damp fur around mouth.

[munchkin]

The fur around the mouth is damp. I'm not sure whats going on. It's been like this for a couple days. Vet can't see me until next week. I dont even know where to start looking or thinking. any ideas? :/

 

[perabalaofmystery]

she might be drooling which is a sign of teeth problems, malo i recomend taking your chin to the vet when able. im not an expert but i know taking her/him in is very important

 

[AZChins]

There are a lot of things that can cause a chin to drool and get wet fur around the mouth. It could be malocclusion, a infection of the mouth or teeth, something caught in the teeth, the chin could be in a lot of pain causing her to drool, it could maybe even be something stuck at the back of her mouth or she could have nasal discharge, etc etc.

Since this came on so suddenly, you may want to get her in to see a veterinarian a little sooner than next week. Is she eating and drinking still? Is she pawing at her mouth or acting strange in any way?

 

[munchkin]

She's still eating and drinking. She's not acting strange. I'll just watch her more carefully today and see if I can get an earlier appointment for the vet. Thanks

 

[AZChins]

That's really good that she's still eating and drinking. It means that her mouth isn't so painful that it is keeping her from eating. I hope you can get her in a little sooner...and that it's something simple.

Ina, my 12 year old girl, was drooling a little last month. When I took her to the vet she had something stuck in a molar! After it was removed she was back to normal right away. Sometimes it can be simple to solve, and it's always better to catch things as early as possible.

 

[Lillybabe]

What do her eyes look like? Are they clear and dry? If there is eye discharge or nose discharge I would definitely get her in sooner. Tell the vet you think it could be an emergency. My little guy had malo and he had frequent wet eyes when his teeth got bad and snot colored discharge out of the one eye. Make sure she continues to eat and drink. If you hold her you should be able to hear gut movement in her belly. If there's any question of her not eating/drinking I would add in some syringe feedings of both pellets and water. In a pinch, if you can't get lifeline or critical care, you can add some water to pellets and mash them into a paste. I am not meaning to jump to conclusions I just know that chinchillas can go downhill very quickly once they stop eating and drinking. Often it's a bit hard to tell as they are good at hiding their pain. I'd also look at her poops and make sure they're as frequent and about the same size as normal.

 

[munchkin]

I finally was able to see the vet today. Dropped her off today. Will know more later today. But when I was leaving, they gave me some chinchilla handouts I guess you can say. And they told me to feed my chinchillas fresh fruits and vegetables... >.< Well the hand out that talked about the food was for rabbits, guinea pig, and chinchillas... but still the person specifically told me feeding them thesse are a good idea... :X I'm re-thinking if I brought my chin to the right vet now, heh

 

[AZChins]

Make sure to mention to them that they need a new handout just for chinchillas! Some vets appreciate someone catching problems, some don't....but make sure to say it anyway. You probably won't go back to them if they aren't receptive to the idea of making up a handout that is correct about chinchilla diet and care.

Almost forgot - I hope that your chinnie is alright!

 

[Lillybabe]

Why did you drop your chin off? Every vet I've been to, even the not so great one, had me wait while they checked teeth and such. Typically I was in the room during the normal exam and only not there for xrays and such. Even with xrays typically I waited in the waiting room until they were done. As for the veggies, unfortunately even good vets don't always know what they should about chinchillas. Also much of that information given out might be outdated. However, I'd question a vet who told me to give fresh fruits and veggies to my chinchilla. Seems like they are confusing them with other animals. The GI tract in a chinchilla isn't the same as a guinea pig or a rabbit, they also have a lot longer lifespan. One of the vets I ended up first trying knew very little about chinchillas. They didn't tell me this until *after* I saw them. They just kind of assumed "eh, we've seen tons of rabbits" I think.

I hope the news about your baby is good. Teeth problems are scary especially. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's something simple.

 

[munchkin]

I will definitely make sure to let them know when I go back later. Unfortunately, there aren't that many vets that see chinchillas in my area. This vet was already 30min away from me.
They had me drop her off b/c if my chin needed surgery or whatever it'd be faster to do that way I guess. They said that one of her teeth were overgrown and she had some lacerations on her inner mouth.

 

[munchkin]

Ok... so I told them. They said "Oh wow, we'll have to do more research." LOL

Anyways, Dora's upper teeth were all overgrown. Some of her teeth were going outwards. She had lacerations in her inner mouth. They said she had been chewing on her own tissue. :/ A tooth had fallen out already... And it seems her lower teeth are lower than its suppose to be. So possibly they aren't growing as fast.

They say it'll be a forever process where Dora will have to come in every 4-8 wks or so to get her teeth fixed, but the time span should increase with time... I'm worrisome about that since I'm financially struggling already :X Sigh... My poor baby. :[

 

[Lillybabe]

That sounds like malo to me. Malo unfortunately is only treatable but is not cureable. With my little guy I often got nearly 6 months between filings. It's one of those things where you have to watch them to see how they are doing with it.

 

[AZChins]

]Did the vet say if the tooth falling out caused this or not? Or what caused the tooth to fall out in the first place?

I hope that she starts eating and grinding the teeth again when she eats.

 

[munchkin]

Yea vet said the same, treatable but not cureable :/

She didn't say but I'm guessing so.. I was sent home with pain meds, antibiotics, and critical care. She's taking the critical care very well. So hopefully she'll gain some weight back.

 

[ticklechin]

Did this chin get x-rays? The description of the findings sounds like fairly advanced malo, the teeth fall out due to periodontal disease and the overgrown teeth externally could be growing internally upwards towards the eye sockets and nasel cavity and out through the jaw bone. You also have tipping of the teeth which means filings every 4-6 weeks if lucky. This chin may never eat on its own again and will need to be hand fed all its meals, the recovery from the filings is barely over when the chin needs to be filed again.