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[emmma]

I have a male chinchilla, Pikachu, had an accident two weeks ago. He knocked a glass off of a table and it cut his tail. I have been treating the wound with neosporin. He's been acting fine, eating, and running around like normal. I just looked at the cut and it appears to be swollen. Is this normally how a cut heals with chinchillas? Or should I just take him to a vet to be sure? Any feedback is appreciated!

[GrayRodent]

Where on the tail is it cut? Towards the end or the base?

How much swelling is there - pea size, dime size?

Can you see any change in the swelling from day to day? Is it going down or getting worse?

What does the area where the swelling is look like? Is the skin red around the cut?

[emmma]

The cut is located towards the middle of the tail, it's pea sized, and in the swelling it's just scabbing up. It seems the swelling is getting slightly bigger, but it's hard to tell. Around the swelling the skin is red from the scab and dried up blood. He takes dust baths like normal and it doesn't seem to hurt him unless he nudges it.

[GrayRodent]

Wish I could help but I'm not a chinchilla owner. If it were my pet I would keep an eye on it and watch for any changes. If this is the first time you've noticed it you really don't have much to go off of. Living with a parrot I know it's important to weigh him regularly as both parrots and chins will hide symptoms until they are in distress and a marked drop in weight is usually a good early warning. However, if the chin goes off its food it's usually pretty hard to get them to recover because it causes major digestive issues. Unfortunately it appears they are sensitive to antibiotics and this can make things difficult too.

I think the fact that your animal is not in constant pain or chewing at the area is a good sign as pain is usually a sign of infection but redness around the wound is a bad sign. The fact that it was cut after something heavy fell on could mean there is an underlying crushing injury that could prolong the healing process.

If in doubt go to the vet but make sure they handle exotics if at all possible. There is a nice list on this website:
http://www.chinchillaclub.com/vets/index.html

[dianah]

swelling could indicate an infection. i would take him to the vet asap, if it is an infection he'll ned antibiotics, they may give you an ointment to apply to the wound (fuciderm). if untreated, infection can spread. do not give him any more sandbaths, this should be avoided when there's an open wound which is what you're describing. keep us updated!

[emmma]

I'll probably take him to a vet just to be sure, do you know how much a visit and that medicine would cost? Also the wound is not open its scabbed over and no longer bleeding.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

You can also wash the cut in saline, 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a cup of boiled water. When it cools use a cotton ball or something to wash the site. Then put the s'porine on it.
Here you looking at about $35 for the visit + treatment.
Can you take a pick and show us?

[dianah]

the drugs are not expensive, the larger chunk of the cost will be the consultation itself (unless there are complications such as puss capsule forming in which case surgery is necessary but that usually happens internally rather than with superficial cuts). even if the wound is scabbed over, it's probably a good idea to leave the baths out until it heals, it's quite easy to get a tiny bit of scab off and then you'll have tiny bits of dust in the wound.

if the vet gives you antibiotics, don't forget probiotics - just in case they don't mention it, sometimes they don't

debbie's advice is good - salt water is brilliant for keeping it clean! i quite often use the solution while still warm, they seem to struggle with me less than if i use cold. go figure.

[Squirrel_Butt]

Sounds like an infection. If I were you, I would definitely get him seen by a vet ASAP.  Always keep glass out of reach of chins.

[Jo Ann]

   I find it best to use plastic containers with lids on them around chinchillas.  Mistakes do happen ... as long as we learn from them, it's OK.   

Lots of advice has been given and all of it is good. 
 #1 is NO baths until completely healed!  Dust bath/sand bath can cause major problems and reintroduce bacteria and/or irritants.

If you take your little one to the vet ...
1) Call the vet before you take your chin in, especially if cost is a concern.  Don't get the sticker shock as you leave ... most vets do expect payment in full at the time of the visit and exotic vets tend to charge more than regular vets. 
2)You also need to make sure this vet is familiar with chinchillas, all are not.
3)To quote dianah "if the vet gives you antibiotics, don't forget probiotics - just in case they don't mention it, sometimes they don't"  Most do not ... until it has caused a problem.  Chinchillas are much more sensitive than most pocket pets.  {Antibiotics kill all germs, even the good ones, called flora, that help digest your Chin's food ... if he can not digest his food properly and becomes impacted or develops diarrhea ... your problems could quickly become worse that the original wound.}

BUT... if you feel comfortable with it AND your Chin's tail is not swollen badly, is not real red, and does not have fever and the chin is not reopening the wound ... I would try Debbie's advice ... "You can also wash the cut in saline, 1/4 teaspoon of salt to a cup of boiled water. When it cools use a cotton ball or something to wash the site. Then put the s'porine on it."  I have done this many times over the years and it seems to work great most of the time!    Do check it several times every day and repeat cleaning several times a day until it is healed.

Hope this helps.
   Jo Ann

[emmma]

Thank you everybody for the advice! I'm taking him to the vet this Wednesday, which is a free visit for first time patients. I will update you all on the outcome. All the advice is greatly appreciated

[emmma]

The vet said he's fine, nothing is broken. He said the bump indicates the tail trying to be back in place and that Pikachu will have a crooked tail the rest of his life, but it's not a bad thing. The vet also gave me baytrill suspension oral medicine for him once a day for 14 days. Thanks everyone for your help!

[Jo Ann]

   Sounds great!  

But, did the vet also give you a probiotic?  Something to replace the flora in his system?  An antibiotic kills all germs, the good ones and the bad ones.  Flora, one of the the good ones, must survive in order to keep the chin's digestive system flowing properly.  When using an antibiotic and a probiotic during the same period of time, they must be given at least 4 hours apart, or they will just cancel each other out, and it will be as if you are using neither.  A good probiotic is acidophiles.  This can be found in most health food stores.  Usually it is in a capsule form.  To replace the flora ... 4 hours after the antibiotic medication, open one of the acidophiles capsules and sprinkle about 1/4th of it on a small amount of food in a special bowl. Remember ... once the acidophiles bottle is opened, the whole bottle of acidophiles needs to be kept refrigerated or it will go bad.

I'm not trying to scare you by what I say, but just wanting make sure you have a good holiday with your little one ...  
But, if the flora/good bacteria dies and is not replaced, a chinchilla can become impacted/stopped-up in a matter of just a few days (2 to 5), because his food is not being digested properly.  When this happens, his system shuts down and he can die from this.  
Two of the first signs of this is that he will cut way back or even stop eating and his poops will become fewer in number and smaller.  
Please keep a close eye on his feces/poos.  If they become wet and sticky then/or smaller and dryer, he could be in big trouble. A chinchilla's poop should always be moist, but not wet ... soft, but not sticky ... oval and a healthy size, not smaller and dryer.    
Once a chinchilla shows sign of being sick, he can go down/get sick/die quickly, much more so than a Guinea pig, which is one of the worst for this, but 'chinchillas have the Guinea pig beat hands down', to quote my vet.   When a chinchilla needs help, he needs it right then, not later on.  A chinchilla will hide an illness until it is almost to late to do anything. {This is the only way they survived in the wild... a sign of illness or weakness made them easy prey.}  

The after hours and weekend cost of a vet are usually high, so it never hurts to be prepared ahead of time.  I like to avoid the problems to begin with, if I can.

   Jo Ann

[dianah]

i agree with jo ann. i find that baytril especially (septrin not so much) causes problems with the gut if probiotics are not used. 14 days is quite a long course and it will certainly have an effect. i also like to use lactulose at the same time as it seems to help the poo along. you can get probiotics from your vet, i find that feeding critical care at the same time works well too but you don't need to hand feed him so there's no need for that. some people use plain probiotic yogurt.

do not give any sugary treats (raisins etc) while on antibiotics.

baytril is also very bitter so your chin may not be too keen on having it, just be careful that you don't accidentally get it into pikachu's lungs (put the syringe in the side of the mouth and dispense the liquid into his mouth so he just swallows it)

[Squirrel_Butt]

I'm glad Pikachu is going to be ok.