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[mrchin88]

Two days my boyfriend noticed  that our chinchilla (Mr.Chin) was fussing with his foot. When I went to look, I noticed his foot was very red, with a little dried up blood on it. It kind of looks like all the fur is gone off his foot. I have no idea how this happened. I'm thinking his foot probably got caught in the cage somehow. He walks on it a little, but has been favoring his other foot more. He's still eating, and acting normal, but I am WORRIED sick about him. I live in a small town, and the vet here SUCKS, and they probably wouldn't know what the heck to do with a chinchilla injury. There is a traveling vet in the area though, and I called today, still no response back from them. I'm just hoping this vet will be familiar dealing with exotic pets. This is my first chinchilla, he's about 9 months old. I bought him for my 8 year old son's birthday this summer. He has become a huge part of our family. I love the little guy, and just want him to be okay. I'll post a picture, and if anyone could give me any advise, or suggestions, it would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks......

[GrayRodent]

I'm very sorry to hear your pet has been injured. The attached image looks a little fuzzy to me but it appears the skin has been sliced and is gaping open and needs to be closed up. I hope I'm misreading the image. You should be able to verify it by looking at the edges of the wound.

First thing to do is establish that he is still eating and drinking okay. Sometimes injured chinchillas will stop eating because of the pain. If this has happened that is an emergency in and of itself that requires immediate attention. Make sure his fecal output is somewhat normal in volume. If there's no poo then you know he hasn't eaten. If he has gone off his food you will need to get a recovery diet, usually it is Oxbow Critical Care for herbivores, from your vet clinic, and a 10cc (get a couple of them because it will make it easier) to feed with and begin hand feeding based on the instructions. You will want to have that available anyway because the treatment will likely involve administering antibiotics which can also cause anorexia.
Anorexia for more than 48 hours can cause a chain reaction of digestive complications that usually ends in the death of the animal. Most chinchillas do fine on antibiotics but those that aren't often die if they are not monitored during the course of treatment.

It's hard for me to tell by the picture what is going on there but it looks like he may have got his foot caught between something. Perhaps it where the floor and wall of the cage meet along an edge. I had a chinchilla get a cut from this scenario about a year ago although not that badly.

Typically a vet will prescribe NSAIDs for this to help the circulation where there is inflammation and reduce pain in this kind of situation in addition to antibiotics to prevent infection which can cause further damage and inflammation. If the circulation is compromised amputation of part of the foot may be advised. You will need to monitor the healing and check closely for signs of infection after the initial treatment so ask lots of question about how to do that. If infection is not kept under control it can lead to death in days. A veterinarian who does well with rabbits should be able to work with chinchillas. You may need to find a vet some distance away. A veterinary teaching hospital can also be a good resource. It will be worth if I am right about what I am seeing.

[mrchin88]

Thank you for replying! It looked like it was doing okay when I went to work this morning...wasn't bleeding, just looked red. He really  won't let me look at it good. But today when I got home from work, he was chewing on it, which made it worse. He's bleeding little spots all over the cage now. I called a vet an hour away, and they can only take him on Monday morning. I'm still waiting on a response  from the traveling vet. Apparently she specializes with exotic pets. My  nerves are a wreck. I've been trying to get him to stop fussing with his paw. I applied a little hydrogen peroxide to his paw, and tried cleaning it up the best I could. Just want him to get the right care ASAP before it's too late!

[GrayRodent]

I totally sympathize with you. I just went through a big scare with my mom's parrot that took us 3.5 hours one way and we ended up staying two nights in a hotel. He did recover by the way.

Here's a suggestion. You may want to ask your vet about this. If your chinchilla is picking at it and causing it to bleed it is a very bad situation.
Ask about obtaining an e-collar for your chinchilla or making one yourself. The problem with e-collars for chins is that they usually cause them to stop eating, as you know, that is deadly. Chinchillas require the use of their front paws to eat so you'll have to take it off to let your chinchilla eat several times a day. (I'd say about every four to six hours). Another thing that sometimes works is wrapping the limb with a bandage and then taping it over. The problem with this is that it can compromise circulation and cause infection to spread. I would not recommend doing this unless antibiotics are in use.

The stress from that may require you to hand feed as well. Also try rubbing some neosporin on the wound after a good cleaning. This will help seal it and make it more comfortable. You can do this without the e-collar but be careful your pet doesn't ingest too much or it can cause diarrhea. Perhaps no more than two applications a day. I don't claim to be an expert but I know of other cases like yours on this forum. It is not uncommon for an amputation of the foot in these kinds of circumstance. If that is the case your chinchilla can still function normally. The most difficult part is to protect your chinchilla from mutilating itself through the process. This is what I've gathered from articles that I have read and experiences I've had with other animals.  I would consult your vet first and start asking about it if possible but in my opinion the most important step now is to somehow find a way to protect that limb.

[mrchin88]

Thanks so much! I'm going to try the neosporin application tonight. I've been checking on him, pretty much every 5-10 minutes, and he has seemed to let up on biting his paw. I did get a hold of the traveling vet, and she will only be able to squeeze Mr. Chin in on Monday morning. I'm hoping that isn't too long. She told me to just watch him, and make sure he doesn't do anymore biting or chewing, and to  keep the area clean.She said he's probably in pain, and that's why he's chewing. I feel so bad & wish I could do more for him now. I'm also really hoping that no amputation is needed, and maybe just a couple stitches, and some antibiotics will do the trick. Though, I'm willing to go to any measure to help my little guy. He is still eating, and pooping... so that's a good sign. He just hasn't been moving around as much. I will probably be up all night making sure he isn't chewing.

I might try to get him into the local vet tomorrow if he seems to go downhill. I just hate to bring him there because this vet has a very bad reputation for being money hungry people with no regard to the animals. Blah... We'll see!

Thanks for all your help..and happy to hear the parrot recovered okay! The things we do for the pets in our lives...

[GrayRodent]

I pray everything goes well for you.

[mrchin88]

The traveling vet did come see Mr.Chin finally. She said that his paw was not infected, and it looked clean. She thinks that he'll be able to heal on his own. She owns a chinchilla and specializes in exotic pets, so I'm hoping she's right. He's still eating, and drinking...and pooping. Just, he's not eating as much now, so I'm worried. I was wondering if I can give him his dust bath even if he has a wound. I read online that some chins get depressed when you deprive them of their dust bath, so I'm wondering if that's why he's not acting like himself, or if it's because he's recovering from his wound. I haven't given him his dust in a while now. If you could let me know... I'd appreciate it!

[GrayRodent]

I am so glad the everything is going well for your chinchilla and that you were able to keep him from making it worse. Like I said, it's hard to tell from the photo what is going on, if the wound was open, etc. but the vet should be able to tell by a direct examination. Even a non-specialist should be able to assess that kind injury.

In these cases infection is the scariest thing and causes a lot of complications especially with a foot injury where circulation is scant. If it is not infected then you are doing good because it has now had a few days to heal and close up. The foot should be resistant to infection as long as it doesn't get re-opened. Typically a cut is going to take about 10 days to heal up but foot wounds take longer.

In my case I had a chinchilla that got his foot deeply cut/abraided from an unsafe cage modification in about the same place yours did. It was not near as bad and there was no bleeding afterwards like yours. I withheld his dust for 10 days. I noticed it took over a month before the foot looked somewhat normal again. Today there is no noticeable scarring.

Because your pet opened it up and caused it to bleed you might want to count down 10 days from the last time you noticed any bleeding. Check each day for any new redness or swelling. You may notice some at first but it should be pretty much gone in 10 days. By then it should be closed up enough to prevent dust from getting in and causing an infection. He may get agitated from not having his dust but you can put dust on your hands and pet him if there is no seeping from the wound or signs of infection.

Stress of any kind can cause a chinchilla to eat less and I am not surprised at all with this kind of injury. Examination by the vet will add to the stress. The best thing to do is weigh your chinchilla regularly and keep track of the weight. If the weight goes down by 20% then you know there is something wrong. Also keep close track of the food. If you think your pet is eating about half of what it normally eats you really should supplement with critical care or you will run into trouble.

[mrchin88]

Update on my chin. Hes not doing very well. The day after the vet came...he seemed to be doing good, and as of today he has been very lethargic and he will not eat. All he does in lay down on his side, and his breathing is labored. I called my vet and she is on vacation till next week. I have a feeling he wont make it through the night. Im so heartbroken and don't know what to do. Ive been petting him and talking to him. He wont even move. If he makes it through the night... I will bring him to my local vet. Unbelievable how quickly they can get so sick. He wasfine, and of all the sudden hes not. I just wish the vet would have gave him antibiotics right off but she said there was no infection and hed be fine. Pretty sure she was wrong...

[GrayRodent]

Do you see any swelling or redness around the wound? If the skin looks okay and the wound is closed up it might not be directly caused by an infection.
Also, have there been any noticeable changes in his food consumption up to this point?
My first thoughts are this is some kind of respiratory illness. These are symptoms of pneumonia. It still could be septicemia, where bacteria from an infection enters the bloodstream.

It's not always necessary or advisable to prescribe antibiotics to chinchillas. If the wound was closed up and healing it probably wasn't a good idea since antibiotics do carry risks of a bad reactions. I know of a couple of chins that have died seemingly as a direct result of being given antibiotics, although, it's not common. If you're not seeing a lot of swelling and pain sensitivity to the area it might not be an infection caused by that but something else.

Chinchillas are easily stressed and excessive stress can compromise their immune system. This kind of thing is not unheard of. Sometimes a respiratory infection can result. At this point your chances of survival are very low I hate to say. They are good at hiding health problems until they're dying. If he won't even move he's probably better off left alone.

If he did survive the night and you still want to try to save him you will need to start hand feeding immediately. If he is not strong enough to eat then let him be. I am very sorry to hear that.

[Squirrel_Butt]

I hope and pray that Mr. Chin gets better.