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[MegaMer]

My one year old female chin was limping yesteday and upon further examination I noticed some fur missing around her back right ankle and a little but of surrounding blood. I took her to the vet first thing this morning who said nothing was broken but she did have a nasty infection. They thought perhaps she had been bit by my other chin and the wound got infected but they could not be certain. My vet does not specialize in chinchillas so he could not give me a firm diagnosis. I have heard horror stories of chins attacking their mates, does anyone think this is the case? She has no other injuries on any part of her body and she is twice the size of her male partner and I have never seen them fight before so I wonder if he is the cause of the injury. I do not have ladders or ramps inside my cage where she may have gotten a limb snagged on. I do however have a metal mesh cage so I know there is always the concern of bumblefoot. I have several wood perches and marble slabs in my cage in hopes of counter acting that, but maybe I haven't done enough? Can anyone help me?

 

[Riven]

Without seeing it, there is no way to tell. But chins usually don't bit their legs if they fight, it's the back, neck, head, and face. Probably just a freak accident.

If the female really is a lot bigger than the male, I'd suggest having them evaluated if you plan to breed them. Even at the largest females, for a male to be half the size is a huge size difference.

For the wound, just keep it clean, it will heal, and I'm guessing you got some antibiotics? What kind? And what doses? Always good to double check if the vet is not used to dealing with chins. I would also look for a chin specialist, especially if you're housing males and females, there is nothing scarier than needing a c-section and not having a vet to do it. I've been there, but luckily my chin vet ( who was unable to do a c-section at the time) recommended a good vet and things turned out okay.

 

[MegaMer]

I just tried to post, but it didn't go through, so I hope I don't repeat myself.

My vet prescribed baytril 22.7 mg in the pill form that he told me to dillute in some hot water and mix in mango baby food. Does that sound right? I didn't think mango was a safe fruit for chins. Should i try mixining it in apple and try and see if she will eat it on her own or should I put it in a syringe and force her to take it? I don't want to stress her out to much. I have read some people dillute it with decaf tea, should I try that instead or go with the fruit?

The vet also told me to go ahead and thoroughly clean my cage out just as a precaution. I am assuming a vinegar and water mixture is the only thing I should use, but I am unsure of how much of each part.

If it's not beyond obvious, I am a new chin owner. I adopted my chins from a college student who couldn't keep them in her new dorm room. I do not have any plans for breeding and am seriously considering getting the male neutered. I am not sure if that is the best thing for him or if its better to separate them and get them a new same sex companion. Thoughts"

 

[tunes]

Mega - You are on a small wait because you are a new member. We do that to keep the spammers and the porn off the site. I'll switch you over manually, but normally it would happen after 5 posts.

 

[MegaMer]

Oh I forgot to mention, I am only giving her a quarter of the 22.7 mg Baytril. Missed that detail.

 

[caiti]

I have no idea about the Baytril. I think some people have used pumpkin puree/baby food (pure pumpkin, no processing) when trying to get their chins to eat but I do not know about mixing medication with it. Hopefully someone can chime in.

Most people use half water half vinegar. Just make sure everything's dry when you put the chins back. You can also use hydrogen peroxide or a water/H2O2 equal mix and some people use bleach but with that do not put it on anything like wood that you can't thouroughly rinse it off of and dry it entirely as well.

If you have a male and female together, the female may be pregnant. I would look up baby safe cages and how to care for kits on the forum when you are able to and separate them for now if you can you can figure out how to handle that.

 

[LilanChilla]

I had a chin on Baytril a while ago. My vet, who isnt as knowledgeable in chins, but knows everything about degus, said to mix 1/4 teaspoon of water with 1/4 teaspoon of apple/cranberry juice. Then crush the pill into the mix. If you use hot water it will disolve faster. Be sure to refridgerate the apple juice or you could get a "tipsy" chin. Mine healed up in about a week. Did you also get a topical spray? They dont like it, but it seemed to help the open wound stay clean.