Chin spay/Endometriosis/Pyometritis

[TnkTaingTal]

Today, i found Tinker frantically cleaning herself and squeaking in a corner of the cage my chins rarely spend time in. She was wet all over her bottom, feet and all. Upon looking in her sleep spot i saw puddles of white discharge. The vet said she had an infection in her uterus and needed to get spayed. The vet i see owns chinchillas and has also spayed many different animals included multiple chinchillas. After surgery i received a call that it went well, but she needed to be kept overnight just to keep an eye on her for the first 24 hrs after surgery and because of the pain medication. They said they also found, during surgery, that she had endometriosis, so it is good that she got spayed and should feel much better now.
My question is, has anyone here ever had their chinchilla spayed? I was wondering if Tinker will have any change in behavior like other animals sometimes do after getting fixed. Any other info about post surgery would be good too. Even though ill be asking the vet tomorrow night when i, hopefully, pick her up. It doesn't hurt to know in advance. Thank you!!!!

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

I've never had one spayed but I have heard of them of them being spayed for the reason you described.

I'm assuming stitches were used, so you probably want to watch and make sure she isn't chewing at them.
Also if she isn't already on fleece, I suggest using it at least while she is recovering. I'd be afraid of the shaving poking her surgery area and causing pain.

 

[Newt]

I've had two spayed before, both emergencies due to pyometra (happened at different times, thank goodness).
It's a tough surgery, and they were both understandably sore and grumpy afterwards. They needed metacam twice daily, and both needed to wear cones for a while, as they tried to rip out their stitches. Because of the cones, they had to be fed by syringe; a mix of critical care, and added probiotics, every few hours. My girl Poppy took the cc mix voluntarily, but Jasmine fought me all the way, so I had to "burrito" her. Type "burrito" into the CnH search function, and you'll find heaps of tips on how to do this.

Normally my girls are on aspen shavings, but post surgery I put them on fleece, and changed twice daily. I also gave them a heat pad (one of the microwavable ones), and warmed it to a gentle heat: they both enjoyed resting their sore tummies on it. You should only use a heat pad though if your animal is capable of moving off it if necessary.
Also take all the shelves and ramps etc out of her cage. You don't want her to try jumping or climbing for at least another 2-3 weeks. No dustbaths either during this time.

As they healed, both were rather upset with me, as they came to associate me with painful handling (painful due to their stitches) and yukky medicines. The good news however, is that they both eventually forgave me, and gradually returned to their normal loving and friendly selves.

 

[TnkTaingTal]

Thank you both! I greatly appreciate it.