When I first bought my two chinchillas, they both already had chapped/cracked ears...i thought it might be because of the fights they would have in the cage before I bought them.. since that the breeder kept many chinchillas in one small cage. some areas in their ear are bitten off (just the tip of the ears). I thought after rescuing them, their ears would get better... but it has been a couple of months that their ears are not improving. In the back of the ear, it appears red in some areas, and i could see the blood vessels. the ears are almost hairless. I cannot compare the ears with my other two healthy chinchillas (I have 4 chinchillas) because they have hair around them.
I took them to the vet last week, the vet said its an ear infection...but it does not even match the symptoms of an ear infection. both of them are not tilting their head, they are not losing balance, they do not have fluids coming out of their ears, they're not touching their ears. Violet, one of the sick chinnies', nose or mouth was sore, because she would not stop scratching. but after taking the medicine, the scab fell out and it isn't growing back like it did before, so that's good news. Also her right eye has pus, and fluid keeps coming out of her eye. the vet gave me eye drops, and it seems to be improving since I do not see any fluids and pus. both of the chinnies' bottom feet (close to their legs) are a little bit raw, and I'm putting ointment on it. the vet said I should give them a soft bedding, but carefresh is not good for them...most of the chin owners recommend aspen bedding, but I'm not sure if it will continue damaging their feet.
one of my concern about ear infection, i use an ointment that says "for dogs only" but the vet says its fine for all animals. it just says dogs only because it is expensive to test on all other animals. I did not like the idea of that, and i do not think the vet knows enough about chinchillas... i just wanted to hear from you, see if you'd know? I use tri-otic ointment, also using the ointment collects all the dirt to their ears... and their furs are covered in ointment. the only improvement i see in violet is her eyes and the scab on her nose. but not the feet and the ears on both chinchillas. i tried looking on the website to see what it might be, but i can't find anything. I'm going back to the vet this sunday, same time I'm giving them the chinnies' stool to have it examined for parasites. please let me know asap if this sounds right? if I'm doing the right thing?
I have pictures but i have no idea how to attach it to this post.
