what. She said that she would call me "when the kit recovered and was doing great as an adult." Well... let's just say I'm not holding my breath for that phone call. Ugh, people. :(

I didn't get the feeling this was a re-occuring thing with her chins, she just said that she had heard of prolapse before and thought this might be it.
 
So if her human child was on the toilet with a intestine hanging out would she think there is a home remedy for that? People never cease to amaze my how stupid and ignorant they are, I hope karma gets her good.
 
If she just tries to push it back in odds are they will come right back out. I have dealt with this multiple times now sadly. Usually rescues people dump off nearly dead or malnurished. Only chinchilla I have ever had survive it was King, and I got a lot of help from the vets office, but had it not stayed in when it was put in (didn't require stiching) I would have had him put down. Such a sad situation and in kits it is even harder, thier little bodies can;t handle it
 
Could the ASPCA do anything? Maybe they could at least put the kit down, and if this woman is refusing to take an animal in that condition to the vet, surely there's grounds for a cruelty case. That's really awful, unbelievable that people will leave a creature to suffer like that.
 
I don't understand that? How can you fix that at home? It's not possible. That is sad, the least she could do is have the kit put down.
 
You can push it back in and hope for the best at home. Sometimes they stay, most times they fall back out and you need to have them stitched by a vet. Stitching by a vet will give you the best overall success rate in it staying back in. I've also dealt with them a few times, and did not have any luck getting it to stay in by doing it at home on a chinchilla. (though it DID work on a chicken!)

Not something I would suggest someone messing around with at home...
 
Dawn - I agree with you wholeheartedly. On the first phone call, before I ever posted, I repeatedly told her that if it was my chin, I would have taken it to the vet without a second thought. Like I said, I have never had a chin prolapse here, so my first thought would be "vet NOW" rather than "how can I save money?" But people never cease to amaze me.

Well, I was out of the house today and came home to a message on the answering machine... I assume it was the same woman... bad reception or something, I could only make out that that she was calling about a kit and she said "we pushed it back in, but she keeps forcing it out!" and she didn't know what to do. One of those broken record things, I can only say "take it to the vet" so many times when the person on the end isn't listening....

I hope that poor kit is put out of its misery soon.... :(
 
Does sugar work in chins like it does in skunks? And also rats? http://www.skunkhaven.net/Prolapse.htm

We had two separate occasions of prolapse here in the rats (One was my rat, one was not). One was after hours, and we called the vet, and they told us the sugar trick. It shrunk the swelling down enough, and it didn't come back out. The second one did keep coming out, though, and had to have it stitched in place.

ETA: Sorry, just noticed this was an older thread. Still curious, though!
 
I'm sure it would work to bring the swelling down, but I would not recommend it as a home remedy. Chinchillas have a much more sensitive digestive system than skunks or rats and the big worry with a prolapse is getting the rectum in before the tissue starts to die and also before the chinchilla can chew what is exposed (the sugar would only encourage chewing in my opinion). The rectal prolapses I have seen in chinchillas are usually one to two inches of rectum and intestine protruding from the body...not something easy to fix and not a bit of swelling.

The only advice anyone inexperienced should hear if they have a prolapsed chinchilla is to get to the vet. There isn't an easy home remedy for them and they are so delicate that it is just not worth trying to mess with on your own.
 
I figured they were different from rats and skunks, since they have such different requirements. Just curious, thanks for the answer!
 
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