traumatized

[SirLasVegas]

So, apperently my 2 year old unlocked the chin cage yesterday. Bouncing off the cage door they kicked it open and had free Rome of the house. Wed see my dog walking around with one of his stuffed animals around in his mouth... which after hearing my 4yr old son say " put her down," it wasn't a stuffed animal. He ran over and took my female chin Paloma out of his mouth and told him bad dog. It was funny and not funny all at the same time. She appears to be fine after we cleaned the slobber off her, but she's being super antisocial now. Poor traumatized chin, hopefully shell be ok.

 

[starleomach]

You are very lucky you have a live chinchilla at all. by anti-social what do you mean? there may be internal damage

 

[Essentia]

I fail to see how that is at all funny...

I would recommend getting a lock for your cage. You are very lucky to have a chinchilla who is still alive, which I am sure you already know. She will probably be "traumatized" for a good while.

 

[ticklechin]

She is prey and thought she was eaten by a predator, poor chin. Not sure if I see any humor at all in the situation. I also think she could have internal injuries since the rib cage is floating and the ribs being collapsed in a dogs mouth could damage many things.

 

[SirLasVegas]

Guess I should have specified so not to sound insensitive. I meant my sons reaction Was funny. The way he said it and hearing a 4 yr old scold the dog lightened the moment a little. She doesn't appear to be in any pain when we pick her up, that was my initial though Was potential damage to the ribs. She is in her house a little more than normal and when she's out she's a lot more jumpy. Any sudden noises we make around the house she quickly runs to hide which is not like her. She's generally pretty social... just keeping an eye on her for the next few days.

 

[AZChins]

Poor thing. She must have been terrified. Definitely keep an eye on her. Chins hide pain very well and she could have some bruising even if nothing is broken. It's possible that she may have some inflammation that starts to become apparent in the next day and she may then show that she is in some pain. If she starts to limp or act like she's having some trouble moving, you may want to take her to the vet for pain medication.

I had a customer have the same thing happen, but my customer was doing something she shouldn't have done. She had the chins for two days and decided to introduce them to the dog. I always ask that people leave the chins in the cage for a week so they can acclimate to a new environment. She left for a moment and came back to the chin in the dog's mouth with the dog shaking the chin very violently. The chin did not break any ribs, but there was a lot of tissue inflammation that made her uncomfortable.

 

[InkedupTara]

For others reading this, is there anything in dog saliva that is or can be potantially bad for a chin? I know cats carry pathogens that are bad, do dogs?

 

[aznmexaggie]

If a dog has bordatella (kennel cough), it can be transmitted to a chin. That's the only canine illness I know that can be passed between dogs and chins.

 

[Parkerspetchins]

If I were in your position I would take her to a vet as soon as I could and at least get some Meloxicam for pain and have her checked for any injuries. Since chinchillas hide their illness until it's nearly too late to save them I would play it safe. She must be so terrified, what an awful accident to happen.

 

[SirLasVegas]

Well just for a quick update, she's out bouncing around the cage at the moment doing her crazy ninja stunts up the cage door and chasing her mate Porter around everywhere.

The only reason I think she's ok is because my dog is very gentle when it comes to his mouth. He scoops everything and never bites down. Even his toys and bones he picks them up so lightly that you can basically tap it out of his mouth. His stuffed animals he just carries around like babies, never any holes and never torn any apart.

Fingers crossed though.

 

[greychins]

Here's hoping she continues to be ok.

I really have nothing to add, but I agree with the person who said to possibly get a lock for the cage. If you 2 yr old opened the cage, there's nothing to say they won't do it again, and have the whole situation repeated.

 

[caiti]

Yea, I definitely echo the lock suggestion, but I'm assuming you probably already thought of that, since I'm sure you've had to lock/move other things with a 2 year old in the house!

Initially, my first response in my head was "get it to a vet!" then I thought about it and the added stress might be detrimental if your chin is ok, and I don't know if there's anything about putting a traumatized chin under for x-rays to be worried about. Something to think about, I wonder if anyone else has any thoughts on it.

I get laughing at seemingly inappropriate situations. Unfortunately, I do it all the time. Sometimes it's actually a coping mechanism to distract me from an overwhelmingly depressing, scary or nerve-racking scenario. Hey, we weren't all born with utmost social grace.

Hope the furball recovers quickly.

 

[SirLasVegas]

Sometimes I think it would be easier if the kids were in cages and the animals were free to roam the house lol

Yeah, def going to get something that'll keep her from opening it

 

[AZChins]

I'm so glad she's bouncing! That's good. Make sure she's eating normally. I hope that the dog was gentle enough to not cause any damage.

You should probably put little locks on the cage doors so that the little one can't open them. At least then you wouldn't have to worry so much.