Foot Injury

[Tagna]

I am posting this for someone.

This is Jade. She has a very bad foot injury which looked like this yesterday:

Owner went to the vet and was given:

Chloramphenicol as an antibiotic
Metacam for pain
Veterinus DermaGel Spray for topical

Owner woke up today to this:

How much Metacam should she be on?

Claire D has mentioned somewhere about a bandage for this type of wound and I think that may have to happen to stop the chin from doing more damage. Chins weighs 477 grams so that is a huge concern. Had been housed with a male so yet another concern BUT this owner did not house her with a male. Does have a cage mate too that is female. She has only had her a couple of days.

Any other thoughts or suggestions would help. Owner will be on but she had technical difficulties!

I am just trying to help her out with this.

 

[Tagna]

Forgot to mention that she had a cone but managed to squeeze out of it.

Sorry missed the edit time! Internet went out!

 

[Stackie]

Ouch..that looks painful!! Poor chin. So I'm guessing the chin chewed the legs and made them worse?

Did the vet not prescribe the amount of metacam? The dosage I have always been given is .1 mL, but it comes in different concentrations.I'd be inclined just to blu-kote the legs as well. I'd also look into some chlorhexidine to wash the legs so they don't get infected.

You can get the bandages from the vet. Judging from that, I'm not sure if the chin would leave them on. What about these cones: http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=10297

Alli had to use one of those for one of her chins and it worked.

 

[proudmom25]

Jade was wearing a cone but managed to squeeze it out of the way somehow. It was made from fleece and sticks out far enough that she has a hard time using the front paws.

As for the metacam. He did mention the dosage but not the frequency.

Right now she is medicated and is in a carrier on fleece bedding. I have the legs bandaged up and she has her cone on.

Ouch..that looks painful!! Poor chin. So I'm guessing the chin chewed the legs and made them worse?

Did the vet not prescribe the amount of metacam? The dosage I have always been given is .1 mL, but it comes in different concentrations.I'd be inclined just to blu-kote the legs as well. I'd also look into some chlorhexidine to wash the legs so they don't get infected.

You can get the bandages from the vet. Judging from that, I'm not sure if the chin would leave them on. What about these cones: http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=10297

Alli had to use one of those for one of her chins and it worked.

 

[ETC]

OH, poor Jade! Chins are so good at escaping from things I am not surprised that the cone didn't work. Sorry I couldn't be of much help, but...

Has anyone ever heard of styptic powder used on chins? I had been told to use that to stop bleeding, just a thought. I know it is used on pets sometimes when they have their nails clipped too close to the quick and there is a lot of blood.
I guess it would be kind of useless to use the powder if she keeps chewing her leg, so that is the thing to concentrate on first, but there is so much blood, poor thing. I am just wondering if something that "tastes bad" could be put there to stop the chewing.
I agree that I would bluekote her entire leg after washing it with chlorhexidine. You want to make sure she doesn't get a secondary infection from chewing it so much.

Good luck and keep us updated......

 

[Riven]

If she got out of the cone you need to make it tighter. It should be tight so that you can only slip on small finger between it and her neck.

Clean it, bandage it and keep her from chewing on it. I would not over do the metacam. This may sound cruel, but chins are made to handle the pain. They need to feel the pain to know what they can and can't do. If she can't feel her leg and gets that cone off again, she's going to do a lot more damage because chewing on it isn't hurting her... I say that not only because I believe it, I live it. I don't take a lot of pain killers, or give them to my kids or animals. My husband takes them all the time and ends up making his pain worse by over doing stuff.

Clean it up, bandage it up, keep her on the antib's. Make sure she's eating and make sure the cage is small so she can't be running and jumping around which will only deter healing at this point.

Good luck, and I'm sorry you're going through this. I would tell the "breeder" you want your money back if you paid any, that is not how you do business.

 

[Tagna]

Would the antibiotics be a concern if the chin is pregnant? OR at this point does that even matter as her health is the top priority.

It would be really bad if she is pregnant. I don't think this chinchilla needs that on top of everything else.

I would get Lifeline into her as I think this chin needs all the help she can get.

 

[Spoof]

With the first picture of the wound it looks like it is healing fine. I would have left it alone unless it got infected, then gone in for the antibiotics. I'm posting that for future folks who see something and panic. Given that it is purple, it has been previously treated.

However, now that you've got a larger mess on your hands I'm with Riven - cut out the pain meds. As soon as the bleeding stops, pull the bandages and let that air dry. It will scab over and look terrible but the worse it looks the better it heals. Keep and eye on them and smell them - if it doesn't smell, it isn't infected/festering and you're in the clear. The worst thing you can do is keep them wrapped, it causes so many more issues for chins.

Good luck.

 

[ticklechin]

Was this chin for sale in the classifieds and just sold? I noticed when reading the chin-chat Canadian thread one of the breeders participating had one for sale with that name.

 

[Tagna]

The owner put on Genitian Violet after getting the chin home (we don't have blu kote in Canada).

 

[proudmom25]

The injury in the 1st photo was taken on June 2nd. It shows an injury to the side of the foot but not the bottom...which was freshly bleeding. I put some gentian violet and left it alone. I removed the shelves from her cage and put a fleece liner on the bottom.

On June 3rd, I woke up to fresh blood in the cage. Her leg was bleeding and I also noticed that she had started chewing on her forearm. At this point, I again cleaned the area, made her a cone and decided to get her to the vet as I was worried she would continue to chew. The breeder mentioned that Jade weighed 550g before the injury and she is now down to 477g...in a matter of appx. two weeks.

Last night I cleaned the wound, gave her her antibiotic and made sure her cone was on. But then I woke up to what you see in the second pic. She managed to wiggle her cone out of the way. I have since made it tighter and she is resting in a fleece lined carrier. So hopefully, this will be the end of the chewing.

With the first picture of the wound it looks like it is healing fine. I would have left it alone unless it got infected, then gone in for the antibiotics. I'm posting that for future folks who see something and panic. Given that it is purple, it has been previously treated.

However, now that you've got a larger mess on your hands I'm with Riven - cut out the pain meds. As soon as the bleeding stops, pull the bandages and let that air dry. It will scab over and look terrible but the worse it looks the better it heals. Keep and eye on them and smell them - if it doesn't smell, it isn't infected/festering and you're in the clear. The worst thing you can do is keep them wrapped, it causes so many more issues for chins.

Good luck.

 

[Tagna]

How is her cagemate doing? I know when I've had to separate due to illness they both weren't happy being apart.

 

[proudmom25]

Pearl seems to be doing good. It is the daytime so she is sleeping away but I will be sure to keep an eye on her tonight when it's playtime.

She is very easygoing though. She came up to me as soon as I brought her home so it might not be so hard on her. I am more worried about how Jade will be without her girl. Jade is very protective of Pearl and is always keeping an eye on her, grooming her and sleeping on top of her. LOL!

ETA: She is eating, drinking and pooping like a pro!

How is her cagemate doing? I know when I've had to separate due to illness they both weren't happy being apart.

 

[ticklechin]

So these are the chins in the classifieds, Jade and Pearl. And the breeder sold you her with that wound? Had it been treated at all?

 

[Claire D]

As soon as the bleeding stops, pull the bandages and let that air dry. It will scab over and look terrible but he worse it looks the better it heals. Keep and eye on them and smell them - if it doesn't smell, it isn't infected/festering and you're in the clear. The worst thing you can do is keep them wrapped, it causes so many more issues for chins.

Sorry but I disagree with this - there are many reasons why using the old fashioned air drying,scabbing method of wound management can be more problematic than using a moist wound healing approach.
Wounds actually heal by moist intention - it is the optimum environment for cell proliferation, granulation & epithelialisation.
All that is required is careful management to ensure the wounds are not kept in an anaerobic environment & that the dressings are changed regularly. It is important to view (review) the wound bed - scabs can hide a variety of scenarios & deep pockets of pus or large, tracking wound cavities can remain hidden.

Light bandaging & moist wound healing products are beneficial for deeper wounds (there is tissue loss visible in that first photo & also the "lump" area on the left is of concern) for the following reasons:
1. Moist wound healing is actually faster than dry wound healing. Granulation tissue & epithelial (skin) cells are produced faster on a moist wound bed & epithelial cells will only migrate over moist tissue.
2. The wound bed can be properly monitored without causing trauma to the wound by removing scabs.
3. The wound bed can be topically treated without fear of the animal licking off the medicament.
4. There is reduced risk of infection from the bedding/walking surfaces of the cage & it is (generally) more comfortable for the chinchilla.
5. As long as the dressing stays in place there is less risk to the wound or surrounding area from chewing (not in all cases though - it obviously depends on the chin).




In this case I am concerned that there is more going on than "simple" superficial wounds. The fact that she has self mutilated so badly may well point to deeper issues going on - pain could be one trigger, allergy to the spray could be another, nerve damage could be another, a small fracture ............

Do we know how this wound was created & how old it is? Although it is difficult to tell from the photos, in that first one, it looks like some tissue damage has been done.
If is is caused by catching a the leg in a cage or some other sort of traumatic injury I would be concerned about nerve damage or a small fracture.
Do you know if the breeder got the chin xrayed or vet examined? Somehow I suspect not if she was sold as probably pregnant.
Does she react normally if you pinch her toes? Does she pull her foot back quickly?



I would go the simple route with the wound for now to see if you can stop her from chewing it - I agree with Riven - clean it with saline, cover & bandage it (make sure it is not too tight though) to keep it clean, to keep her from chewing it, & get her re-examined for nerve damage etc.
I would not use any spray or antiseptic with it for now just in case they irritate her skin.
I would use something bland like Mepitel (non adherent silicone dressing) or Purilon Gel (hydrogel with no perservative) on the wound bed, covered with a bandage.

 

[proudmom25]

So these are the chins in the classifieds, Jade and Pearl. And the breeder sold you her with that wound? Had it been treated at all?

I was told that Jade had a small toe injury that would heal quickly. She did have a clean bandage on her foot when I picked her up. I chose not to remove the bandage as I didn't want to stress her out. I knew she has been through a lot (two moves, toe injury, possibly pregnant). Plus, she also likes to cack and bite. Although I can understand her not wanting to be touched with sore feet. I would bite too. LOL!

I received her with a bandage. I am unaware if anything else was done.

 

[lauralynne]

OH, poor Jade! Chins are so good at escaping from things I am not surprised that the cone didn't work. Sorry I couldn't be of much help, but...

Wait a second. These girls are in the post from Kathiva selling chins for a friend here: http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15205&highlight=jade+pearl
So are the Kiki's or Kathiva's? Let's start with that.

We've already been through the Smoky/Sonata saga...so just put everything on the table this time. No vagueness, unintentional leaving things out, etc.

Then this:

I was told that Jade had a small toe injury that would heal quickly. She did have a clean bandage on her foot when I picked her up. I chose not to remove the bandage as I didn't want to stress her out. I knew she has been through a lot (two moves, toe injury, possibly pregnant). Plus, she also likes to cack and bite. Although I can understand her not wanting to be touched with sore feet. I would bite too. LOL!

I received her with a bandage. I am unaware if anything else was done.

I'm sorry, but I would NEVER sell a chin with a healing injury. You just do NOT know that everything is going to be fine. This combined w/ the Smoky/Sonata saga is leaving a VERY bad taste in my mouth.

 

[ticklechin]

She was housed with a male and may be pregnant at that weight, 477gms? So a pregnant chin with a leg injury was sold, does that sum it up?

 

[saphire]

Dang-it!

Anyway, for the bleeding, for the lack of having Kiwk Stop a product used for clipping a nail to short we would use corn starch.
Is this something that can be used here since it is better to not use any spray or antiseptic?

 

[lauralynne]

Just wanted to add that I wish you and Jade the absolute best, Proudmom.
You'll both be in my thoughts.