Performing a castration

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tunes

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Are there special considerations that a vet should take into account when performing a neuter or spay on a chinchilla (i.e. anesthesia or anatomically)? Would the procedure differ from say a rabbit or a guinea pig (which most vets see more often)?

I will tell you what I do for my chinchilla neuters. I feel that this is the safest method, but others may disagree:

I give a pre-operative dose of 0.1 mls of Atropine subcutaneously. This is because the Isofluorane gas anesthesia has a very bad taste and chins often drool while they are under anesthesia. Drooling puts them at risk for aspiration and blockage of the airways which can complicate the procedure drastically.

I then place them in a special plastic tank that allows the isoflourane and oxygen from the machine to enter the tank without exposing the people in the room. Once the chinchilla seems to be at an adequate plane of anesthesia, I connect him/her to the machine with a face mask to maintain them throughout the surgery.

I incise over the top portion of the scrotal sack and expose the testicles. The blood vessels are tied off with absorbable suture material and then the inguinal rings are also closed with the same suture. The subcutaneous tissue is closed with this suture and then skin glue is applied to the scrotal sack. I always give an injection of pain medication post-op and make an Elizabethan collar with old x-ray film to send home with the chin. They also go home on pain medication only - if the procedure is done in a sterile environment (which it ALWAYS should be), antibiotics are not required.

Guinea pigs are done exactly the same way, but I do my rabbit neuters prescrotally (like dogs). The inguinal ring does not need to be closed separately in rabbits if they are done prescrotally, but must be closed if they are done in the same fashion as the chins and G.P.s

If there is any confusion about my description - just let me know. I tried not to make it too technical.

Angie

If there are followup questions, please address them to me and I will forward them to Angie. Thank you.
 
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