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[Bathlax13]

Hello all, we just purchased a cagemate for our little bundle of joy, however, once we got him bome, we noticed a spot on his tail. The fur around it is kinda matted down, and it looks like it is several small scabs on the tail, and itn feels thicker at the spot. We were thinking its either broken, or it is a wound from a chin at the petstore. Anyone have any experience with a broken tail, and what should we do. I can take pictures if it will help.

[dianah]

you could try and clean the area - make a weak saline solution by dissolving some salt in boiled water, and use a soft cloth (towel or a flannel) dipped in the solution to soak the scabs off. if there's any inflammation, it should help with that too.

i know this may not be the easiest of things to do given it's a new chin and all but it will give you an idea of what you're dealing with.

is he eating? drinking? moving around? looks bright? pooing ok?

in any case, i would take him to the vet. if it's a bite mark or an injury, it can get inflamed and he may need antibiotics. i don't have any experience with a broken tail but that would need a vet too.
if you can get to a vet, great. if not, given the time of year, i'd try to clean it, see what it is, give a vet a ring, explain and they will decide if it's an emergency or not. my vet, during out of hours, if they decide the case is not an emergency but there's something you can do at home, they'll give you advice over the phone. maybe yours does that too!

i'm wondering if you could call the pet store as well and see if they know anything about it.

[Bathlax13]

Ok. He is moving around, eating and drinking, and even managed to slip out of his cage twice last night! We also noticed this am that he was nibbling on it. I did some reading, and I saw that this may be either due to pain, or simply he was removing the scabs in order to get some fresh air on the wound. He is not bleeding, but we planned on trying to get him to the vet on Monday. The pet store told me that he was in a cage with the others, buts got moved bc he was cowering in a corner crying, which makes me think the other chins were picking on him. We will try the warm solution tonight, and see if that helps. Thanks for the help.

[dianah]

aww, poor little thing. i am surprised (i probably shouldn't be) that all they did was separated them. if he's in a corner crying, they should have had him checked over by a vet. at least he found a nice home now

i have a chin who has a respiratory infection at the moment (she's a rescue and bless her, she only has three legs, she has - manageable - teeth problems which meant she wasn't eating when i met her, she just suffered from bloat/stasis and now she has this thing but thankfully that's getting better as well - the girl just can't catch a break) and she does have a bit of a nose discharge - she does actually let me wipe her nose with the solution and that's her nose! she is not keen but she does tolerate it - it varies on her mood but she is pretty good.
i think if there's two of you, one holding and the other cleaning would work ok!

good luck! xx

[Bathlax13]

Thanks a lot for the advice. Here's hoping good health to your chinny during the holiday seasons.

[dianah]

thank you she's a very very sweet girl. so affectionate as well, so amazing after what she's been through.

[ABC Chinchillas]

It should be ok for the holidays if you clean it, as long as it doesn't look infected, if he is chewing on it you will need to make an emergency vet visit though. Watch for redness and heat in the would area that is a sign it is getting infected. Keep the cage extra clean until the issue is resolved and good luck. It is sad pet stores really don't care about the animals just the bottom line.

[jmdebb]

It should be ok for the holidays if you clean it, as long as it doesn't look infected, if he is chewing on it you will need to make an emergency vet visit though. Watch for redness and heat in the would area that is a sign it is getting infected. Keep the cage extra clean until the issue is resolved and good luck. It is sad pet stores really don't care about the animals just the bottom line.

how true that statement is!! its so darn sickening