Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[tudiebug]

i rescued two chinchillas from a friend at work one male and one female i noticed they were in pretty poor condition they were losing weight and of course wet around the mouth and i guessed it was malocclusion i took them to my vet who only does check ups on chinchillas he doesn't specialize in them and he said i was right and they would have to be put down but he refuses to do it so now i have two suffering chins what am i suppose to do i checked around and there is no other vet even close to me that treats chins did i miss one i need help i feel so bad they can bearly even stand on their own any more and it breaks my heart. plz help

[Sweetnessheart]

I would suggest that if you can't find a vet to help you, then maybe, you could contact a chinchilla breeder that pelts.  They would have to know how to put chinchillas down.  Hopefully, that rancher would help you.

I am sorry!   

[ABC Chinchillas]

I would get a second opinion. Any Rancher are knowledgable breeder will tell you not all maloclusion is genetic. Root growth is and if they have their roots growing up into the skull then yes they need to be put down. But in many cases with maloclusion but no root growth it is diet related. If they were malnourished than there is a good chance it is diet related. Another cause can be trauma to the skull such as a fall when they were young. did the vet xray or just see the drooling?

[tudiebug]

he felt around their jaws and looked in their mouths but didn't take x-rays i called a vet that is about 30 miles away and made an appointment they don't deal with chins there either but i told him the story and explained how desparate i was

[Jenova]

Please let us know how this goes. I really feel for you on this one it must be horrible!

[Jo Ann]

 
 (1)  What color are the chins' teeth?   
 (2)  How old are the chins?
 (3)  When you run your finger across the bottom jaw line, can you feel any "bumps" or is the jaw bone feel nice and smooth?
 (4)  Are the eyes watering?
 (5)  Does it seem painful for them to swallow?
 (6)  Do they seem to eat soft food more readily/easier than the normal hard pellets?
 (7)  What brand chinchilla food do you use and what brand were they eating before?
 (  Do you know if they had lava stones and chew sticks with their previous owner?
 (9)  Do their teeth appear crooked to you?
(10)  Do they appear to be to long?
(11)  Did the vet check for cracked teeth? 
(12)  Did he examine them to see if there was food or a piece of hay or food stuck between the teeth anywhere?
(13)  Did he give you any critical care to feed them with?
(14)  Do they appear dehydrated?  (Can you see the outline of the spine clearly?)  If you can see and feel the spine protruding, that is a sign of dehydration.
(15)  Do you have syringes to feed them with?
(16)  Do the gums look healthy?  (nice and pink ... not red, swolen or bleeding)

Sorry about all the questions, but the vet should have gone over all this with you already. 

  As long as a chin seems to have the will to live, I give them all the help I can to be able to do so. 
 :-[ But, once the little one looses his will to live, it is best to let him go to sleep and not wake up.

If you do not have any Critical Care, I can give you a recipe for homemade criticalcare.

   Jo Ann