Broken Bond

[NormaJeane]

Hello,

I've had my chinchilla (Norma Jeane) for about 2 and a half years.

Recently, she has come down with conjunctivitis. I took her to the vet and was given medicine for her. I have to burrito her to medicate her. She absolutely hates this. It just breaks my heart because she's so miserable - but I know that the meds are necessary.

Now, when I reach in to pet her she gets all skittish and runs away. She used to let me pet her with no problems, come over when I call her, and would eat out of my hand. The meds aren't quite done, so I'm hoping that she's just reacting to this new situation.

Once the meds are finished and she's had a few days to readjust to not being medicated, will things return to normal? Or am I starting from square one?

 

[Gumby and Elmo]

What meds? When Toffee had conjuctivits, I was only given anti-biotic eye drops for 10 days and it cleared up.
She'll prolly be skittish for a few more days, love her more and don't pick her up these few days, just reach your hand in again to let her know you're not gonna eat her.

 

[Cuddlebug]

She will get over it, just give her time and treat her like you always do. Right now, she thinks you are going to give meds and is reacting to that. Once she realizes the meds aren't happening, she will return to normal.

 

[javachin]

She'll get over it eventually. I have one chin that pretends to give me attitude since she remembers getting eye drops, but she's all talk.

 

[Kara315]

I agree, I'm doing this for eeyore, giving him critical care. First couple days, he hated it!. Now he doesn't mind it at all. He wouldn't come over to me then either thinking everytime he'd be getting the CC. But now he's fine. He doesn't mind it at all. It will just take time.

 

[NormaJeane]

Thank you (to all of you)! This makes me feel better. I, of course, would gladly have started over.

To Jannie: she's on eye drops (Ciprofloxican) and an oral anti-inflammatory (Meloxicam). They eyedrops seem to be the bigger issue for her.

 

[Chinbutt]

Hello,

I've had my chinchilla (Norma Jeane) for about 2 and a half years.

Recently, she has come down with conjunctivitis. I took her to the vet and was given medicine for her. I have to burrito her to medicate her. She absolutely hates this. It just breaks my heart because she's so miserable - but I know that the meds are necessary.

Now, when I reach in to pet her she gets all skittish and runs away. She used to let me pet her with no problems, come over when I call her, and would eat out of my hand. The meds aren't quite done, so I'm hoping that she's just reacting to this new situation.

Once the meds are finished and she's had a few days to readjust to not being medicated, will things return to normal? Or am I starting from square one?

I'm awfully sorry to hear you're going through this - I had a similar experience with a sick rabbit some years ago. My best advice would be to simply get her healthy and get back into a normal swing of things. Patience is your best bet. Once things are normal and you're talking to her & scratching/feeding her every day, she'll see everything is okay and the trust will come back. Just be patient. I know it's easier said than done, but you'll get there.