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1

Health / Re: Please Help!

« on: September 10, 2009, 08:14:30 AM »

when he was checked out by the vet a week ago, there wasn't a problem with his penis - so she didn't notice anything...but over the past few days, we have noticed it hanging out a little more then usual. he does it sometimes after cleaning himself, and it didn't seem like a big deal. but after inspecting it, it seemed a little...chapped? so both my husband and i did a hair ring inspection, and found nothing! however, when it's fully extended, it kind of leans to the left...doesn't seem broken, just leans. he's never mated or anything like that, so i don't know how he could've broken it. he's still peeing just fine
so now i'm just applying polysporin when i see it's out and dry, which usually happens in the afternoon, and then it goes back in and seems fine until the next day. we'll be taking him to the vet this week-end when we get paid, and we'll see what the vet says! we're pretty baffled

2

Health / Re: Please Help!

« on: September 09, 2009, 10:17:21 AM »

okay, one last question - should i use KY jelly or polysporin? the KY jelly i have is water based and is meant for personal lubrication, is this safe?

i have also put a thin sheet over the top of his cage for privacy, since his igloo won't fit up there...and oddly enough, all he wants is to peek out of it! yet when he's at the bottom the cage, he only wants his igloo...strange, strange boy <3

and also, he starting to take really small treats, like a nibble of a craison here and a nibble of vitakraft dandelion drop there (his faves - and only nibbles, not anything signifigant, and only once every few days or so) and LOVES the yogurt - but still no grain or hay

we get paid on friday - should i just go ahead and try a different brand of grain altogether? right now we're using LM animal farms classic chinchilla food, as well as kaytee timothy hay - should we be using something a bit more, um, tasty - so he'll want to eat?
we're still keeping with the fine grind, and he absolutely hates it! and the antibiotics are done as of next monday. we're not sure how long to keep with the find grind before it's futile...as it is, we REALLY can't afford another vet bill

3

Health / Re: Please Help!

« on: September 09, 2009, 09:12:33 AM »

okay, so after some research it seems like he might have a prolapsed penis. it's not red or swollen at this point, it's just really calloused and won't retract. we're going to start applying polysporin to him tonight and do a more thorough check for hair ring (tried it myself, but i'll wait until the husband comes home to help to be sure).

he has a three level cage, so we're going to try and block off the tops of it until he gets better, and switch the care fresh with some pillow cases...does this sound about right? is there anything else i should be doing?

4

Health / Re: Please Help!

« on: September 09, 2009, 08:50:35 AM »

thanks guys!

so far we've tried the blueberry yogurt treat and he LOVES it
we'll try the baby food if we can find it and maybe a grain switch as well...
he seems to be getting better, but he's still not eating on his own

however, now he's developed a new problem :/
his penis keeps hanging out, and the end of it is really hard and rough (not sure if it's always like that or not) and after trying to extend it myself with some vaseline, i couldn't find a hair ring that could cause it - it just...hangs out. i know it's not supposed to do that, so now we're worried there's something wrong with his penis

5

Health / Please Help!

« on: September 04, 2009, 01:33:24 PM »

My husband and I have had our chinchilla for 6 years now (since he was a baby), his name is Ukariah and he’s a black velvet unaltered male with a really good temperament

He just recently became sick. He stopped pooping, became lethargic and started to pull the hair off his arms. We brought him to the vet, who suggested we give him some antibiotics (for 10-12 days) and force feed him some oxbow critical care fine grind. This was a few days ago, and while he’s pooping again (not much, they are malformed and hard) he’s not eating on his own, and drinking very little. While in the cage, he’s lethargic and sleeps a lot – but when we take him out to play, he acts like nothing is wrong with him! He still runs around and jumps and plays.

We’re also dumbfounded as to how he got sick – as we take really good care of him and feed him good food and fresh water. He’s got an enormous cage filled with toys so he won’t be bored!

We contacted a chinchilla breeder in the area, who told us she had a similar problem with one of her chins, where he just stopped eating, and she had to nurse him with the fine grind for about a month before he started eating again. There was no obvious reason for the sudden appetite loss!

Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice?