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[chins210]

Hi! My name is Meghan and I have a six year old Chinchilla named Mosia. Recently I noticed a growth, like a tumor or something, under her chin and in her mouth (it partially covers her right bottom tooth and has molded around it). She is still able to eat and I haven't seen it grown noticeably bigger since it appeared. She doesn't seem to mind me poking at it or pulling it, either. Can anyone help me diagnose this problem so I know what to do?

There are some pictures here at my blog:
http://romantic-rosesblog.blogspot.com/p/chinchilla-pics-not-for-romance-viewers.html

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[iwantchinchilla]

Hi there


Looks like a tumour to be. Well, it could just be an extra flap of skin. Is it lumpy?

[chins210]

It doesn't appear to be lumpy - more firm, like it's filled with fluid? If it's a tumor, what will happen and what can I do?

[iwantchinchilla]

Well, I'm no expert, but from having rabbits etc in the past it doesn't sound too good. I assume that you have a vet? I would take it for a checkup. Just to be on the safe side. If it is something, I'm sure the vet can sort it out.

[chins210]

Unfortunately, the vet around our parts knows NOTHING about chinchillas. So I'm trying to do my own diagnosing via internet before I go to the vet so I can 'help' him out before he messes things up.

[dianah]

they may not know anything about chinchillas but they will know what sort of tissue growth this is - tumours etc generally look the same on most animals they treat. i would take her in straight away.

what worries me is that it's wrapped around her tooth as well as being present under her chin, this makes me think that it may have something to do with her jaw bone. how long has she had it?

[chins210]

I only noticed it about two weeks ago - it seemingly appeared overnight.  I had some really big tests the weeks before I noticed it (two science and one soc AP) and so I was barely spending any time with her and as soon as I began to visit her a lot again, she had this tumor.

[dianah]

i think it's unlikely to have grown a tumour within 2 weeks. it could be an infection or some sort of injury that resulted in a seroma. it could be an abscess. in any case, you *need* to get her to the vet asap if it's any of the above - the skin looks quite smooth and you say it feels like it's filled with fluid - if it is, then it's either puss (not good at all) or seroma fluid. is it getting bigger? is it firm or soft and squishy?

i have to stress that she needs to be seen and get treatment immediately (especially if it's any of the above). the earlier treatment starts the better chance she'll get better. having an abscess or a seroma does not necessarily stop them from eating.

[chins210]

It has definitely gotten smaller, I can tell you that, but it's not gone. But it's definitely smaller than in the picture. The skin is smooth, definitely, and it's firm. She won't let me close enough to it to feel if it's squishy. It's a lot smaller though - perhaps half it's original size?

One thing I'm worried about now is that when I looked at her teeth, they were a good color, but the bottom ones weren't very healthy. This could be because of being encased by the tumor-thing? Also, it looks like there might be swelling inside her mouth, on the upper gums. I'm not sure though, since I don't have a healthy chinchilla to compare to. Is there any way you could take a picture of your chinchilla's interior of the mouth and post it so I could evaluate the difference between Mosia's gums and a healthy set of gums?

Thank you so much for all of your help!

[dianah]

in what way did they not look healthy?

i'm sorry to sound harsh but you really don't have time to evaluate/diagnose things over the internet, nor it is a wise thing to do. if you google anything about chinchillas, you will get outright contradicting information. people here are not veterinary professionals. we all can tell you that the growth is not normal but you already know that.

i had a chinchilla die of an abscess that was treated as soon as we discovered it and i had two chinchillas with a seroma and an infection who got better because of immediate treatment. i have a rescue who's in and out of vets at regular intervals and all i can tell you is that the earlier you get them seen, the better chance of surviving you give them.

take her to the vet now. even if they know nothing about chinchillas, they will know more than random posters on the internet. if they really are that incapable, travel further.

[chins210]

The teeth appear to have some sort of dried film on them.

Thank you for all your advice - we're going to see the vet tomorrow morning!

[dianah]

white/yellowish? does it smell?

it's possible this is either an abscess - not good, they usually have to extract the tooth as well as cut the infected bone out (they make a little flap in the bone and the chin grows a new bone over time), this is quite a complicated operation so i'm not sure your vet could do this if he's no good with chins, you really want an expert to do this.

it could also be a bone infection. this usually involves open sores - i'm guessing to drain - my rescue chin has this. i think it's treatable if you catch it early. my girl unfortunately wasn't taken to the vet when she developed this (or when she chewed her leg off but hey ho, she's happy and safe now) so the infection is now chronic and untreatable (the drugs used on other species are too strong to use on a chinchilla), the bone responds by extending downwards so she pretty much has a tusk. she has a sore at the bottom rather than in her mouth, most of the time it doesn't look much different and it weeps puss - it got inflamed once in the 7 months i've had her (swollen and red) but it normally doesn't bother her. there's a possibility that it will cause an abscess on her teeth which would mean the above but fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

another possibility is a mouth injury perhaps. if she damaged her gum or something with hay or wood perhaps, and it got infected?

you'll know more tomorrow let us know how you get on!

[dianah]

any news?

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Yes any news?
Did yo get to a vet???