Anus imperforate or Rectovaginal fistula?

[Godins Chinchillas]

So get this. Three weeks ago I bought some standards from a ranch for breeding. Anyhow-last week I took one of the girls out and was checking her over when I noticed feces coming out of her vagina. So I thought to myself-this girl is never going to get bred if she can't keep her self clean. I swabbed her out with triple antibiotic ointment and put her back. The next day I took her out and thought there was an odor so I swabbed her again.

Friday I take her out and sure enough more feces in her vagina..this time she was defecating..so quite a few came out. I took a thermometer and tried to insert it in her anus...no go. It was completely sealed off. However I could see an opening in her vagina where the feces were coming out. Now how gross and weird is that. I have heard of it happening with other species and humans but never in my life have I ever seen it. So this girl is just a year old so am thinking she was born like this. She has never been in breeding.

It's the oddest thing. Anyhow-just wanted to share something interesting.

Jessica

 

[AZChins]

That is weird, but it isn't something that would be out of the question. Things like that happen sometimes. I hope that she's doing alright. Then again, she's a year old and it appears that this is probably congenital...so I guess her body has adjusted.

 

[Riven]

I'm going to agree it was possible a birth defect. In horses breeding two white horses together can create a lethal white gene, they are born but basically their GIT incomplete from what I understand. I have never really looked into it, but we had a mare that was bred when we got her and she carried a foal with the lethal white gene.

I wonder if it could or even should be surgically repairs. I'd imagine it could obviously, but would she be better off is the question. I'd be interested in what you decide to do with her, if you do the surgery if it works, etc.

I vaguely remember someone with a chin that had a fistula a long while back on the forums. I can't recall what happened, I believe they put her down due to it as hers was not formed pellets but large bowel masses moving out of her vaginal opening. Susan do you remember that at all?

 

[AZChins]

I don't remember that one, but I have heard of fistulas occurring in chins. It's strange that it would be an actual congenital condition because most of them occur from trauma of some sort - mostly possible tearing from a rough labor or passing a kit.

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

Well she is going back to the ranch in 3 weeks. I asked Steve if he could do surgery on her and he said probably not and even if he could he couldn't guarentee she would still be useable. Leaving her the way she is would make her prone to urinary tract and uterine/vaginal infections.

Jessica

 

[RDZCRanch]

I believe that was me you're thinking of, Nicole. Back about five or so years ago I was chin sitting a female that was like this except the feces came out of her vagina in large clumps about as big around as a quarter. She was bred before I got her and ended up having her kits successfully. I don't know how she is doing today as the owner took her back and we lost contact, but it was very odd.

 

[starleomach]

I also had a female develop that. She was a retired breeder that came to live with us and we noticed she was pooping out her Vaginal opening. At the time it was just ooze. We went back and forth to the vets for a while. It hardened up and became mishapen but normal. Since there was no safe way to fix it the vet and I decided to wait it out and see mostly just monitoring the situation. She lived another 5 years here with no issues at all quite happily with the weanling female babies.

 

[addictedtochins]

I remember Whimmus rescued a chin named Snowball who pooed strangely. I did a search and found pics and references to that problem but not the whole story.
http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/search.php?searchid=717912