To Vet or Not to Vet?

[ChillaFriends]

Hello! Important Fact: my chins have not displayed any health warning signs.

Because my chins were a last minute rescue and they are also my first pet (as an adult) I did not have any vet lined up when they were brought home.

I found a nearby exotics specialist, but I would like to meet the doctor before hand and see if they handle my chins well. The forums are full of tragic stories caused by bad vets and others have warned not to take chins in and stress them out for no reason.

So, should I choose to go and meet the vet for a simple check up and see if this doctor knows their stuff; and if I do, would it be better to bring both chins in or (since this is mostly for my piece of mind) only take one in?

Bonus points for visit advice.

Thanks :high5:

 

[ticklechin]

What kind of condition were the rescues in? Was this a neglect situation where the chins were in bad shape or just a owner surrender?

 

[ashley00]

I would also like to know! I scheduled an appt on Monday for the two chins I am getting and thought I should get them a check up. I did that with my dogs, so I assumed it would be good for Chinchillas. If they look perfectly fine, then they wouldn't need a visit or is a visit best? Sorry to ask questions in your thread, I'm just curious too!!

 

[lauralynne]

If the chinchillas are in good condition and eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing normally, I wouldn't take them in. I would ask if you could schedule a visit to meet the vet by yourself.

Ask him what he knows about chinchillas, what diet he prefers (that will give you a lot of insight to his knowledge), and how he would go about diagnosing teeth issues. Has he ever had to operate on a chinchilla? If so, what was wrong and how did everything go?

 

[tunes]

I also would not take them in if it was me. I think, first of all, that it would serve no purpose. Baseline for a chin is what you see at home, as Laura mentioned, eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, and activity. A vet might listen to heart and lungs, but again, you are just as likely going to notice if there is anything wrong at home because the other things will be off. A very good indicator of chin illness is loss of appetite, not drinking, becoming less active (lethargy). Also, with them being in a new home, they might just get overly stressed by dragging them off to the vets.

I would just watch them for a while when you get them home, see if everything is normal as far as chin behavior goes. If you have any questions, post them here and we'll let you know if that's normal behavior. I would still go talk to the vet myself, get to know how knowledgeable they are so if something does happen, you can be confident in the vet you have chosen. If not, you can keep looking now while you don't need one.

That said, if there are things that make you worry, i.e., overly thin, runny eyes, sniffly, inactive, etc., then definitely take them into the vets right away.

 

[ChillaFriends]

The past:

Sorry, my posts are still moderated and take a while to go up:

The chins came from friends that only had them for a year, and while they cared for the chins greatly, their apartment was very warm and their cage had a lot of plastic.

Before they were adopted by our friends, the chins were abandoned at a petsmart.

Our friends said that one of the girls (The Professor) had a few seizures during her first few months, and took them both to a vet. Their vet estimated that they were 3 or 4 years old, did not mind the plastic and said that the seizures were sometimes common, but there was nothing they could do. (not going to that vet for several reasons)

Since they came home, the girls have been great! They love running around their cage and playtime. They are SO HUNGRY! I'm always replacing pellets and hay. They drink their water and they defecate and pee up a storm.

So this vet visit is really just for my piece of mind.

Would a vet schedule a consultation about my chins, as lauralynne suggested? As mentioned I have no experiance working with vets and would be a bit of a pushover

Thanks for all the care :high5:

 

[tcraighenry]

We had a pretty good experience with our new vet. I'm glad I took them in for a check up! We hadn't had the chance to have a look for rings on what we thought was our baby boy. As it turns out, girl. And he caught that she had a little bit of a cold, which we didn't notice.

I also had a lot of questions about getting our boy neutered and he called me back when he was back in the office! Good sign.

They weren't nearly as stressed by the experience as I thought they'd be either. They took it well, ate the treats and hid in my chest when they felt scared. The butt temp thing, not too happy about that

We did give them new toys and treats when they got home too. So that may have helped

We researched our options pretty closely. I found a vet with a lot of experience and special interest in exotics. There are a couple directories with vets in most major cities on the internet too. We still don't have a good emergency clinic though, which bothers me.

That was my experience, which was positive all around. The babies handled it ok. The vet handled them ok and we got some good information. But I can see why you wouldn't!

(They didn't even freak out when a cat lady demanded they meet and shoved her carrier at theirs! OMG did that freak me out though!)

I also took the following precautions:
- Thermometer in the car/clinic
- Plenty of food/hay/treats in the carrier
- Lots of talking and handling them when the vet tech had trouble
- Rewards for when they held still
- Made sure I was always in line of sight
- Had a water bottle with ice cubes in it in case they got too warm in the clinic

Oh and one other thing, we have a top loading carrier which makes life so much simpler. I think it helps them not feel so cornered and jump out on me when they want to get out.

 

[lauralynne]

Is the plastic still in the cage? If so, that needs to be removed. Even though the person above had a good experience taking them in to the vet, I still wouldn't recommend it unless something is wrong.

Offering them a boatload of treats for good behavior isn't good, either.

I would call the vet's office and ask to make an appointment to come and see the vet or at the very least, make an appointment to speak with the vet on the phone. A good vet understands the need to establish a rapport with their clients before something goes bad with the animals.

 

[ChillaFriends]

Don't worry.

Don't worry, there is absolutely no plastic in their world anymore.

 

[partygirlha]

I took all of my boys in for check ups for a few reasons
1) my exotics vet offeres ER services to animals they have seen, but not to animals they have not seen (that said at this point I'm sure they'd do an ER visit for any of my animals ecause I have many and they have seen most of them)
2) Bugs is a "light" or picky chewer and at his first visit they spoted that his teath were getting long. Because of that I was ale to moniter his weight and as soon as it started to drop I got him in. Had I not know his teath were getting long I would not have been weighing him weekly (then daily as his weight begane to drop). Becasue I was keeping a close eye on him, his first (and to date only) filing was minimal and the vet was impressed that I had him in so ealry. Had I know been told to keep an eye out, I might not have noticed as soon.

So I am a fan of the first check up... but then they only go back when tey get injured.

 

[Riven]

I'm on the fence, taking them can expose them to un-needed stress and possibility of picking up something while there. It could also put you on to some issues you didn't notice. I think in the end it comes down to how familiar you are with chins.

Ask some questions when you call, then ask to meet with the vet. Simply tell them you just got chins and want to have a vet available if anything happens, ask them what they think is a good diet, have they had to do surgeries on chins ( they're funny about anesthesia ), do they see chins regularly, and if so how often and what is the thing they see most in chins brought in ( this will tell you where they have the most experience). Also ask if you have an emergency after hours or weekends what is their policy, who would you see, etc? Many clinics have several vets, you might talk to a chin knowledgeable vet, but get a different one in an emergency situation. If they say you may get Dr. Smith or me, ask about Dr. Smith ( they won't say anything bad, but watch for hesitations, and ask if they happen to be available just so you can meet them. You can usually tell a lot about a person just when you say "I have chinchillas" and the reaction you get).

You don't have to agree, you don't have to teach them, and you don't have to call and say you're hired, or you're fired. You can can just nod and say thanks for your time, we may be giving you a call if we need anything. And you might walk out thinking that was great, I feel so comfortable knowing this person is here for me! Or you might walk out so glad you didn't take your chins in for the visit with you.

Make a list to take in, that way you won't walk out thinking I wish I would've asked that... don't worry what they think, they see every kind of pet owner from the one who home cooks chicken and rice for their pet daily, to the dog feed scraps and tied to the tree.

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

You will need to locate a well-qualified Exotic Veterinarian as soon as possible. You should make what I call a "Well Baby Checkup".

This is for two reasons. #1, you will get your new pet checked over by a vet. He should listen to his heart, check his teeth, examine his fur for any sort of fungus and do a fecal float. There may not even be a charge for this. I know that my vet (Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald at Alameda East of "Emergency Vets" fame) does them for no charge, since you will then be coming to him for your care when it is needed. For instance, when Baby had a hair ring and his penis would not retract, I didn't even know what a hair ring was. I immediately called and of course i was seen immediately, hair ring removed and no charge for the visit. Having done this brings us to reason #2.

When (and it WILL happen) you have an emergency, you will already be an "established patient" and will be able to make an appointment more easily if you are able to say, "Hi, this is Lynn and I have 3 chinchillas, all of whom are patients of Dr. Fitzgerald". There will be a greater likelihood that you will be seen sooner, rather than having to call around in the middle of the night.

Read and search as much as you can on this forum. Every category has some topics that are stickied so that you can use them for reference.

Good luck with your new baby!!! Be sure to post some pictures when you can...