Chinchilla hurt himself. I'm really worried.

[nekonyandemy]

I was cleaning my chinchilla, Kir's, cage out today and I placed him in his exercise pin. I got my brother to keep an eye on him while I took some parts out to clean in the bath tub. While I was cleaning, my brother told me he kept trying to jump out of the pin, mainly throwing himself against the side. I came out of the bathroom and noticed he was laying quite still in my brother's lap. My first thought was "That's strange. He usually doesn't get calm enough to sleep on anyone. He must have worn himself out." I went to pick him up to put him back in his cage and he felt very limp. I instantly became very scared. I took him to a more open room where he could run around a little to see how he'd do. He was very limp and stumbled when trying to hop around. At one point before that, I was rocking him lightly in my arms in the rocking chair and he was so still that I thought he had possibly died.. It took a light few shakes to get him to react but it scared me to death. It's been 8 hrs and 30 min since then. He's hopping around more stably and has a bit more tension in the way he feels when I pick him up, but he's still slow and has his ears down. He ran on his wheel a little bit, but not much. He takes food from my hand and still lays pellets regularly. About 4 hours ago he was grinding his teeth every so often. I'm believing this means he's in pain. I don't know exactly what's wrong, but I'm still worried. I want him to be happy and perky again.
I would be very grateful for any advice as to what may be wrong and what I need to do about it. I've been about in tears the whole night and I'm very anxious.

 

[tunes]

Take him to a vet. He could have had a seizure, overheated, or he has injured his spine or his legs. Either way, he's still not normal after almost 9 hours, and he's grinding his teeth, which you are right can mean he's in pain. Take him to a vet ASAP and get him fluids and checked for injury.

It's really hard with chins, because they are prey animals and they hide illness/injury until it's almost too late. Getting them to a chin knowledgeable vet immediately upon noticing illness/injury in a chin can make the difference in saving their lives.

 

[Tillygizmo]

Yes please get to a vet and keep us updated. If there are barriers to getting him to a vet let us know as we can give you tips on finding one or information regarding other payment options. Good luck

 

[nekonyandemy]

I wasn't able to get him to the vet today because all of them were closed... I tried contacting my mom to see if she or any of her friends at work knew of any that would be open today and she said that she only knew of the emergency one, but they didn't see chinchillas.
He does seem to be doing better instead of worse though. He gets up and moves around a good bit and runs on his wheel. I haven't heard him grind his teeth since last night. He's still droopy a good bit though, so I'm taking him to the vet first thing tomorrow morning. Is anyone familiar with a good exotic pet vet in the central GA area? I've looked up some but I won't be able to confirm them until they open tomorrow. I'm willing to travel a few hours to see a good one if I need to.
Thank you for the feedback so far.

 

[nekonyandemy]

Sorry for the double post. I just got done speaking with my mother and she said it sounds a lot like a seizure because he was so limp that I thought he was dead yesterday. I brought home a new chinchilla yesterday but him seemed fine when they were playing around in adjacent cages. It was only when I pet him in his play pin did he start jumping into the sides frequently until he finally layed in my brothers lap. (The one that's hurt is the one I've had for about 7 months. The one I brought home yesterday is fine, friendly, and playful.)
What could I do to help him through the night? He still prefers just sitting in one spot for awhile. He only moves every couple of hours or so, which is when he seems fine, but then after about 5- 10 min he sits stationary except to look at what I'm doing, or when I speak to him every now and then. Head down and ears drooped.
I also just found a list of vets that will take him in on the chinchilla club website.
Windward Animal Hospital
Hickory Flat Animal Hospital
Elgin Dunndee Animal Hospital
Avalong Animal Hospital
The Veterinary Clinic West
Is anyone familiar with these and their service?

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I hope that things work out for you...

Next time, just put him in his travel carrier. He'll be cramped but safe and fine for a short time. :thumbsup:

 

[Luci]

I may be going out on a limb here, but I would take my chin to any emergency vet if he was showing signs of pain. They may not see chins, but I'm sure they can give fluids and run an xray to check for fractures or breaks.

 

[nekonyandemy]

I found an emergency vet to take him to last night. She said he's stressed. The new chinchilla being there, my brother getting in the pin with him, him jumping into the sides of the pin, and me moving things around caused him to get stressed out. She also said that he didn't appear to have any breaks or fractures in his bones. I asked her if it seemed like he had a seizure and she said it was possible but brought up him being creatures of prey. Did she think he was playing dead? I don't think he would still feel incredibly limp after such a thing :\
But she gave him fluids and told me to get whole oats to help his appetite. He eats hay without me having to hand feed it to him, but he won't go across the cage to get pellets or drink water. I have to hold the water bottle up to him for him to drink. She also said to make sure my other chinchilla was out of sight or possibly in another room for now. I can't put my chinchillas in any separate rooms but they both can't see each other from where I have their cages. I know they can both still smell each other though.
What can I do to help him get back to his happy perky self?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Please take the chinchilla to a vet. There is obviously something wrong with him. At the very least, he needs pain meds and an exam, preferably with xrays. The poor little guy is suffering.

 

[Jenn]

Please take the chinchilla to a vet. There is obviously something wrong with him. At the very least, he needs pain meds and an exam, preferably with xrays. The poor little guy is suffering.

The OP already to this chin to a vet. I'm not knowledgeable with multiple chins, but I do know they need to be separated anyway, for a month, so one chin doesn't spread something to the other chin.

I think I would continue searching your area for a vet who is truly knowledgeable about chins. You would be surprised how many vets will see a chin who really don't know anything about their needs or care and will give "bad advice. Continue to watch your chin for any signs of getting worse. Chins will hide their pain and it can be too late when they really show signs of distress. If you are concerned at all, make sure you get your chin back to the vet.

ETA - if the vet didn't take any x-rays, you don't have conclusive evidence against fractures or something going on internally. I would insist on x-rays if they haven't already been taken.

 

[nekonyandemy]

We just had a long play time and he's getting more perky each time. He feels a lot better when I pick him up. Before, I could feel he was weak and lethargic just by holding him. But now his ears are up, perks his head up in curiosity a lot more, has strength in his hops, and overall has more energy. His poo pellets are smaller than normal as of yesterday, but he keeps them coming at his usual pace. I believe this is because he didn't eat much at all yesterday because he spent most of the day cooped up in his house while I was at work. The only times he came out was when I gave him a dust bath and when I moved his house a couple of times. He eats his hay and a little bit of oats regularly now. I haven't heard him grind his teeth since late Saturday night.
The only reason I took her word for it on if he needed x-rays was because she had chinchillas of her own and she said she looked him over and felt him carefully and checked for any other signs of something being wrong.
But I'm going to still be paying close attention though, because I won't be completely convinced unless I see him play on his own without me having to stimulate.

 

[Tillygizmo]

Is he drinking?

Be careful with oats ..too many can cause constipation very easily...is he nibbling pellets now? If he's eating hay then he is getting something down and should start to poop normally.

 

[nekonyandemy]

Yes, he drinks regularly now and he tears away at the hay I give him and now he gets out of his house and is active on his own. He's acting much more normal now.

 

[nekonyandemy]

I believe he is completely recovered now ^^! He's so much more energetic and playful today. He eats and drinks like he normally did before, and he feels normal when I touch him.
Thank you for the help every one : ) I now have two happy chinchillas. I'll be careful with them in order to prevent them from having any similar incidents happen again.