HELP

[Dangerouz]

I have my chinchilla for a month.. and I first discover on his skin something that looks like dandruff. I went to the vet with him and the lady gave me an ointment called Asocilin and cut some fur where the dandruff was. and after 2 days had an allergic reaction that caused inflamations in the skin. it looks very bad. after 2 days i went to a different vet and gave me another ointment called Dermosept. looks better know after 1 week and some days with this new ointment, but is not completely off. he lost a lot of fur. I don`t know what to do. I will post some pictures to see what I`m talkin about and hope to give me some advice.. cause in my country we don`t have vets who really knows something about chinchillas. please help.thank you

 

[Bostongirl'sChin75]

To me, and I am no expert, it looks like Ringworm, which is a fungus. Some of the symptoms are red, itchy, flaky skin with hair loss. I know that a few people on here have used Tinactin powder ( used to treat athletes foot ) in the chin's dust. They also have recommended using Blue Kote to treat the area.

You also need to clean the cage and all accessories thoroughly, with a bleach/water mixture to make sure the fungus is killed completely. Is this your only chinchilla, or do you have more? if you have more than one, you may need to treat them as a precaution against them getting it. As I said, I am no expert and I hope someone with more experience chimes in to help, but this has been my experience and what I have read and learned form others on here!

Good luck with your chin and I hope he feels better soon!

 

[Laurie]

Did the vet say what the chinchilla had? Usually red scaly skin is fungus. If that's the case remove any old dust he might have dusted in. When applying the cream you got from the vet are you using your fingers? If yes stop doing that as it's also contagious to humans. Use a qtip or cotton ball to apply the ointment. What type of cage is your chinchilla in? Does it have wooden shelves? If yes you will most likely have to get new wooden shelves as the cage needs to be sterilized. You can do this by using a diluted solution of clorox or any bleach. What type of weather are you having in Romania right now? If possible you should apply the clorox solution and then put the cage out into the sun to dry thoroughly and then rinse the cage very well repeatedly with water to remove all of the bleach solution. Often it is recommended to owners to place a food powder in with the dust to help with fungus--such as Tinactin.

His hair will grow back, however if the fungus is not treated completely it can come back and continue to spread, which is why the cage should be sterilized.

 

[Ash]

If he has fungus that badly, you may want to look into an oral medicine as well. I forget what my guy was on when he had ringworm, I'm sure somebody knows what is normally prescribed. For right now, I'd keep him in a temporary "sick cage" so that you don't clean everything in his cage and/or replace it just to have it get re-infected again.

Also, what kind of dust are you using? It may be from the ointments and handling he's been getting, but he looks a bit greasy. Once he's all taken care of and on the mend, you may want to consider switching dusts.

 

[Amy555]

Wow, that poor baby. I dont have any advice but I am good with an internet search. Maybe one of these contacts could help you find a chinchilla or small animal vet near you. Good luck!

http://amvac.ro/studenti/Styles/membri.php

http://amvac.ro/membri_asociati.php

Romania
Asociatia Generala a Medicilor Veterinari din Romania (AGMVR)/The General Association of Romanian Veterinarians
Spl. Independentei 105 sect. 5 - 050097 Bucuresti
Tel.: +40 (0)21 319.44.93
Fax: +40 (0)21 319.44.92
Email: [email protected]

College Of Romanian Veterinarians
Spl. Independentei 105 sect. 5 - 050097 Bucuresti
Tel: +40 21 319 45 04
Fax: +40 21 319 45 05
Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

Did the vet say what the chinchilla had? Usually red scaly skin is fungus. If that's the case remove any old dust he might have dusted in. When applying the cream you got from the vet are you using your fingers? If yes stop doing that as it's also contagious to humans. Use a qtip or cotton ball to apply the ointment. What type of cage is your chinchilla in? Does it have wooden shelves? If yes you will most likely have to get new wooden shelves as the cage needs to be sterilized. You can do this by using a diluted solution of clorox or any bleach. What type of weather are you having in Romania right now? If possible you should apply the clorox solution and then put the cage out into the sun to dry thoroughly and then rinse the cage very well repeatedly with water to remove all of the bleach solution. Often it is recommended to owners to place a food powder in with the dust to help with fungus--such as Tinactin.

His hair will grow back, however if the fungus is not treated completely it can come back and continue to spread, which is why the cage should be sterilized.

Danger -- I'm pretty sure that this is a typo -- I believe that Laurie meant to say "foot" powder.

Good luck with your baby.

 

[Claire D]

In that second photo the skin looks quite lumpy - almost as if there is an abscess (or series of abscesses) under the skin. Does the skin feel lumpy?

I am not convinced that it is fungus - you need to find another vet to take a look at your chinchilla.
The first ointment was a double antibiotic (streptomycin & benzylpenicillin) which would not have worked on a fungal infection anyway - penicillins are not used on chinchillas even in ointment form because they might lick it off the skin.
The second seems to just be Chlorhexidine - which is an antiseptic.

Is the chin chewing at the skin on his side?

 

[AZChins]

It looks lumpy to me, too. I'd go to another veterinarian and ask them if it is more than fungus. Fungus can make the skin look a little strange, but not so much lumpy like that. Does the picture show it to be worse than it really is?

If it is fungus, I'd probably use some anti-fungal cream for it. I think you can find that in Romania at a place that sells medications - a drug store or pharmacy. Ask a pharmacist to help find it.

 

[kathiva]

It looks to me like a laceration, but one that is like not open sort of thing, like on the surface, it is hard to see, but I would try to find a different vet, but I have never seen something like that before

 

[Laurie]

Lynn good catch! I did mean foot powder!!!

 

[Riven]

It looks to me like a laceration, but one that is like not open sort of thing,

That makes absolutely no sense. Either it's a laceration or not, by definition laceration is an opening, usually a cut, in the skin.


I am on board with Claire and I don't necessarily think that it is a fungus either. Is there anything on his nose? Certainly with a chunk that size he would be messing with it, meaning if it was fungus he should also have it on his nose. I also saw the lumps, and also there is discoloration. Is it possible that he was injured internally? Just an idea, but if there was or is an internal injury, it's possible that he's been itching and messing with it because it's bothering him.

He looks like he is in need of a bath, a dry clean chin is a happy healthy chin.

Is there any chance it is a large fur slip? Does he have a hidey house or place he goes in and out of that is very tight for him to fit into? If he possibly got himself stuck, it could cause lumps from inflammation, fur slipping from stress ( and yes it can slip in huge chunks like that ), and the discoloration ( bruising ). It may be stuck in a spot while out of the cage, or while in the cage. Possibly a door was accidentally shut on him?

Also how long as it been since this first started? I don't like ointments on chins because they can eat it, and get sick. It often makes them mess with the wound more, making it worse as well.

Sorry for the long, unorganized post.

 

[Riven]

I couldn't help but stare at the pictures more. I have some questions:

What are the lumps labeled in blue? Are they joints or other normal structures of the chin?

What are the marks in the white? At first as I kept looking at them I thought maybe they were bite marks, but they are too uniform. They are mostly evenly spaced and nearly form a line.

How long have you had this chin? He looks young. To me it almost looks like it was shut in a cage or was stuck along some wire or something that would leave those sorts of marks. In some animals ( not species but individual animals ) injury or stress at areas of the body can cause fur loss, I don't know why this would not be so in a chin, especially since they are predisposed to fur slip. If he was caught in a cage or something what some sharp type edges, it would be possible that he did not slip the fur in that area right away. The discoloration could be internal bruising.

With a chunk missing that big I just don't think that it would be fungus with no fungus anywhere else. ..

 

[Anna]

Crap! my chinchilla has dry skin now! He's had it forever and it hasn't done this... but I'm going to write down those medications to see what my chin-competent vet has to say about them. I will take mine in next week, as my driver's license is MIA. I'll show her these pictures too... but yeah, I've had ringworm before, none of my chins have, but it doesn't much look like that.. That really does look like something lumpy. I guess this is repetitive but what does it feel like? Does your chin scratch it at all or does he respond like it hurts when you touch it? When your chin had dry skin was it only in that patch or all over?

Sorry for all the Q's

 

[GorillaJTA]

What are the lumps labeled in blue? Are they joints or other normal structures of the chin?

Judging from where the bald patch is, I think that is skin pulled very tightly over a knee. As far as the train track pattern, it looks almost like stitch scars...

 

[Claire D]

I agree with Riven, there's something about that which screams traumatic injury to me.

It is difficult to tell from the photo because it is a bit pixellated but I've added a couple of other spots which concern me.....

I'm wondering if the yellow circles indicate small wounds/scabs - is the chin biting the area at all?
I'm also concerned that the orange circle is an abscess - it looks like there is pus under the surface which is causing pressure on the skin.

 

[Dangerouz]

well.. first of all.. thank you to all of you. for the answer.

@Bostongirl'sChin75 His the only chin in my house. But I don`t think is fungus cause like I said, what I first discover on his fur was something like dandruff.. and after that stupid woman gave me that ointment it was worse. hair start to fall and the skin became to look red. and the other vet said that was an allergic reaction. and I think is that.

@Laurie Well the first vet that I went was a woman. and I went to her before with a hamster. the hamster passed away a few months ago, and know that Im thinking, he probably died from a medication she gave me. and now all this happens because of her. she didn`t said what my chin has, she just gave me that ointment. I know is my fault too, cause I didin`t go to a different vet, but I trusted her...

@Ash Now Im using the dust that the seller gave me with the chin and some pellets. I will change the dust too.

@Amy555 Wow, thank you for your time.I will definitely look into all those sugestions.

@Claire D Yes it feels lumpy, and it hurts him. I will definitely go to another vet to look at him. and is not really chewing his skin, I think is ithcy and hes just scratching there.

@AZChins When I took the picture i was like 'omg, how Im gonna post this pictures, it looks so scary' . does not look quite so, is just no hair there and some spots where has sores or something like that..

 

[kathiva]

I said that it looked like a laceration, because I wasn't quite sure what word to use, but now I think it actually looks more like a burn or like an allergic reaction

 

[Claire D]

I said that it looked like a laceration, because I wasn't quite sure what word to use, but now I think it actually looks more like a burn or like an allergic reaction

Utter cobblers! Please stop posting if you have no idea about tissue viability issues - you're simply guessing.


OP, your chin needs another vet assessment - can you take another photo or two of the area please? I'd like to see what it all looks like now.
Does the area feel hot to the touch?

 

[Riven]

So the fur was not missing until after the first ointment that the first vet gave you?

How long have you had the chin? Have you ever had any issues with it escaping from it's cage?

 

[Dangerouz]

first of all I will post some pictures I took today.and thank you again for all your answers.

I have him for 1 month, and he is 2 months old. 2 weeks ago I discovered something on his fur that looks like dandruff in the same place that you see in the picture. I went to the vet with him and the lady there gave me this stupid ointment that made things worse. it stared itching, his fur failed and also the lumps appeared. shortly after, a part of his fur also faild from his chest.

@Riven

those on the white lines are not scars, is just fur growing. on the blue lines the upper one is part of his body and the other one is an inflamation.


also hes lumps hurts when touched.

pictures from today.