Advice on Sick Chin

[ErinsChins]

I am posting this for a friend. I have told her to get to the vet ASAP, she says she will take him first thing tomorrow morning, I am still trying to get her to go now. (I would take him, but she's 8 hours away)

She sent me a message on facebook and said, "Toby's sick!" I asked her what his symptoms are and she said he won't eat and he is lethargic. I asked her what the temperature was and she said 78, I told her to get him a cold tile first of all and then told her to do a ring check. She said he takes treats, but will not eat and is somewhat limp. She also said he let out a scream the other night After I told her how to do a ring check she mentioned that he seems red and swollen down there. Hopefully, right now, she is doing a check because to me, that and the heat seem to be the problem, but what else can I tell her?

 

[ErinsChins]

i dont know what that was, but we did the thing you told me what to do and it wasnt a hair ring
12:08amMe

what do you mean?
12:08am

it was a kind of long, hard yellow puss thing hardened to the tip of his wee wee

but he looks alot happier!!!

 

[tunes]

First, tell her the term is penis, not "wee wee."

I'm not real sure how you arrived at the conclusion that there is a hair ring because the chin is overheated, limp, and lethargic with an environmental temperature that I too high. I can tell you that I highly doubt the chin is miraculously cured and all dandy again because a hair ring was removed.

 

[starleomach]

78 is too high. I would think he may be overheating and I agree none of those are signs of a hair ring

 

[ErinsChins]

I figured that much and told her to take him to the vet anyway. I also knew that she had probably never checked him for the ring so I knew it couldn't hurt. I told her to keep the temperature below 75 at all times. But do you know what that could've been?

 

[CTChin]

Was he playing at that temperature? One year I lost power during 100 degree heat and the basement made it up to 77 degrees for quite a while. All of my chins were fine. I didn't mess with them and they sat in their cages.

Of course you have to factor in humidity and playtime.

 

[ErinsChins]

I do not think he was playing, no. I think she needs to rush him to the vet, but I am still curious as to what WAS on his penis.

 

[CTChin]

I agree with you about the vet. Tomorrow may be too late.

 

[Claire D]

Can the chinchilla pass urine?

 

[ticklechin]

First I would not have messed with a hot lethargic chin to check for a hair ring, that said, malocclusion chins cannot clean themselves and the penis can get buildup under the foreskin that can block off the exit of urine, the buildup is sperm and the stuff is like hard glue when dried. Happened to me twice on two different chins, that led me to check and clean those chins every few days.

 

[RDZCRanch]

The "mysterious" crusty thing she found is just a combination of sperm and urine. It happens on male chinchillas when they don't clean themselves...which I'm sure he wasn't doing because of the temperature.

78 is too high as has already been stated. A slab of granite really isn't going to do much for a chinchilla that is showing signs of over heating. He needs to be seen by a veterinarian to get fluids and be checked for any neurological problems. Since this is the OBVIOUS cause of the chinchilla's lethargy, I would not have told an inexperienced owner to perform a hair ring check for the first time on him. It is stressful and there is even more squirming involved which will raise the chinchilla's temperature even more.

 

[Claire D]

Looks like the 3 of us were thinking along the same lines here .......

Can the chinchilla pass urine?

.........that said, malocclusion chins cannot clean themselves and the penis can get buildup under the foreskin that can block off the exit of urine, the buildup is sperm and the stuff is like hard glue when dried.

The "mysterious" crusty thing she found is just a combination of sperm and urine. It happens on male chinchillas when they don't clean themselves...

For those who may be interested - chins can have similar problems to (older) male rats who develop penile plugs. (http://ratguide.com/health/aging_degenerative_disorders/vesical_proteinaceous_plug.php)
These can be fatal if the chin cannot urinate because the urethra is blocked - it leads to build up of urine & toxicity, is painful (imagine an over full bladder almost ready to burst), & needs very careful removal since the chin can go into shock.
A lethargic chin with a penile plug needs extra careful handling & immediate vet care.

 

[ErinsChins]

I am waiting to hear back from her as far as if she has been to the vet or not. She said a few hours ago that the temp is now 72, so that should help some. Thinking back on it, you are right, I probably should not have told her to do a ring check. I've been panicking for a while now as my Pomeranian is in the emergency vet with hge. It has cost me over $1500 and I am just..out of it I guess.

 

[ticklechin]

The other problem malo chins have along the same lines, is they can have a incomplete clean, where the extended penis has sperm on it and it gets stuck to the chest hair-the chin needs to have the chest hair removed then the hair/sperm combo needs to be removed from the penis with warm water-not a job for a newbie.