Advice for a sore leg?

[jess_w]

About 4 days ago my partner accidentally stood on the back leg of our chinchilla Gus while he was out for play time. He took Gus down to the vet, and the leg isn't broken, but the vet was worried it may become infected (although there was no open cut at that point) so he's given us some Medical grade Manuka honey to apply twice a day.

Looking at his leg today I have noticed he now has a couple of open cuts on it and it looks quite sore, I am wondering if he might have bitten his own leg?? Also I have been putting the honey on but I'm worried he will just lick it off (which is doubly worrying considering the sugar content in honey), and it also makes the fur around his leg very sticky, even though we have cut a lot of it back to try and prevent this.

Does anyone have any advice how I can stop this getting worse or make him more comfortable? We feel so guilty about all this!

 

[Laurie]

accidents can and do happen. yes it is likely he is chewing his leg to try to eliminate the pain he is feeling. when you administer honey it should always be bandaged afterward. it is not good for your chin to lick the honey as it is sugar. the best thing you can is to take him back to the vet for further assessment

 

[menagerie]

Did the vet take xrays? That's the only way to really tell if he has a broken bone. If he is self mutilating, there is pain. Did the vet give you any pain meds?

 

[lauralynne]

Did the vet to an xray to confirm nothing was broken?
If he's chewing at his leg, something is irritating and/or causing pain.

 

[aznmexaggie]

I just chin-sat a chin last week who had been self-mutilating her leg due to an injury from her leg getting caught in a hay rack and developing an abscess. She has her own thread on the forums: http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16596&).

Her treatment has been applying Manuka honey to the wound, and wrapping it with a gauze pad and vet wrap. The chin also had to wear a cone to prevent her from removing the dressing or further damaging the leg. She also had to be handfed at least three times a day because she stopped eating from the antibiotics and due to the cone preventing normal movement. When I chin-sat her, I found it was very difficult to apply the Manuka by myself... although I did it with a bit of struggle. It would be easier to have someone hold the chin while the other person applies the Manuka and wraps the area.

If a chin chews and self-mutilates himself, it is because he is in pain. Chins with injured limbs may attempt to self amputate to rid themselves of the pain. If your chin is chewing at the area, he is hurting.

I would ask the vet to prescribe Metacam for the pain and if he continues to chew, you will need to put a cone on him to prevent him from damaging his leg. Also, I agree the X-rays need to be done to make sure the bone is not broken. If you do put a cone on him, he will also likely need to be handfed because it is difficult for a chin to eat on his own with a cone on.

 

[jess_w]

Thanks for the replies. He wasn't given an x ray or any pain meds so I'm thinking the vet mustn't have thought it was so bad? (Although it didn't look as bad at that point because he hadn't chewed it)
We decided to bathe it in saline solution today and it is actually looking better now, the cuts are starting to heal up, I don't know if he has stopped chewing it but I will keep an eye on him over the next few days and take him back to the vet for an x ray and pain meds if it gets worse again.