Broken Leg??

[Mrsfosoty]

As I was leaving for work the other night i went to say goodnight to chins and my teenage chinchilla little lucy was hanging upside down off the ramp with her toes and heel stuck on it. I couldnt unlatch her toes while she was upside down so I directed her body the right way and pulled her back up to sitting, she squeeled really loud and then after that quiet. Its been 1 day now shes still eating, I separated her from mom and dad (because she loves spazzing all over the cage) but shes not using her other leg at all. But the same time shes not acting as if shes in pain at all. Should I give it time to heal up for a sprain or has she broken it?? I assumed if its a break shed act out alot of pain. Am I wrong for thinking this way? Or should I take her to a vet asap?

 

[tunes]

If she was hanging the way you said, I would bet 99.9% it's broken. Chins are the bottom of the food chain, they are prey animals. They will hide pain almost until they are dead. Take her to a vet immediately and get the leg x-rayed. Whether it is broken or not, she must be in tremendous pain and needs to be medicated. My bet is though, it's broken up at the hip.

 

[Vyxxin]

I'm with Tunes, it is most likely broken AND with it being a hind leg there's really no good way to let it heal up on it's own. Chinchillas use their hind legs to support their full body weight MOST of the time. The fact that she's not using it at all is NOT a good sign.

Also, noteworthy as I notice you're a fairly new member...ramps, especially wire ramps, are a BIG no-no in chinchilla cages just for this reason. Also, you refer to her as teenage...she really shouldn't be in with her father unless one of them is fixed. Just because he's her father does NOT mean he will not breed her. She could very well be pregnant if neither are fixed. Animals are not humans, they don't reason that it's incest

 

[Chinmama]

Any updates on your chinchilla?