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[lilymannycharlie]

my baby Lily hurt her leg this morning by get it tangled up in a stretchy fleece blanket and now she walks with her leg dragging behind her. i got it off her swollen foot and rushed to the nearest available vet. the two exotics vets that i preferred were completely booked so i went to another one because i didn't want her to suffer with no painkiller until tomorrow. i went in and the vet was very rude but i had to deal with it because i didn't want to waste time, leaving her untreated. the vet said that he would have to sedate her and do an xray to see what was going on. he called me back HOURS later and said that it is a fracture, not a broken leg. he's giving her antibiotics and a painkiller. i asked what he could do about the fracture and all he said was he could bandage it up. what the heck did i pay $500 for?! for an xray, 1 pain killer, 1 antibiotic and a lousy wrap? he isn't going to fix her leg or anything &its closing time...
has anyone ever had a chin with a fractured leg? what should he have done? I'm thinking he should have put something in the bandage wrap that would at least hold her foot in place... or have an option of how he could fix her fracture... what advice do you guys have? i want to take her to a better vet in the morning but i want to know what i want done for her. because i am clueless on what should have been done. i dint feel the vet did everything he could for her.

[GrayRodent]

I am sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. I know of several chinchillas that have come through just fine after having fractured limbs. Often the limb will need to be amputated because of compromised blood flow. Just to make sure you know: I am not an expert or a veterinarian. I have had some experience with farm animals and rehabbing wild birds so understand I might not be right about everything. I've had a cat with an amputated hind leg that lived to be 19 years old. That required extensive post-operative care after the initial surgery that failed and then had to be amputated during a second surgery when it went gangrenous. Things can get worse before they get better.

Usually the procedure for a fracture is exactly like you describe. The x-ray apparently did not indicate the bone had broken all the way across. If it been a complete break the treatment is always amputation. Wrapping it is the best thing you can do. It will help stabilize the break until healing and fusion of the bone can occur. If the wrap falls off or gets chewed off You may want to re-wrap it. The wrap must be tight enough to stabilize the fracture but loose enough to prevent circulation from cutting off to the limb below it. Hard bandages are usually not the best solution depending on the type and location of the fracture because the inflammation underneath can cause issues with blood flow and make a bad situation worse. If you want a second opinion take the x-rays and your pet to an exotic vet but expect to pay even higher prices. Also keep in mind that in this kind of injury there may be damage to muscles and joints that will take time to heal up as well and may possibly be permanent. Best case is your chinchilla will be back to normal in a couple of months.

The painkiller is most likely an NSAID which acts as an anti-inflammatory. You need to make sure he stays on it as prescribed as inflammation around the fracture can restrict bloodflow to the limb below the fracture and cause gangrene. You will need to monitor the limb for this. If the tissues appear to be cold, dead or discolored talk your vet right then. It is a common occurrence in chinchillas and amputation is often necessary when that happens. The effectiveness of killing pain is very important. Chinchillas in pain tend to not eat or drink and die of anorexia or shock so don't think too lowly of the meds you've been given. Dispense them as prescribed and do not stop giving them until the end of the prescribed time.

Unfortunately antibiotics can cause anorexia in chinchillas by irritating the bowels and changing their microbiological balance and hand feeding may become necessary so be prepared.
You will need to monitor your pet's food intake and poop output carefully. If it stops eating normally you will need to obtain a recovery diet from your vet and hand feed. You can talk to your vet about this tomorrow if you suspect anorexia. Just don't let it go for more than a day or you could be facing serious trouble.

Remove all shelving from the cage and make sure everything stays on one level if you haven't. Make sure to replace the bedding often at least every other day to prevent infection. That and pray. That is pretty much all you can do. I hope this helps.

[GrayRodent]

I wanted to add that in some cases the injury to the muscles and tendons can be pretty severe in cases like yours. If the injury is bad enough and your chinchilla can only drag the limb around amputation of the limb is usually the best option.  An expert surgeon may be able to diagnose that and attempt to reconstruct it and gain some movement back. It is another thing you may want to discuss with your vet if suspect that may the case.