Can someone help?

[twinters]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and very glad I found it. We've had our Buster for about 5 years. He came from a home that couldn't keep him any longer, so I don't know how old he is. He has had teeth problems and the vet ground the back ones about 3 months ago. Vet gave us an antibiotic and pain medicine as well and critical care food.
He also had his penis hanging down. The vet couldn't see a hair ring and it still won't stay in. He recovered nicely until tonight I noticed more drooling and he
was drinking at his water bottle more than I've ever noticed. I think he is eating, but I am getting worried. I will take him to the vet if really necessary but would like to get some experienced chin owner advice!

 

[ticklechin]

The penis issue is usually caused by pain, not pain in the penis but pain somewhere, most
likely the mouth. Its not uncommon for chins with teeth issues to be filed on a regular basis, with the penis issue and the drooling, the chin needs to go back to the vet.

 

[Sue]

I think he's probably got more spurs in his mouth and needs to see the vet. Drinking a lot of water could also mean kidney problems. I won't go along with the penis being a pain response, he may just be at the end of his time. But the vet is your best bet. I hope it goes well, but in any case you've given him a great life and probably prolonged it for what it's worth.

 

[ticklechin]

Prolapsed penis is a symptom of pain or illness when there is no hair ring present and the issue is repeated, not sure how many malo chins you have dealt with since you are a breeder, but as a rescue I have dealt with alot of sick/malo chins.

 

[Sue]

In 20 years I've dealt with a lot of malo & other health issues. Never saw a prolapsed penis that a vet said was pain related.

 

[ticklechin]

I am just curious about the malo, you state you have seen it a lot, as a breeder I assume you do not treat it but euthanize as it appears, because if you treat it you will see the prolapse penis in almost every case at some point, usually right near the time of filings.

 

[Sue]

Don't assume that I'm like any other breeders. My animals are in my home, in large cages with nest boxes, toys, houses, hammocks, etc. Our very first chin we lost after several years of dealing with the filings. Never saw a prolapse. I don't euthanize until it's absolutely necessary for the best for the animal. I take in rescues too when I have space.

 

[ticklechin]

I personally DO euthanize when there is a dental issue, there is no hope, there is no cure, the chin is tortured with repeated filings, its what I learned dealing with malo, there are no heros keeping the chin alive and no one is going to pat you on the back doing so. Good for you you did not see the issue, if you do a search on this forum for penis prolapse you can see that two of the forum leaders-both are breeders and state that the prolasped penis IS a sign of pain or illness, so its not some crap I came up with.

 

[Dreamlite]

I have found the prolapsed penis to be pain related. I had two cases of it over the years. One was a tooth abscess and the other was an ear infection. In both cases treating the main problem cheated up the prolapsed penis without additional medication or treatments.

 

[Narcissus]

I have also seen issues with penis retention when a male is in pain. My last male surrender had severe bloat. His penis would not retract. Once I delt with the bloat, the penis went back to normal.

 

[Sue]

That's a much different scenario, Narcissus. Bloat in the digestive tract would naturally mean crowding of the other organs in that area. The mouth, not so much. Now there may have been other issues with the animals that had prolapse, but I do not believe and neither do my vet tech friends that it was from malo.

 

[Cuddlebug]

I, too have had a male's penis prolapse due to illness/pain. We had an issue with a parasite about 6 months ago. It affected about 1/2 of my herd. Most recovered quickly after just a few days of medication. My son's chin, Wiley, did not. It took weeks to get rid of his diarrhea and the entire time his penis was prolapsed. When he finally started to get better, the penis went back to normal. We made sure to keep it clean and lubricated during his illness.

 

[Tagna]

I have seen the prolapsed penis due to malo pain.

I value Dawn's expertise with malo chins as it has helped me countless times.

 

[ticklechin]

What REALLY is gospel with chinchillas? It owner experience since we have nothing else to go on. Vets suck, most know jack about chinchillas or how to treat them. Why not just say that is interesting I have not come across that before but will keep the idea in mind if I see it. It does not help the OP nor the forum.

 

[Stackie]

That's a much different scenario, Narcissus. Bloat in the digestive tract would naturally mean crowding of the other organs in that area. The mouth, not so much. Now there may have been other issues with the animals that had prolapse, but I do not believe and neither do my vet tech friends that it was from malo.



I'm just putting out there that not everyone agrees with some of the opinions sold as gospel on this forum.

A prolapsed penis or paraphimosis can be secondary to a variety of issues including trauma, disease, pain response, dehydration, etc. and is common in several different species. I have seen my fair share of small animals including rats and chinchillas with paraphimosis secondary to some sort of other trauma or disease. I could certainly see it happening in a dehydrated and painful malo chin. (I'm a vet tech too that has worked in an exotics only practice.) Just because you haven't experienced it also does not make it gospel.

 

[Sue]

Well, there are differences of opinion.

 

[tunes]

There are differences of opinions and there is arguing for what appears to be the sake of arguing. You have one person stating that everyone else has no idea what they are talking about and member after member stating that they have dealt with chins who have had a penis prolapse due to pain. I have had a penis prolapse with extreme illness and pain in male chins. I also had it happen in a chin who was in shock. Pain can cause a chin's penis to fail to retract, whether it's from malo or any other kind of pain depends on the situation. I've had four different chin experienced vets tell me that, so I don't think it's an "opinion." Just because you personally haven't seen it doesn't make it false. It just means you haven't seen it yet.

 

[Sue]

A prolapsed penis or paraphimosis can be secondary . . .

Exactly! Not primary! I never said prolapse couldn't happen, I said (and look it up there) that it was not from malo.

Being a breeder too, we try very hard to successively improve the chinchilla in health, fertility, longevity, quality. I sell pets, not pelts. I haven't had a case of malo for over 12 years in my animals. I find it disturbing that there still is this issue. We were the victims of the breeders that were here 20 years ago and only had the option of their animals, no one else would ship back then.

There shouldn't be any animals with malo in this day and age with all the knowledge available.

Done with my rant.

 

[ticklechin]

Who said primary? I said its a symptom of pain and since the OPs chin has teeth issues the pain most likely is cause by the teeth. Who is "You"? Me? I got the sh%%t kicked out of me dealing with malo for 13 of the 15 freakin years I have had chinchillas, I have no problem euthanizing now so I do not promote malo health if that is what your panties are in a twist about. And besides, you brought the drama to the forum, there has not been this much nastiness in months or longer.

 

[tunes]

Sue, chill. First, I don't give a fat rat's *** about your opinion on how toxic CnQ was or what your opinion of this forum is. Don't like it, there's the door. I'm sorry, but it has been a real treat not having people whine about this particular topic in a very long time and I'm not going to let it start up again now.

Second, I don't see where anyone said you were being nasty. You tried to say that your "opinion" was right and everybody else's was wrong. That is not the case. As I stated, just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it hasn't happened.

Have all the opinions you want. But you need to realize that it is just that, an opinion. If you are entitled to yours, then so is everybody else. I happen to agree with one of your opinions in that we should not even have to be dealing with malo at this point. It should have been bred out a long time ago.

I am going to say now, get this thread back on track. If you can contribute to the OPs questions, please do so. If you just want to argue, and I don't care who it is, go away.