Back trauma & gas

[jennye]

Hello,
I was an old member of chins-n-quills but had not been there for quite some time and recently found this forum.

I have had my chin for almost 4 years...have had him since 8 weeks old. (Furball Ranch)

I am just home from the vet where a set of xrays has shown some trauma to the back (most likely from a fall that occurred recently during playtime) and some gas in the belly.

Dr. sent us home with anti-inflammatory/pain med to give once a day. I think the label says Ketoprofen. Orders were also given for 6 weeks of rest for my Mirko.

How in the heck do you make a chin rest for 6 weeks??? I have taken out all of the shelves/ledges in cage, leaving only fleece tube (set low to the floor). Is this really all I can do? I may need to actually set the fleece tube all the way down to the floor because Mirko has already jumped on top and then was very hesitant to jump down. I lifted him down.

Also, is there anything I can do about the gas?? Dr. told me to check poo tonight and in morning and report size, shape, consistency, etc. This gas issue is really worrying me. I know how bad this can be for a chin.

Just FYI...Mirko gets a mix of hays...Timmy, Orchard Grass, Oat Hay. Mazuri pellets (recently switched from APD to Mazuri...thinking of switching back.) Rosehips and apple wood are his only treats.

Thanks for any help, advice or words of encouragement.
Jenny & Mirko

 

[jennye]

Forgot to add (sorry, couldn't find "edit" feature) that Mirko also takes a probiotic/vit c supplement 3x week. It's called Pro-C

Thanks!

 

[ticklechin]

I would ask the vet for motility drugs for the gas, at least either reglan or propulsid, both is best. The chin should have simethicone which is human baby gas drops-a full dropper every 3-4hours round the clock, the chin needs run around time during the day, this helps keep the digestive tract moving along with tummy massages, gentle massage from the mid chest to anus in slow circular motions to work the gas down. A sock with rice in it, warmed in the microwave will also help with pain, I use the sock to massage the tummy instead of my hand. The chin needs to be hand fed by feeding syringe small meals all day, 5-10 ml meals, spaced out all day to total at least 60ml of food, 80-100 is ideal, critical care is the food you need and the vet should have it on hand if they treat rodents along with a feeding syringe.

This thread is about stasis but bloat is treated about the same way


http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6553

 

[Essentia]

As much as I advocate running around to keep things going on a normal chin, with this one having a back injury I would not allow the running. I would keep up on the baby gas drops and the motility drugs though.

 

[jennye]

Thank you so much to both of you.

I am going to call vet right now.

One more question: Is there a simple trick to getting them to take what's in the syringe? I was able to get the small amount of Ketoprofen into him this morning...but it was a struggle. He is a very sweet chin...no biting, barking, etc...just a lot of squirming and I wasn't totally sure I was getting it into his mouth.

Jen

 

[ticklechin]

I have not used ketoprofen, common pain meds for chinchillas for moderate to severe pain are tramadol and metecam used synergistically, does the med taste sweet? I can see the point of not using a heavy duty pain drug to keep the chin quiet but the gas pain for now should keep him quiet and they can go into shock from gas pain, its that bad. I would have to do some thinking if this was my chin and weigh pro's and con's due to the back injury, knowing how painful the gas is, knowing if you don't get a handle on it quick it can turn to stasis, I think I would treat the gas first with the normal treatment then deal with the injury, others may disagree but dealing with gas and stasis as many times as I have I put that treatment first and formost, just my opinion if this was my chin.

 

[Essentia]

I guess my question, before I let the chin run, would have to be, what kind of back injury is it? A strain? A break? Is it a spinal injury or just a muscle injury?

I'm not against letting the chin run to keep the gut moving, just that reading the first post I automatically thought spine injury, when that very well may not be the case.

 

[jennye]

I wouldn't say the ketoprofen tastes sweet...it tastes like medicine.

I am so upset and so stressed out and now I am feeling like the vet doesn't know the right things to do. I chose this vet because he was the only one that actually advertised exotics and specifically chinchillas. I also know that they are the vet for Petco...so I figured he has seen a sick chinchilla or two. He is very gentle and seems to really care a lot and I didn't want to waste any time getting Mirko seen. I did call some other places and one place said he couldn't be seen until Friday. Another didn't even know what a chinchilla was and one the dr. was going to be out for 2 weeks.

The back injury:
The vet called them lesions to begin with. Then showed me the xrays...it's some inflammation that is causing a misalignment. That is how I understood it. He is mobile, he's just slow and cautious. Not my rambunctious boy I'm used to. I'm sure the gas has something to do with that too.

It is almost 1pm Pacific time and Mirko is now at the vet being observed. They are giving IV fluids, an antibiotic, motility meds, and force feeding critical care. I asked if they would be giving reglan or propulsid and the vet just kept saying, "Yes, it's just like reglan." ARGH!! Is it or isn't it??? :banghead:

His poos this morning were very small and very dry. I could tell he had not touched his hay, pellets or water all night. He would not even take a rose hip from me. He did take his Pro-C, but he wouldn't take anything else. That was when I decided to call the vet again and they told me to bring him back.

Thank you so much for the help.

Jen

 

[jennye]

Update:
Mirko spent all day Thursday at vet...IV fluids, hand feeding, motility drugs, etc. The vet sent us home with some Reglan and Critical Care. (I had to request the critical care.)

I went to 4 stores today and was unable to find simethicone. We must have a lot of gassy babies in town! Don't they know MY baby needs it?! :impatient: I will try again tomorrow (Friday).

I am giving the Reglan every 6 hours. And the Ketoprofen every 24 hours. I just did a dose of critical care. Was trying to hold off and see if he would eat on his own...nothing. He has his pellets and variety of hay in cage. I tried to hand feed some rolled oats...he ate a few and I left the rest in his dish. Tried to give 1/2 a shredded wheat...not interested. Offered rose hip...not interested. I could only get 3ml of critical care in him. He was very good and I was surprised at how easily I was able to get that much in him, but then he made it very clear that he was done.

Have been trying to give tummy rubs as often as he will allow, but it's not much. He just wants to be in his fleece tube. I did give him some floor time to move around, but he really wasn't much into it. Did move around some, but mostly sat looking at the door that leads back to his room.

There were some poos...still very small and dry. The vet had said that he had some bigger ones during the day.

Question:
How much pressure should I be applying for tummy rubs? I am so afraid of hurting him.

Thanks to anyone still reading. Please let me know if I can supply any more information and I am still open to any and all advice.

 

[ticklechin]

The massages are just a gentle pressure, circular motions from mid chest to anus, I like to use the rice filled warm sock for the massage instead of my hand so theyn get the benefit of the warm compress also. You need to try to get the simethicone-it will help break up the bubbles and make them speed through the digestive system. Gassy chins will refuse to eat anything until the gas is gone and they should not be offered anything but the critical care and water, along with their own hay and pellets in the cage. The reason is during bloat the bacterial content in the gut can go from good bacteria to bad bacteria-you don't want to give that bad bacteria anything new to feed on (simple version of what goes on in the gut). Byproduct of bacteria feeding is gas, so we don't need anymore of that. The pain of gas is horrid-I am suprised that the vet did not give pain meds. Think of your tummy when its over full and gassy and then get forced to eat more food-that is what you are up against and why small meals-5ml or so are fine all day long is best-to get at leas 60ml into him, the digestive system will continue to contract as long as there is food in the gut, the food also helps push the gas out, when its empty the gut will slow and stop contracting leading to the death of the digestive system and the chin-this can happen even with motility drugs so you can see why gas is a potential life threatening problem. I would also have wanted sub Q fluids given at the vet at least, the chin needs to be kept hydrated since if the chin becomes dehydrated, the body will rob the digestive tract of fluid and the food that in in the digestive tract will become dried out and can become a impaction, so I would try to give the chin some syringed water using a 1ml syringe, just a few drops at a time so he does not aspirate the water, give it to him after the critical care, 1-2ml per feeding. Bloat is a B""ch to get rid of, its time consuming and frustrating but wil agressive care it can be beat.

 

[Stackie]

I know with dogs/cats, etc., we don't prescribe keto if they are having GI issues as it can have some effects on the GI system.

 

[ticklechin]

It is listed under NSAIDS for rabbits, during ileus the pain is high so even opiods which also cause gastric slowdown are used, pain itself causes gastric slowdown, its a risk you take when dealing with stasis and bloat, pain relief and the risk of slowdown, no pain relief and the risk of slowdown, I take the risk and used something like banamine or buprenex if I am dealing with stasis, rather have the chin in less pain. Some may disagree but it is what I did when dealing with stasis the few times I did.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=500

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

the gas drops can be found almost anywhere - Walmart, any drug store, shoprite,etc
Just look in the baby section where 'baby medicine' is found. Some bottles just say 'gas drops' but it is simenicone (can't remember the spelling) Can come with the 'shoprite', walmart,etc label

 

[Stackie]

It is listed under NSAIDS for rabbits, during ileus the pain is high so even opiods which also cause gastric slowdown are used, pain itself causes gastric slowdown, its a risk you take when dealing with stasis and bloat, pain relief and the risk of slowdown, no pain relief and the risk of slowdown, I take the risk and used something like banamine or buprenex if I am dealing with stasis, rather have the chin in less pain.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=500

The main issue with keto is, according to the vet I work with, it's higher chance of a side effect of stomach ulceration so can create more GI problems. I was just mentioning we don't prescribe keto since it seemed there was some question about it in the beginning of the thread. I wasn't questioning that pain medication needed to be given.

 

[ticklechin]

When using any NSAID, even metecam, longer than 7 days or so you also use famotidine to prevent that.

 

[mishellyshel]

The main issue with keto is, according to the vet I work with, it's higher chance of a side effect of stomach ulceration so can create more GI problems. I was just mentioning we don't prescribe keto since it seemed there was some question about it in the beginning of the thread. I wasn't questioning that pain medication needed to be given.

stack--when using tramadol i also use an acid reducer, i believe its the generic for pepsid

In addition to the baby section sometimes gas drops can be found with the other stomach medicines near like the pepto bismal.
i use the generic brand from walgreens. even that is about 10 bucks for a bottle, but it is worth it.
When one of my guys had gas you could actually see the bubbles come thru on their poop. it look literally like clear bubbles attached. the vet said this was a good sign because the gas is passing.
they did recommend getting him out of the cage but with a back injury i would limit it to a very small area so there is less wall surfing and jumping.

 

[jennye]

Thank you so much to everyone for your help.

I am going to go out right now in search of the simethicone again...it's not that I don't know what it is or where it's at...the store shelves are empty. There is a spot for it, but no product.

He is taking the Reglan like a champ, I can get that in very easy. Have not done the pain med yet for today. Just did a CC feeding. I don't think I got the a full 5ml in, but we did our best.

I did make a rice sock and he let me do some massage with that. And then some just with my hand. I tried to go back and forth between the two methods as much as he would let me.

I will stop offering the oats and everything else but his pellets, hay, H2O and CC.

I'm also going to call the vet back and find out word for word exactly what they did yesterday.

Thank you so much again.

 

[ticklechin]

You are doing fine, just keep up what you are doing and time is what is needed.

 

[jennye]

Ok, finally found some simethicone!!

Also stopped by the vet and found out that pain meds were giving yesterday and the fluids were sub-q...not IV like I had thought.

Also, found out that it is NOT critical care that he gave me. I asked if I could purchase some more (they are putting it in a little container for me) no label. I asked if it was actually Critical Care and he said it's Emmeraid. I kept asking if he had CC and he just kept saying this is like CC...it's easy to digest, etc. UGH...I am getting so frustrated!!!

I am now on the hunt to see if I can find CC in town. So far, no luck.

He also told me to stop the ketoprofen for now. So now that leaves my little guy with NO pain meds right now. :banghead:

 

[jennye]

Could I please please please be taken off of moderation while I am dealing with this emergency situation?

Thank you,
Jenny