going crazy with a bad leg

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selfprodigy

selfprodigy

Wishes chin poop was gold
Joined
Mar 29, 2010
Messages
37
Location
Rockford IL
One of my Chinchilla's Little Boozer got his leg caught in the ferret nation cage ramp. I knew i should of removed this but both chins did fine for the last two years without problems... Well i came home and his leg was stuck and he was hanging there.

I rushed him to the emergency vet down the street from me. He's not an expert on Chinchilla's but he's done surgery on our guinea pigs and they turned out fine so i trust him.

Well he had an Xray and the vet said there wasn't any fractures or breaks in the bone. I give my Chinchillas cuttle fish bones and alfalfa hay quite regular not to mention vitamin C tablets. His teeth are a perfect orange color so thank god nothing broke.

However, he did cut his leg a bit. So the doc gave us baytril gave him a pain shot and gave us a bottle of rymidal. We took him away from his friend ( our other chin) and put him in a small cage. The vet said he could have some ligament damage that his knee was a little loose but over time it would get better and to put him in a cage where he wont jump for a few weeks.

Well we woke up three days ago and there was blood in the cage. I looked he chewed the top of his foot down to the ligament... Now we are in the middle of moving so now im up in Rockford and our normal vet is out of the picture.

We take him to my girlfreind's vet who does mostly dogs and cats. He cleaned up the wound wrapped it and made us a cone. Well our chinchilla can not handle the cone what so ever. He drags it on the ground whines and cries and over heats himself trying to get it off.

So we are cleaning and wrapping his wound daily. We are putting a lot of gauz on there and some strong tape to keep him from chewing through it. The vet seems to think he is chewing out of boredom and not pain. He said we should stop giving him the pain meds it's been about seven days now... Im not sure though. Right now he isn't eating so we are forcing critical care feedings and keeping an eye on him. My girlfreind and I are switching off taking him to work with us.

Im at my witts end with this little guy not quite sure what to do.. Is it safe to keep giving him pain meds and antibiotics more than 10 days? How do i get him to stop chewing his leg so it will heal. I have a bottle of metacam in the fridge would that work better? I'll take any advice at this point.
 
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but he needs to be seen by an exotic vet.Even though he may not have broken the bone,if he was hanging long enough it could easily have caused permanent nerve damage or tissue death from lack of circulation.Poor fellow is just doing what instinct tells him-gnaw the funny feeling part off.He definitely needs vet evaluation as he may need amputation to heal up.Healing prayers being sent for him and support for you.Things always seem to happen at the worst possible time. Maybe someone from here can suggest a vet in your new area.
 
I believe you are who called me the other day. I still think there is something more than boredom going on chinchillas may chew fur due to boredom but not flesh that would hurt. I think there is some tissue or nerve damage you will need to collar him try the fleece and card board and I would also suggest going to an exotic vet. If he keeps chewing he will get an infection
 
Chinchillas do not try to chew limbs off because they are bored. They chew them off because they are in pain. Boredom might result in fur chewing, but not making a bloody mess out of a body part.

You need to find a vet that has seen and is familiar with chinchillas. When a chinchilla chews on a limb like that it's because he's trying to remove it because it is causing him pain. Most likely he's not going to stop chewing it until it either is healed or is removed.
 
Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.

You will probably find this link helpful:
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16596

Without a cone he will continue to chew and it will get exponentially worse each day. The cone I used was made of x-ray film, was lightweight and my chin got "used to it" within a few days.

My girl was on antibiotics for about six weeks (Baytril and SMZ-TMP). She made a full recovery in about 8 weeks.
 
Okay the Chin did originally see an exotic vet. He took the X rays and moved his leg up and down felt it up and down and checked the movement of he knee. He said his knee is a little loose and that there probably was some ligament damage.

When this all happened i was in the middle of moving.The original vet that he saw works for the brookfield zoo has operated on my guinea pigs and is completely competent. Now that I was in rockford when he started chewing i took him to the other vet really just to get him cleaned up.

Maybe I'm just freaking out but after looking at the other threads my chinchillas wounds look nothing like those. He didn't start chewing until they started healing. Whenever a scab forms he rips it off. His leg functionally seems to be getting better and better every day.

If his leg is wrapped he doesn't chew it. At the same time we want it exposed to the air to help the healing process. This is where a cone would help. I did make one out of cardboard and then i sewed fleece on to it. It was light weight but he still spazzed out every moment he was wearing it. Maybe i'm just a softie but my girlfreind started crying the chin started over heating so we just took turns watching him instead. We are killing ourselves to make sure he heals properly.

In a few weeks i think it will all be okay. I ordered a trimline cone i saw in a previous thread on here we will give that a try. Meanwhile i intend to keep wrapping his leg unless he chews again. If he chews again im going to take him to the vet and have him cut he teeth down.

My concern at this point is the length of time they can be on pain killers / antibotics. Does it become dangerous at some point? He stools are hard not soft. He isn't lethargic in any way. He's got energy and it quit playful at the moment.
 
If he chews again im going to take him to the vet and have him cut he teeth down.
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Simply put...NO. This is a horrible idea. Teeth should not be trimmed unless there are spurs or it is absolutely necessary. Teeth trimming is and can be very painful for the chinchilla and won't do anything to keep him from chewing his leg.

You need to figure out a different collar for him to keep him from chewing the leg. Either that or you need to do moist therapy with Manuka honey and keep his leg bandaged and taped at all times. It doesn't need to "air out" when you're doing moist therapy. Make sure you are using sterile gauze and paper tape. Anything other than paper tape can irritate a chinchilla's skin or stick too strongly and cause pain when being removed.

I completely agree with the earlier posts. You need to take this chinchilla to a chinchilla competent vet. Just because a vet worked at a zoo and did a surgery for guinea pigs doesn't qualify them for chinchillas. Chinchillas are a very difficult animal to treat medically because they are so delicate. Where are you located? With your location, we can refer you to a chinchilla competent vet that can get your chin on the path to healing.
 
This is my vet

http://www.nessexotic.com/index.php

I trusted him. He has tons of pictures of chinchillas all over his walls. Awards up the butt and is one of the best exotic vets in Illinois. I doubt your going to find someone more qualified then him.

I do actually have manuka honey best i've been able to find was active 5 though. I also of this silver compound they gave me at the vets office. I checked on him this morning as long as he is bandaged he doesn't chew. I dont really care for the honey to be honest though. Changing the dressing with honey makes it stick to his leg more.
 
Thanks for your links. Midwest exotics and Dr ness are one 3 exotic vets in my area that handle chinchillas. I'm not taking him back to the vet because he's going to tell me to cone him keep giving him antibotics, and pain meds. I was reaching out for advice not for people to attack my vet.
 
The teeth trimming isn't the best idea for preventing the chewing of the scabs.

When chins start really chewing like that it means that something is going wrong. There may be dead tissue and infection or pain, as has already been stated previously. With that said, chins are naturally drawn to their little scabs and wounds and will chew at them. A cone sometimes isn't the worst idea with wounds that are larger and need more time to heal up.

Do you have any pictures of this injury?

The pain meds and antibiotics really should not be given for longer than the vet has prescribed. That's one reason why you should probably go back to the vet.

I just hope that the chin doesn't have any permanent nerve damage or other problems from this injury...poor little thing.
 
I don't know who the breeder is and no offense to them, but that has to be one of the stupidest pieces of advice I've heard in regards to a chinchilla. It's an extremely bad idea to mess with a chinchilla's teeth unless it is absolutely 100% necessary.

I don't see where I've attacked your vet. I didn't call him dumb, ignorant or even comment on where his chinchilla "facts" list says it's fine to feed a chinchilla fresh or dried veggies and nuts. The fatty oils found in nuts and seeds are harmful to chinchillas and vegetables can cause bloat and/or GI stasis. I mentioned that IF your vet is recommending some of the things you've said in your posts, that does not indicate a chinchilla competent vet. Vets that not only see chinchillas, but are competent in their care and treatment are few and far between, hence my concern that your vet that "sees" chinchillas may not be the best choice.
 
I don't know who the breeder is and no offense to them, but that has to be one of the stupidest pieces of advice I've heard in regards to a chinchilla. It's an extremely bad idea to mess with a chinchilla's teeth unless it is absolutely 100% necessary.
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I have to agree with that...but I didn't want to say it...but you already did. ;) Trimming a chin's perfectly healthy teeth so it won't chew is, well, retarded. That breeder should probably think before saying something like that just because someone may do it and may do it themselves without any idea of what they are doing!

The reason why anyone gets upset about these things is because people pick and choose what they will want to do when reading on the internet or on message boards. IF they hear one person give the bad idea and it seems like it COULD work, they may actually do it!! People here aren't trying to be mean or rude, they are wanting to make sure to shoot down BAD ideas before someone else mutilates a chin because someone said it was alright!!!
 
Nobody is insulting the vet. When we suggest you find a new vet, and there are a buttload of vets in Illinois, we suggest finding one who actually knows A) what a chin is, and B) how to treat one. Just because a vet sees GPs or works at a zoo does not make them experienced with pet chinchillas. I used a vet who was the zoo vet and he deferred to me almost every time saying "You know more about this than I do." In fact, he often prescribed treatments that would have killed the chin had I not questioned it with a truly experienced chin vet before I started the treatment.

Very few vets know anything about chins. Chins are just now starting to become truly popular as pets. Because of that, vets are just now starting to learn about them. It isn't an insult to say that your ex vet doesn't know what he was talking about. It's the truth, especially when you see the things Tab mentioned above, i.e., feeding fresh vegetables and nuts, which any experienced breeder, pet owner, or rescue knows can be deadly for a chin. Much like saying a chin will attempt to gnaw it's leg off because it's bored. If that's true, every chin in a rancher's barn would be nothing but bodies with no legs attached. Trust me, that is true boredom for any animal.
 
selfprodigy said:
BTW the vet did not tell me to trim his teeth. The breeder i got the chin from suggested it.
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then the breeder you got the chinchilla from is questionable at best. No breeder worth their salt would suggest something as dangerous and stupid as triming teeth back to prevent chewing skin. By trimming teeth you can damage the roots and in the end cause even more issues. including eating issues, trama related malo leading to death

also not making a remark about your vet and not attcking your vet but I have seen some idiot vets with awards and pictures, not many vets know squat about chinchillas and many of the "specialists" are laughable. My 3 year old neice would do better sometimes. I have 5 vets I will go to here. Midwest exotics, animal 911. barrington VCA noyes, algonquin animal clinic and heartland vet. I have been to every vet within 5 hour raduis they are all I will go to unless I have no other choice
 
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Kristy...It's exactly the same here.

I've had some chinchilla or exotics "expert" vets do some very strange things to chins. I've had them tell me they had experience when it was clear that they didn't or they let it slip later that it was the FIRST chin c-section they had performed, for example.

Vets are human beings. They are capable of not being entirely truthful and most have very limited experience with chins. One vet that I went to because I couldn't get into my regular vet told me that a 10 week old chinnie had tooth spurs. We scheduled a tooth trimming...but somehow MAGICALLY the next day the chin didn't have any tooth problems. Four years later the chin is free of tooth problems.

The thing that I really hate is having to pay good money (and usually lots of it) to see a mediocre or very bad vet. Good vets are worth the money though and I am happy to give them what they ask!
 
Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I'm driving back and forth cleaning up the old place before the end of the month and still unpacking the new place.

Just so everyone knows I only get upset when people go after the vet because he is very expensive and i've spent a lot of money on him and another vet already. This doesn't include what i paid the emergency vet to see me and take xrays at two AM.

Thus far the exotics vet and the others all looked at him and said there is zero fractures or breaks. I understand he could have nerve damage... Im not sure how he could have an infection as he has been on antibiotics the day this all started.

He was fine for 5 days after the vet saw him. No problems at all except he wasn't eating because of the antibiotics. When his wound started to scab up is when he would chew it off. He only chews on the two parts that were cut and started to scab.

I'm guessing it's because of itching. At the moment the last two days have gone well. He's actually likes the critical care and we no longer have to force it on him. He will take it like a baby bottle... It is cute.

We are applying manuka honey and wrapping up the two scab spots. He doesn't even attempt to chew them when they are wrapped up. He goes to work with us. He is alone maybe 7 hours a day and there isn't even a tear in the bandages when we wake up.

Now that being said I understand where everyone is coming from so... I plan on giving it a few more days with the antibotics and the pain meds until his leg is looking better. Then I will cut those meds out. If he starts chewing again I will driving him to the city to see Midwest Exotics. Maybe we have to take his leg off. I really really would hate to see my little guy loose a leg. That's why we are battling so hard to keep it.

I've ordered a cone from trimline it should be here within the week. At the moment things are looking better we've finally worked something out that's doable for everyone.

BTW i know this may sound off but he loves watching cartoons and since we put him in front of the HD tv when we are sleeping he just stands up on those little legs and watches it for hours on end.

I will keep you guys updated on progress and I will get some pictures. BTW my breeder actually trims her chinchillas teeth herself. I know it sounds crazy but she seems to be really good with her animals and all of them were very healthy when I saw them.

That aside thanks for everyones input.
 
I am going to say this as it is something you need to know as a chinchilla owner there is NEVER a need to trim healthy chinchillas teeth and if she is trimming teeth there is something wrong with the chinchillas and they should not be bred or they are not being cared for properly. You only trim teeth if something is wrong and really I know a LOT of breeders out there and I know all the breeders in the area and only 1 of them I would trust trimming teeth and I know you didn't go through her.

If you decide to get another chinchilla it may not be a bad idea to look at other breeders and then decide if that breeder is a good one. If you have only seen one breeder then how do you know they are a good one?
 
Not all breeders are ethical breeders or even remotely intelligent when it comes to the care of chins. I know of a couple breeders who trim their own chins teeth, and judging by the area you are in, I'd have to say that the comments above regarding "any breeder who tells you this" are right on the mark. Then again, nobody on this forum condones the open, admitted, and blatent breeding of rescues either, which this breeder does. So when you think of your breeder, think of that. That's not a breeder, that's a "breader." It's a derogatory term aimed at wannabe's.

A chin should be anesthetized and x-rayed to see if their teeth even NEED trimming. After that, they should be taken care of with a special tool, while still under anesthesia. Since I'm quite sure this breader doesn't have anesthesia, her chins must experience wonderful amounts of excruciating pain while undergoing most probably unnecessary trimmings. If the animals teeth are so bad that it's that obvious they need trimmed, then as Kristy said above, I hope to God she's not breeding them. There are enough malo chins in the world because of irresponsible, backyard breeders.
 
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