greychins
NWI Chinchillas
At what point do you consider a chinchilla "sick"? Or "sick enough" to be put down?
I put this in the debate section because I'm sure there will be strongly-held heartfelt beliefs on each side of the issue. The question I ask is, when do you consider a chinchilla sick? What about sick enough to be put down? Does it have to do with a condition they have? With how much that condition will cost to treat? Or any other things that you consider important? I would like to hear opinions.
Let me tell you why I am asking. I believe that my mother's chin, Jinx, has developed a tooth absess. She has a round formation, similar to a tumor, on one side of her lower jaw. It is about the size of a dime in size and diameter. I suppose it could be a tumor (though I haven't heard much of chins getting those), but because of positioning, I could see it being an abscess. I am not home at the moment, but I will post pics when I get home.
I was out of town for the last week or so, but when I came home and noticed this abscess I called the vet. As an abscess would be something we have not dealt with previously, I wanted to simply get an estimate of what the treatment and costs might be. So, to treat this theoretical abscess, including x-rays, drainage, a possible tooth extraction, and meds, I was quoted anywhere between $800-$1500, with the tech stating the costs could be even higher if Jinx has to be hospitalized and spend the night at the vet. However, to add another problem to all of this, Jinx is a malo chin. She had her most recent filing right after Christmas, and developed this abscess soon after.
While the money is part of the issue, what is important here, in my mind, is that Jinx already has a lifelong medical condition which will require continued treatment, irregardless of this abscess. In my mind, I do not consider her to be a healthy chin.
While on the phone with my vet, we came to the topic of euthanasia -- upon which I was told that if the vet did not ethically agree with my hypothetical decision to put her down, she would not be put down. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like vets should blindly follow what owners say, but let me go on. This vet stated that she would not put down an "otherwise healthy chin" when her abscess was completely treatable. Now, I don't deny the abscess is treatable (at a bank draining cost of $1500+), but I do disagree that this chin is otherwise healthy, as she also has malo, which was incurable the last time I checked.
In my opinion, a chin that already has malo and now is developing further complications that are likely related to the malo is not what I consider an "otherwise healthy" chin. While I don't think that either the malo or the abscess automatically warrants a death sentence (euthansia) by any means, I do feel that she could adequately be classified as a "sick" chin.
But what do you all think? I'm sorry, I love chins to death, but a malo chin is a "sick" chin in my mind. Doesn't mean I won't take them to the vet, doesn't mean I won't pay for filings, handfeed, treat, and medicate them, but at the end of the day, I'm doing all of that because I consider the chin to be sick. Alternately, forget the malo. If there's a chin with a medical problem with a vet quote of $1500+ for a cure... I feel that is a sick chin EVEN if the problem is curable. Sure, it is curable, but in the meantime, the the chin is still "sick." But that's simply my opinion. This vet's opinion is that other than the malo and the abscess, we have a perfectly healthy chin... which I do not agree with.
Before anyone gets up in arms, we are not putting her down. We have found a different vet that has agreed to see Jinx with a quote about half of what the first vet quoted, for what appears to be the same treatment (assuming, of course, that this actually is an abscess, as I have told the vets I believe it is). The question here isn't about not having the money, or about not wanting to pay, it's about what criteria you use when you classify a chin as "sick" in your mind.
Thoughts?
I put this in the debate section because I'm sure there will be strongly-held heartfelt beliefs on each side of the issue. The question I ask is, when do you consider a chinchilla sick? What about sick enough to be put down? Does it have to do with a condition they have? With how much that condition will cost to treat? Or any other things that you consider important? I would like to hear opinions.
Let me tell you why I am asking. I believe that my mother's chin, Jinx, has developed a tooth absess. She has a round formation, similar to a tumor, on one side of her lower jaw. It is about the size of a dime in size and diameter. I suppose it could be a tumor (though I haven't heard much of chins getting those), but because of positioning, I could see it being an abscess. I am not home at the moment, but I will post pics when I get home.
I was out of town for the last week or so, but when I came home and noticed this abscess I called the vet. As an abscess would be something we have not dealt with previously, I wanted to simply get an estimate of what the treatment and costs might be. So, to treat this theoretical abscess, including x-rays, drainage, a possible tooth extraction, and meds, I was quoted anywhere between $800-$1500, with the tech stating the costs could be even higher if Jinx has to be hospitalized and spend the night at the vet. However, to add another problem to all of this, Jinx is a malo chin. She had her most recent filing right after Christmas, and developed this abscess soon after.
While the money is part of the issue, what is important here, in my mind, is that Jinx already has a lifelong medical condition which will require continued treatment, irregardless of this abscess. In my mind, I do not consider her to be a healthy chin.
While on the phone with my vet, we came to the topic of euthanasia -- upon which I was told that if the vet did not ethically agree with my hypothetical decision to put her down, she would not be put down. Don't get me wrong, I don't feel like vets should blindly follow what owners say, but let me go on. This vet stated that she would not put down an "otherwise healthy chin" when her abscess was completely treatable. Now, I don't deny the abscess is treatable (at a bank draining cost of $1500+), but I do disagree that this chin is otherwise healthy, as she also has malo, which was incurable the last time I checked.
In my opinion, a chin that already has malo and now is developing further complications that are likely related to the malo is not what I consider an "otherwise healthy" chin. While I don't think that either the malo or the abscess automatically warrants a death sentence (euthansia) by any means, I do feel that she could adequately be classified as a "sick" chin.
But what do you all think? I'm sorry, I love chins to death, but a malo chin is a "sick" chin in my mind. Doesn't mean I won't take them to the vet, doesn't mean I won't pay for filings, handfeed, treat, and medicate them, but at the end of the day, I'm doing all of that because I consider the chin to be sick. Alternately, forget the malo. If there's a chin with a medical problem with a vet quote of $1500+ for a cure... I feel that is a sick chin EVEN if the problem is curable. Sure, it is curable, but in the meantime, the the chin is still "sick." But that's simply my opinion. This vet's opinion is that other than the malo and the abscess, we have a perfectly healthy chin... which I do not agree with.
Before anyone gets up in arms, we are not putting her down. We have found a different vet that has agreed to see Jinx with a quote about half of what the first vet quoted, for what appears to be the same treatment (assuming, of course, that this actually is an abscess, as I have told the vets I believe it is). The question here isn't about not having the money, or about not wanting to pay, it's about what criteria you use when you classify a chin as "sick" in your mind.
Thoughts?
Last edited: