Chin cut his foot.

[frisky860]

I cant remember the day, as I've been super busy and just got back from vacation, but either monday or tuesday night, I went to let me chinchilla out to play in the bedroom, and he ran outa the cage before I could catch him. He's done this before as he is very fast and hyper alllllll the time. But he ran behind the fridge, which he has done once or twice before as well, but we've always just pulled it out slowly and snatched him up. But this time as we were pulling it out I saw Izzy struggling and his foot was caught on something behind/under the fridge. He finally ran out on his own and ran into bedroom. Then I noticed the bloody footprints on the carpet. We caught him, cleaned the foot with a wet paper towel, and put him back in his cage. We think he really just scrapped the top of his foot like on the knuckle part of the toe. So it's all red and looks like raw skin. I called the vet the next day and they said he should be fine and to just keep an eye on it. He seemed to be doing good and now its pretty red, swollen, and a bit bloody. I CANNOT afford a vet, as I can barely pay my rent. Is there anything I can buy to give him or put on the foot? He still runs and jumps and play no problem on it. It just seems really bad today. I took some pictures with my camera phone since my regular camera was causing too much of a glare. So the pictures aren't very good, but you can obviously see the bright red spot on his toe. Any help or suggestions?

These were taking yesterday during playtime. It seemed to be healing and not wet or anything. Just a piece of raw skin.

These are from tonight. Its very red, puffy, and wet/bloody. They all look kinda alike, but its the best I can do.

I also haven't had internet to look anything up since yesterday, otherwise I would have posted sooner.

 

[AZChins]

I'd just clean it really well and let it scab up. Chinchillas have a tremendous ability to heal up from wounds like that very quickly.

This is going to sound really bizarre and I apologize if it makes anyone wonder what is wrong with me! If this toe starts up bleeding badly again, put fresh, clean dust in the dust bath and let the chin roll in it. The dust will work as a sort of styptic powder to stop the bleeding and help start forming a scab. That's always a very good thing to do for toes and feet because those wounds will bleed so much and take a long time to scab up on their own.

When a wound is bleeding quite a bit, the blood pressure is sort of keeping the blood gushing out but not letting much into the blood stream or wound. You don't have to worry about the dust causing an infection or a problem. Paws and toes seem to have been made in anticipation that the chinchillas would cut themselves!

In this case, I wouldn't imagine that a vet visit would be necessary. It's a clean wound, there's nothing very deep. It almost looks like an abrasion from the chinnie getting his toe caught somewhere. Seriously, spritz it with some saline solution...let it dry for a few minutes and give a dust bath with clean dust. It will heal up in the next week or so and be good as new in no time at all.

 

[frisky860]

Awesome. Thanx! Ya I thought the dust actually helped when I gave it to him yesterday. It seemed like it was scabbing up, thats why I wasn't worried, but now its all wet again, thats why I'm worried but I'll clean it and let him bathe. Thanks again!

 

[AZChins]

No problem. Let me know if you need any help with it. I am sure I can come up with other remedies. Keep an eye on that toe and watch for swelling. It doesn't look all that bad now, I think he'll be just fine.

 

[addictedtochins]

Chins have been injured and killed while trying to catch them like that, next time just wait until he scampers into a place where he can easily be caught. We close all the doors down the hallway and sit and wait for them to hop down there, then it's wham bam gotcha!

 

[AZChins]

I agree. You have to be so careful with the little chins when they are out running. Catching a chin safely is an art form.

I do a very similar thing when I wait for chins to get to a certain place where I can corner them. I'm very careful with the chins and my cages are escape proof for the most part, but every now and then someone escapes and ends up somewhere where the chin should not be.

 

[ChinchillaSteve]

Accidents can happen! Don't worry

Mine always want to crawl behind the fridge.
I blocked off the entrance but she always knows to find another way in!
Just wait till they come out is best.

 

[Ippo456]

This happened to my one of my chins once & I still don't know what caused it.
All I did was clean the wounded area with warm compress and put some antiseptic on it (& made sure he didn't lick the area).
After a day or two, his foot was fine.

 

[addictedtochins]

Catching a chin safely is an art form.

Hehe I am famous for my "reverse cape/anti-escape"
That's when I sit on the couch keeping one eye peeled on the hallway waiting for the ebil chin to go down there. Then I spring up with a blanket throw clutched in my outstretched hands while running down the hall to capture the lil bugger. That's only done if all else fails, I really don't have those problems anymore.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Aww...the cut foot/toe. Just went through that not long ago with Pip.
I freaked out myself and ask a friend what to do since I didn't have any blu-kote on hand.
She's fine now. =]

Just clean it and let it scab up.

 

[addictedtochins]

Update please, how is Izzy doing?

 

[frisky860]

Chins have been injured and killed while trying to catch them like that, next time just wait until he scampers into a place where he can easily be caught. We close all the doors down the hallway and sit and wait for them to hop down there, then it's wham bam gotcha!

I had nothing to do with how Izzy cut himself. He ran behind the fridge himself and got caught himself. I was doing nothing but waiting for him to come out on his own at that point. Untill I realized he caught himself on something, did I take action. So please don't accuse me of doing something I didn't do. I came here for help, not criticism. Thank you.

 

[frisky860]

I've been letting him clean it himself, as I can't stop that. Haha. But I'm going to get some new medicine stuff for him tomorrow. I think its getting a bit swollen and its still red, even after he bathes.

What kind of anticeptics would you recommend to put on it? Possibly a spray because he is hard to catch because he is so young and hyper all the time.

 

[Sasha]

You dont need medication for it unless it gets infected. Injuries like that, for the most part, heal quickly. Plus chances are he'll just lick it off, and that could be harmful.
I would recommend just keeping it clean. Washing it a few times a day and making sure the cage is clean. Maybe avoid playtimes while it is healing unless the floor/areas are very clean.

 

[tunes]

Nobody was criticizing you Chrisy. From what you posted, I took it to mean that you went after the chin as well. So I also was a bit confused because you said you were pulling on the fridge while he was caught in it. If you were being criticized, you would know it, believe me.

I would not put anything on the toe. Instead, try soaking it in warm water with epsom salts. You'll probably have to burrito your chin to do it, to keep the entire chin from getting soaked, but that helps with the healing a lot. You can also get some Blu-Kote and put that on as well. You can get Blu-Kote at most farm stores. The kind with a big puffy dauber in it is the easiest, but you can also spray a Q-tip and then use that to dab on the wound. I would not use any kind of ointment. Unless you have the wound completely clean before you apply it, you will just be sealing in bacteria and doing more harm than good.

ETA: Be REALLLLY careful with the Blu-Kote. It stains things like nobody's business. If you get it on your carpet or your bathtub or hardwood floors, plan on seeing a lovely purple stain there for a very, very long time. If you use the spray, I would take it outside, spray it on the Q-tip, then bring it in quick and treat the toe. Any time I use Blu-Kote anymore, I wear gloves. I got tired of the stares and the questions.

 

[addictedtochins]

I had nothing to do with how Izzy cut himself. He ran behind the fridge himself and got caught himself. I was doing nothing but waiting for him to come out on his own at that point. Untill I realized he caught himself on something, did I take action.

But he ran behind the fridge, which he has done once or twice before as well, but we've always just pulled it out slowly and snatched him up. But this time as we were pulling it out I saw Izzy struggling and his foot was caught on something behind/under the fridge. He finally ran out on his own

Sorry, but you said it yourself.
All I want is for Izzy to be OK, and not have this happen again to any chin. I hope we can be friends and chat on here. Theresa
ETA Oh, wait a sec. I see where this argument is from. You stated he "Caught himself." I say he would have been fine if you hadn't slowly pulled the fridge out.

 

[mochi]

I had a chin that had a cut on a toe before, someone suggested me use Hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound first using Q-tip, then apply antibiotic gel like Neosporin.

 

[johnbstewart]

I have to second the use of blue kote, its amazing for sealing up/drying out a cut. Can really only be found at a proper feed/horse supply store tho.

And like was stated.. You may want a paint spray booth prepped.. I got a face shot while applying some to my chins tail, purple face for a week or more no lie. Too many oompa-loompa jokes at work.....

As for epsom soaks, I seemed to have luck using a shot glass and just walking the chin around the house in my arms to keep his mind occupied.

 

[tunes]

Mochi - You should only ever use hydrogen peroxide if it's been diluted. Half peroxide, half water. Peroxide on it's own can cause necrotizing (death) to the tissue. Betadine would be a better choice for straight cleaning.

 

[Stackie]

I had a chin that had a cut on a toe before, someone suggested me use Hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound first using Q-tip, then apply antibiotic gel like Neosporin.

Like tunes said, you should not use H2O2, nor should you use neosporin as the chin can lick it off and ingest it.

Blu-Kote is awesome, I would definitely put it on the toe if you can find some. You can order it online if you can't find it in a feed or farm store near you.

Also, make sure the chin is not chewing on his toe. In my experience, chins can tend to chew on injured toes, making them worse.