Help

[Anjali]

So, I took my chinchilla this morning to the vet. He was very thin, weighing just 400 grams. He was sedated, had an x-ray which revealed some overgrown teeth, and the doctor filed them. She also shaved the fur on his back completely while he was sedated, because it was FULL of knots and apparently couldn't be combed anymore.

My problem now is that he's just sitting in the corner of his cage, in the evening, with his eyes closed, and refuses to move. He looks so pitiful and furless and I'm afraid something may be really wrong with him. The doctor told me I should feed him liquid food with a syringe, but if I try to crush his pellets, the bits are too large and cannot possibly be fed using a syringe. Any ideas on how I should do this ?

Also, could you please look at the x-rays and tell me if how severe his malocclusion was, and if his roots had already started to grow upwards ?

Will his fur grow back again ?

I am horribly worried to see him in such a terrible state.

DISCLAIMER: I am not the owner of this chinchilla, I'm merely taking care of him for two weeks while his owner is away, and I am not responsible for his current condition.

 

[tunes]

I will pm someone to take a look at the x-rays. I am not qualified to read them like she is. As far as him huddling in the corner of his cage, he's in pain and he's scared after being shaved bald.

Did the vet give you anything for the pain after having his teeth filed? How about antibiotics?

Do you have a blender? I grind my pellets up in my blender to a very fine powder when I use them for my kits. You can do the same with yours. Then you add a bit of black strap molasses or some canned pure pumpkin (I prefer this), and water to make it a more liquid consistency. Get a syringe with a larger opening at the tip, like a catheter syringe, and it will be easier to get the mix through.

Whoever owns this chin should not get him back. If they allowed him to lose weight down to skin and bones and be covered in mats with teeth issues, they would not be getting him back.

 

[Anjali]

The doctor gave me nothing for the pain. He hasn't been moving for hours, he's just curled up in a corner with his head against the wall. I don't know what to do with him, I don't want to touch him anymore, after how much he's been handled today.

I'm really desperate, I have no idea what to do for him.

 

[ticklechin]

There are alot of things going on in that x-ray and if it was my chin it would be PTS yesterday. There is fairly advanced elongation, periodontal disease on the lower quadrant, at least a couple of abscesses, significant issues with the occlusal plane and some carries/broken teeth of the pre-molars, no amount of heroic care will help this chin, its in significant pain and hard decisions need to be made sooner than later.

 

[Anjali]

I need more opinions about the x-rays, please. I can't believe his situation is that grave that it requires euthanasia.

Please, if anyone can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chinmama]

Ticklechin (Dawn) is someone I would consider to be an expert on teeth issues in chinchillas. I would trust her opinion over my own vet.

Your little guy is in a lot of pain right now. Without pain meds and round the clock syringe feeding, he will suffer an even more horrible amount of pain before he passes away.

I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Especially with a chinchilla that is not even yours.

 

[Anjali]

Should I try to syringe feed him even though he doesn't have any pain medication ? Won't that make his suffering worse ?

 

[Chinmama]

Have you called the vet to see if they can give you anything to give him for pain? Or antibiotics?

Yes, he needs to be syringe fed regardless or he will end up with GI stasis from not having anything in his gut.

 

[Anjali]

I tried to syringe feed him and I just can't. I've never done it before. I tried to take him in my arms, he bit me, hard. Maybe he hates me touching his furless skin, it feels like it hurts him. I have no idea how I'm going to hold him AND force his mouth to open with him biting me and trying to set himself free. I don't know how to do this.

 

[ticklechin]

If you are going to proceed with treatment the chin pain meds and antibiotics that are anerobic and aerobic to try to reduce the infection evidenced in the x-ray even though without the removal of the source of the infection the infection will never go away, needs to be hand fed at least 60ml of food a day broke up into 4-6 feedings, it will also need to have a way better job of trimming, with that occlusal surface it will never have a chance of ever eating on its own. And with all that effort you still have elongation, a condition that will eventually break the mandible and penetrate the occular cavity, there is no fix for that.

 

[ticklechin]

And so you can see what elongation does to a chin skull and you can feel the pain.

 

[tunes]

Anjali - Dawn has worked with dental chins for more years than I've had them. She has tried every treatment, some crazy, some not. I would bet she's read more x-rays than pretty much any vet out there when it comes to dental issues in chins and has definitely researched them more. I feel I'm pretty safe in saying that she is obsessed with dental issues in chins and won't stop searching for information. I would absolutely trust her with any chin of mine when it comes to this.

His x-rays looked bad to me, but I could not have broken it down like Dawn did. He is in pain, excruciating pain by the sounds of it. There is NO cure for malocclusion in chins. Not ever. You can trim all you want, but it will never fix the problem. All it will do is cause more pain over a longer period of time and to what end? So the human can hang on. He has lost weight, he's not eating, his teeth are bad.

It becomes an issue of quality of life over quantity of life. Look at that chin right now and really see what his quality of life is. I got to see first hand a chin who had it's eye explode from malo. She had no weight loss at all, appeared healthy, was drinking and eating (I have no idea how) and one day I walked in to her eye being a bloody mess. I knew instantly what had happened, but just didn't want to believe it. I rushed her to the vet, he did x-rays, and she was immediately euthanized. I would give my right arm to have found that sooner so she didn't have to go through that. I had no warning, you do. Please make the right choice.

 

[Anjali]

If you are going to proceed with treatment the chin pain meds and antibiotics that are anerobic and aerobic to try to reduce the infection evidenced in the x-ray even though without the removal of the source of the infection the infection will never go away, needs to be hand fed at least 60ml of food a day broke up into 4-6 feedings, it will also need to have a way better job of trimming, with that occlusal surface it will never have a chance of ever eating on its own. And with all that effort you still have elongation, a condition that will eventually break the mandible and penetrate the occular cavity, there is no fix for that.

No, no, the x-rays provided were made BEFORE the trimming. I suppose his teeth look better now.

The doctor was reluctant to give me an antibiotic because of his very low weight. I'm taking him to a different vet on Wednesday.

I have managed to syringe feed him, and will continue to do so until then.

Thanks a lot for the help, all of you. I'll consider euthanasia, but until then, I'm interested in knowing what the other doctor has to say as well.

 

[ticklechin]

Chins hide pain extremely well, even to experienced owners. I had one who was 1000+gms, went in a 24 hour period from a happy chin who ate well and chewed well to a drooling lethargic mess and was dead in a short period of time from a URI, he hid advanced elongation that eventually broke his jaw, he had elongation without malocclusion which is why they can hide it well until something catastrophic happens.

 

[Zoaea]

At the very least insist that the vet give you some pain meds for him. =S They should be able to write up a med with out seeing him again ( charging) and you can pick it up at the front desk, cant believe they didn't give you one to begin with! Something like Medicam would help with pain and the swelling.

 

[Dreamlite]

Why drag this out? If he has malo there is no hope for a happy life. All you are doing is making him suffer so you can have him around and that's just selfish. I have had malo chins several times. As a rescue its very sad but the ending can not be avoided. The sooner the better for him. The teeth trimming doesn't do anything for the roots.

 

[Buddy]

Dreamlite- My chin was in a very similar situation as this poor persons chin is. I don't understand why you can all shout to put him down without even any hope that the chin could become happy?...
Everyone on here that I have spoken too about my Chinchilla's health and care have told me to not give up on a Malo chin. My chin is still being syringe fed and it's been 2 weeks after her dental surgery. She was in excruciating pain, do you think I should have put her down? and I'm betting to say that my chins xrays were similar to this ones! My vet said 'in all fairness Malocclusion isn't something that should be worrying me right now' But it was obvious (even to me) that my chins teeth were not growing properly. This chin is in pain, and he has just come home from anesthetic. my chin had a horrible time getting over her anesthetic. So much so even I considered PTS. This chin needs proper care, he needs pain meds (Seriously helped my chin out after her filing) He needs proper Critcal Care. or Supreme Science. Go to your vet and ask for it. He needs probiotics, he needs antibiotics, he needs pain meds and he needs some sort of other fibre to get into his body before stasis kicks in. I am not an expert but I've been battling on and off bloat and teeth issues for just over a year.
Again I have asked about PTS to people on here and I got "I would not give up on her just yet. Just because she has Malo does not mean she can't live a happy life for another number of years" and this was from people that have told this poor guy to PTS his chinchilla.... :/ Sorry for the long reply, and sorry if I come across a little angsty but yano... When is it truly time to let go?

 

[Dreamlite]

The difference is your chin didn't have elongated roots which this chin has. In your situation the teeth can be trimmed to be kept at a proper length. With roots there isn't anything you can do.

 

[tunes]

Buddy - If your chin has root elongation then you can trim the teeth to death and it isn't going to do a bit of good. If your chin has uneven surfaces, then it's your choice. I personally will not put a chin through trimming over and over and over again. I usually tell people trim once and see how it goes and how long it lasts. If you only have to do it once a year it might be worth it. More than that? Chins don't handle anesthesia well and how would you feel if every six weeks or four months you had to be in excruciating pain for two weeks, shoved in a towel, and force fed food when you're in pain? As a human, you could have all your teeth pulled and get plates. A chinchilla can't. I can see both sides to it, but in the end, in my house, I have to look at quality of life over quantity. To me, that isn't quality.

 

[Buddy]

First of all my chins roots were in "ok" condition a year ago when she had her first filing. This time round she didn't have xrays (I thought they were going too, but they didn't in the end) So news to me... she could indeed have elongated roots. And she more than likely has.
Also from what I know chins get very use to recovery food. My chin takes it from a spoon. She has had a filing once a year. She has had two filings so far. My chin is a very happy girl. But obviously was not when she was in pain and unable to eat.
Ii would say my chins quality of life is good, for now. But my chin has been in the same situation as the chin in this post is now. She has had Stasis she has had bloat, she has had filings and she has misaligned teeth and will indeed need filings again. But I never thought about PTS a year ago. This chin is indeed in a lot of pain and is a very sick chin and will always be a sick chin. He will needs constant care and constant vets up to once a year. It does not mean that his quality of life could not improve. The fact that he has matted fur however brings the issue of care up. How good of a quality of care is he getting? :/
Noone has even mentioned to me about PTS. They have told me to carry on fighting, even though her teeth are misaligned and more than likely elongated.
After anesthetic my chin was huddled in a corner up until I decided to get the vet to give her pain meds. Maybe that's all this little guy needs.