Dotty had a fall !!!!

[Siany]

We changed around and added some new shelves in the chinnies cage tonight, over that past hour i have been watching them play around in the new set up when Dotty got a little over confident. Dotty caught her toy when jumping, knocked the toy off the hook which dislodged the hammock and she ended up having quite a bit of a fall to the bottom of the cage.

Now im in a panic because she doesnt seem to be using the right front leg much, at first she was only lifting it up but she does put a little weight on it but no where near as much as the other one.

My bf is saying she seems fine and to just keep a watch on her but im debating about the emergency vets as its now 1am and im not sure whether i should wait to see how she is in the morning. Im just worrying a lot and just want to hear you advice.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Put her in as small of a cage/carrier that you have, or remove all shelves so that she can't move or jump around too much.

 

[Siany]

Thank you for the advice and will keep her on her own, she seems to be putting a little more pressure on it now and it doesnt seem swollen. Her ears went bright pink so i got a little worried but i seem to have gotten her cooled down. She also seems alert and responsive, looking a little grumpy but no more than usual. Shes also eating so im keeping that as a positive.

Im going to keep a very close eye on her and see how she is in the morning.

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

How's Dotty?

 

[Siany]

Shes doing ok I think maybe she just had a scare, she doesnt seem to be limping and is eating, grooming and just using that foot. Im letting her and Lola out for a playtime in an hour so i will watch how she is. Dotty is a clumsy chinchilla and falls or slips a lot anyway, but when i saw her not using that foot i got really worried Shes putting pressure on it now anyway and my bf thinks she just sort of rattled her foot when she landed

 

[Brittany]

So glad to hear that she is doing better, perhaps you can re-design the cage a bit more to make it so she can't fall far?

 

[Siany]

Thats the thing that confused me, she actually unhooked the hammock that was supposed to of caught her....Im not sure how she did that at all and im still going over it in my mind. Im going to get some more fleece tomorrow and im going to make another hammock to go lower down and im going to make some fleece liners.

Also we just had her out for playtime and she didnt play much, sometimes she just doesnt feel like it and just stays in the tube, so im not sure if she was just being lazy or her foot hurts. Dotty is jumping on it and putting pressure on it but im in two minds about taking her to the vets just to get her checked out.