cuddlycuddles
chinchilla freak
I have not posted in this section for a while (thankfully), but our Little Scarface got sick this week. First we noticed that he started chewing his sides- when we first adopted him from the animal services this summer, he was a chewer and stopped doing it at our home.
On Tuesday he started again-within two days he had chewed both his sides pretty bad. I was at a loss as to what may have caused it- nothing in his environment had changed... On Thursday, as I was getting ready to go to a class, my husband called me to the chinchilla room, because Little Scarface was making funny squeaky noises. When I got there, the chinchilla was indeed making unusual squeaky noise, along with a really strange lack of movement of the hind legs- he was pressing them into the cage floor and looked almost paralysed? This strange lack of movement only lasted a minute or so, then he hopped away.
Needless to say, we both freaked out and called a vet right away- it was not our usual vet, but an exotic vet who works at the same clinic. She examined him and concluded no paralysis (we already knew that because he was hopping around her office). She gave him some painkillers (torbugesic solution) and sub-q fluids and kept him for the afternoon to collect urine (suspecting UTI, because he was straining and squeaking), which was then sent to the lab.
When we went to pick him up, the vet said there was some blood when she expressed his bladder, but suspected it may have been her technique that caused it? At this point we were sent home to wait for the results. They gave us some of the same painkillers to administer orally 3X a day and some Critical Care to feed him if the need be. Today we finally heard back from the vet's office- other than the blood in the urine, nothing else had been found (no signs of infection).
I spoke to the other vet today who suggested we bring him back this afternoon for some more fluids (he almost stopped drinking, eats very little, so I have to force-feed him CC). She also wants to take some X-rays and check for possible stones.
Needless to say, we are very worried for the little guy- he already had a pretty rough start in his life before we got him.
He is constipated- his poo is way too small and he won't drink
He eats some hay on his own and even took a few oats from my hand yesterday. But the poo keeps getting smaller and dryer. We even thought that he may have gotten a gut problem because he chewed himself so extensively and because of the strange stretching on Thursday- but the vet who saw him assured us she could not feel any gas in his tummy (he does not look particularly bloated to the naked eye, so I can't really make the case there).
The good news is that he is not completely lethargic- he runs on his wheel quite a bit and even comes to the front of the cage for his scratches. He strains (to urinate?) and looks absolutely miserable when doing it. He absolutely HATES being picked up, but will not take the meds or the CC on his own, so I feel awful for forcing him.
Right now, we're going to see the other vet in an hour- keep your fingers crossed for the little fellow please- he needs it.
On Tuesday he started again-within two days he had chewed both his sides pretty bad. I was at a loss as to what may have caused it- nothing in his environment had changed... On Thursday, as I was getting ready to go to a class, my husband called me to the chinchilla room, because Little Scarface was making funny squeaky noises. When I got there, the chinchilla was indeed making unusual squeaky noise, along with a really strange lack of movement of the hind legs- he was pressing them into the cage floor and looked almost paralysed? This strange lack of movement only lasted a minute or so, then he hopped away.
Needless to say, we both freaked out and called a vet right away- it was not our usual vet, but an exotic vet who works at the same clinic. She examined him and concluded no paralysis (we already knew that because he was hopping around her office). She gave him some painkillers (torbugesic solution) and sub-q fluids and kept him for the afternoon to collect urine (suspecting UTI, because he was straining and squeaking), which was then sent to the lab.
When we went to pick him up, the vet said there was some blood when she expressed his bladder, but suspected it may have been her technique that caused it? At this point we were sent home to wait for the results. They gave us some of the same painkillers to administer orally 3X a day and some Critical Care to feed him if the need be. Today we finally heard back from the vet's office- other than the blood in the urine, nothing else had been found (no signs of infection).
I spoke to the other vet today who suggested we bring him back this afternoon for some more fluids (he almost stopped drinking, eats very little, so I have to force-feed him CC). She also wants to take some X-rays and check for possible stones.
Needless to say, we are very worried for the little guy- he already had a pretty rough start in his life before we got him.
He is constipated- his poo is way too small and he won't drink
He eats some hay on his own and even took a few oats from my hand yesterday. But the poo keeps getting smaller and dryer. We even thought that he may have gotten a gut problem because he chewed himself so extensively and because of the strange stretching on Thursday- but the vet who saw him assured us she could not feel any gas in his tummy (he does not look particularly bloated to the naked eye, so I can't really make the case there).
The good news is that he is not completely lethargic- he runs on his wheel quite a bit and even comes to the front of the cage for his scratches. He strains (to urinate?) and looks absolutely miserable when doing it. He absolutely HATES being picked up, but will not take the meds or the CC on his own, so I feel awful for forcing him.
Right now, we're going to see the other vet in an hour- keep your fingers crossed for the little fellow please- he needs it.
