Safety pin brooch....

[dabou]

Do you people think it'd be possible that my chinnie would've eaten/cut through and swallowed this?
http://hongsheng0755.en.alibaba.com...y_Supply_Cheap_Price_Metal_Garment_Safety.jpg

it's pretty much the size written there...I used it to tie up the side of his fleece tube to the bars, since he kept on pulling the side, entering inside the fleece and eating the cardboard tube...but two days after I noticed he was screaming in a rather strange way (check this website, it's a mix of the first scream in "upset and annoyed" and a bit of the "calling 2" sounds... http://www.cheekychinchillas.com/chinsounds.html ) and the pin wasn't there anymore...and I couldn't find it on the floor....I also checked in his cage and haven't found it, I've changed his litter completely just to make sure, but he still screams...

If ever I achieve to record it I will, but the thing is that he's never done that before, I examined him and there is no wound visible, pee and poop are normal, he eats and drinks, his eyes and ears are normal.... and I'm not even sure he could chew through that pin....neither eat it...but the coincidence scares me, today and tomorrow is a holiday, but I'm thinking I might still try to see my veterinarian....

do you guys have any suggestions meanwhile?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Since he is screaming and you can't find the pin, I would get him in to the ER vet ASAP for X-rays. It is the only way that you can be sure. If he did swallow it, it could be poking/cutting him from the inside; hence the screaming.

 

[dabou]

It's mostly about...could a chinchilla eat that kind of brooch pin? I mean, chinchillas chew off their food, tiny bit at a time...
I tried joining the vet three times today, no luck... I'll try again tomorrow keep the little one in check...
I might be paranoid, but I'd rather be sure about it...

If you guys think it's unlikely that a chinnie could eat a pin that size, it would ease my stress a bit...once again I'd rather be sure so I'll still go.

 

[Narcissus]

VET... X-RAYS.... ASAP. Anything is possible. chin needs to see a vet NOW

 

[Cuddlebug]

The chin could have chewed it into smaller pieces before swallowing it. The longer you take to get him to a vet, the more damage the pin can do.

 

[Narcissus]

update?

 

[dabou]

okay, so the vet that is supposed to take care of chinchillas wasn't there today, had an emergency and will be there tomorrow. so tomorrow I call them and ask for urgent Xrays to see if he actually ate it.

for now, Pedro is still eating and drinking, he's a little slow as usual (he has a heart murmur problem, so he's fine, just not as energetic as Kahlua) and he still begs for apple branches. He also haven't screamed in the past night, neither today. But a vet will be seen as soon as possible, so as to make sure he's fine.

Thanks for your concern, I'm rather annoyed at the fact that the vet wasn't available but at least Pedro seems fine right now. I shall update you as soon as I get more news.

 

[dabou]

We are currently waiting for the vet to be available. Pedro is walking around in the pet voyageur. I'll give you guys news when I get some

 

[dabou]

After a lot of stressful waiting (regular checkup ended up showing nothing, he's fine, so he got an anesthesia of like 10-15 minutes, they took Xrays, and there is no pin inside him. Which is awesome.

There is, however, a tiny little dot that is probably metal, so if anything, he swallowed that one tiny round shard of metal and will eventually poop it out. The vet said that he looks perfectly fine, so there should be no problem and I just gotta check him out in case something else happens. The thing is, I still don't know why he was screaming... didnt scream yesterday but last night he did, at least twice. So either he's having nightmares or something scares him (sounds or something) or maybe it's cause I moved Kahlua's cage in another room and he screams cause he doesn't see him anymore. (don't know why since technically they don't get along too well, hence the separate cages)

All in all, a rather expensive peace of heart for a broke student...but I'm still very glad and happy I got the tests done, knowing he's fine is a huge relief.

I'll have the Xrays during the week, so I'll post them if you guys wanna see, you'll also be able to see the heart of a chinchilla with a heart murmur condition

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

Hopefully everything is fine - I would still worry about 'the tiny dot' if it was me. As for missing the other chin. Sometimes chins don't want to share a cage. However they like the other chin next to them in his own cage - so maybe he is missing the other chin

 

[dabou]

of course it's still worrying me, which is why I'll keep a close watch on him. Technically, I've never heard Pedro scream in the "calling / barking" way, yet Kahlua does it from time to time. So I'm starting to wonder if it wouldn't be Pedro trying to call / bark like Kahlua, and failing to do so.

I'll spend the next days making sure Pedro is fine, and if ever he stops screaming after I put Kahlua's cage besides him, well I'll know it was the problem.