Broken front arm

bostonbcprs · May 22, 2012

I have 2 two week old chinchillas. They are with the mom and everything has been going great. However, this morning i found one of the babies has a completely limp and twisted front arm. The other one is a little bloody but seems to work ok. I assume they got caught in something and were pulled out in panic. He doesn't seem to be in any pain but the arm is def not usable for him and I dont know what to do from here. I am also in between jobs right now and have no money for a small vet bill let alone a large one. Please help, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

ticklechin · May 22, 2012

Chin needs a vet, there is no way around it. The limb will most likley be amputated.

AZChins · May 22, 2012

There really isn't much you can do. If the tissues in the front leg have been damaged enough, that little leg is going to start rotting fairly soon. Poor little guy probably will need surgery to have the leg removed or he could very well end up with an infection that will spread. The mother will probably pick at it and make it bleed, as well. I wish I had a home remedy for you, but this type of injury isn't something that will heal on its own or because you put something on it. Necrotic tissue isn't a good thing, it's probably safe to say that the leg will not be usable. Do you have a vet that would be willing to see the little kit just for a quick visit? You may need to opt for euthanasia. I just don't know what to tell you since I don't have the kit right in front of me.

Where are you located? Maybe someone local to you on here could help you out.

tunes · May 22, 2012

I had this happen not too long ago with a litter in these freaking cages that I hate from Texas. The girl got her leg caught. She was only a week old and I did not want to put her under anesthesia at that age. Instead, I got some trimethoprim sulfa and kept her on that for 10 days. The infection cleared up and her paw healed at an angle, but it healed well.

When she's older, if it bothers her, I will have it amputated. I just wasn't comfortable with the anesthetic at this point. The best thing you can do is have your vet check it and see what he thinks, but mention what I did to see if that would work for you. Good luck.

I also want to point out that if you are intentionally breeding, and you have no money, now is not a good time to do it. This is an example of just one of the many things that can go wrong with little ones, and if you have no money at all for a vet bill it is the chin that suffers. Keep the male and the female apart to make sure a breeding doesn't happen again, then once you are more financially stable you can put them back together.

kerri101 · May 22, 2012

heres the link to the humane society vet assistance there are a lot of links here, you can probably work out a payment plan Im thinking your from from area from ur forum name...this is for the USA
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html
.....also do you have wire floors or wire ramps ? they could have got paws stuck in those....

Stackie · May 22, 2012

Just wanted to add that many veterinarians accept Care Credit as well, so that is definitely something to look into. Regardless she needs to be seen asap, as I can't imagine how painful that would be...

Anna35 · May 22, 2012

When Wakka broke her back leg she didn't seem to be in pain either and when I took her to the vet he told me that she severed the nerve and that's why it didn't hurt her. But she did have to have the leg amputated. Also infection sets in pretty quick Wakka broke her leg on a Saturday and for whatever reason they set the surgery for Monday and it had already started to get infected but that was also due to the fact that they gave me a pill antiboitic for Wakka instead of liquid.