Tail and underside are wet

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Kawaii_Hedgie_Chin_Love

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 14, 2009
Messages
152
Location
Michigan
I had 2 of my chins living together for about a month, I seperated them today, because I got a new cagemate for one of them, and i'm getting a new cage mate for the other in a couple of weeks.
I was cleaning up the room when I heard the chin that's now alone bark. I went over to her and picked her up, figuring maybe she was just looking for the others. The bottom of her tail was soaking wet, and the underside near her "parts" is soaked. I have no idea what it's from as there's no standing water in their cage, besides the water in the water bottle, which I already checked, but it's not leaking.
A few weeks ago I had dicovered small clumps on her underside, like it had gotten wet, and I had to cut them out, otherwise she would've had difficulty going to the bathroom.
There is a bald patch on the bottom of her tail too and It's been there for a while, but I'm not sure what it's from either.
I also noticed that the bottoms of her feet are kind of crusty, they've been like this for maybe a week.
please tell me why she is all wet?
 
The first thing that comes to mind is urinary tract infection, then pyometra. Can you tell if it is urine or could it be a milky fluid? How is she acting overall, is she pooping normal? I think a vet visit is in order if you rule out the possibility of her water bottle leaking, I can think of little else it could be.

Crusty feet are somewhat normal since chinchillas build up callouses normally but if it looks like it has had pus/blood then I would get her checked for bumblefoot which is an infection underneath the callouses.
 
She could be in heat and have some mucus coming out making her a bit wet. That's alright and pretty normal. Then again, maybe she urinated on herself a little. Keep a very close eye on it to see if it stays that way.

Chinnie feet can be crusty, they have callouses on the paw pads that can be dry and cracked a bit. Did they change suddenly?
 
i guess i have a couple of questions....
is the wet area discolored, like maybe she's sitting in her own urine?
I haven't experienced this w/ a chin, but i'm sure others have, I was just thinking that could be a possibility.
Also, I'm just curious why would you break up a bonded pair? Were they fighting? I would think it would be more wise to allow them to stay caged together if there are no issues, and try to introduce the two new chins you're planning on getting.... just a thought
 
This one lived for many years by herself, and the two others have had cagemates all their lives, so I felt like it would be better to just leave her by herself for a month. I tried keeping the new one by itself but it seemed stressed and wasn't acting "chin" like. But when I'd let them all have playtime, it seemed sooo much happier. I would've kept them all in one cage together, but the new one doesn't get along with the "sick" one.

I checked her again, and The liquid is mostly gone, she's just a little bit damp now.
I'm posotive it wasn't milky though, and it didn't smell like urine, nor was it colored like urine. All the poops in the cage look normal, but I have her in the bathroom now, waiting for her to drop one so I can check =)

No her feet didn't chage suddenly, I'm guessing it's just normal callusing. All of my other chins are much younger, so theirs just aren't quite as callused as hers yet and I wasn't sure what exactly it ends up looking like.
I'm guessing the raw patch on her tail is just from it rubbing the ground, as the spot where it touches is where the fur is missing. (She was a VERY overweight chin when I got her as a rescue, had lived in a cage with ramps in it all her life, and doesn't know how to jump, and refuses to run on any brand of wheel I buy for her. She got very little exercise, so just kind of waddles around with her body dragging along, it was quite sad really)

what are the symptoms of a UTI in chinchillas?
I'm not sure what else it could be...

I plan on taking her to the vet next week if this is still going on, I will be gone all weekend and will only be home for a few hours tomorrow.

She's acting completely normal, besides the mystery liquid, so i'm not TOO worried, but until I see her poops I'll be watching her very closesly...

another thing, I haven't observed her drinking anything lately. She may very well be doing it at nighttime though. Just a thought.


***EDIT***
She just pooped ALL over the lid of my toilet. They're kind of short, but not small, and there's a lot of them.
They seem pretty normal to me.
I also got her to drink a little bit of water, so that's ruled out of any problems.
I checked her teeth (just in case) they're perfect.
One thing, she has been cleaning her "pars" a lot, probably because of the liquid, but I don't know if that means anything.
 
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her poops seem to be completely back to normal now. I found a puddle of liquidy junk on one of her shelves, but it has no odor and it's clear?
I'm guessing she just walked through it but still not sure what "it" is.
 
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