I've tried everything

[staci-p]

I know I have posted this before but it is getting worse and nothing is working. My chinchilla Olivia, due to her accessive urine spraying, always has pee stains all over her stomach. She has gone to the vet 3 times to get shaved (and the gave me a cream to put on to relive the pain). I've tried wiping her with a towl, unscented baby wipes...etc, but nothing works (and if they do it last about an hour and she just gets dirty again). I try to wipe her everyday but it just keeps getting worse. Right now she has a completely bald patch right around her vagina, which is red and irritated looking. She also has pee stains all up her stomach, and now she has what looks like mold growing between her tale and her parts. I don't know what to do, she looks like she is in constant pain (and I think that because she is in pain she gets more irritable, which causes her to spray urine more). Anyway, I need help. I don't know what to do, has anyone else had this problem? If so how did you solve it. It looks painful and I just want to help her...
Thanks

 

[chinchillalover0927]

why would you take your chinchilla to the vet to get shaved because of urine stains...? my tan female is so stained but it causes her no discomfort. Am i just not knowing the enitre story or something?

 

[ticklechin]

What is the diagnosis on why this chin is urinating on itself to this degree? Does it have a birth defect that allows it to leak constantly? This degree of urine is not normal.

Essentia here has a chin with a leaking problem, hopefully she will pipe up and tell us about here treatment of the problem.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Is her urethral cone normal? This sounds similar to a chinchilla I had born here a few years ago. She had a birth defect where her cone was abnormal and it caused her to urinate on her belly. I washed her stomach once a day and cleaned everytime after she urinated, but she continued to develop sores where the pee was in contact with her skin. Unfortunately for her, there was no relief and the treatments were not working...she was miserable every day and I had to make the decision to have her put down.

Have you tried washing the areas with soap and water? Is she normal otherwise? Active, eating, drinking, etc.?

 

[tunes]

why would you take your chinchilla to the vet to get shaved because of urine stains...? my tan female is so stained but it causes her no discomfort. Am i just not knowing the enitre story or something?

Read what she said. Since there is cream involved to help relieve the pain, the urine is burning her skin. If the urine constantly gets access to the skin, that's very much a posibility.

I would want to know the same things Dawn asked. What is the cause of this? You say it's because she's spraying, but spraying should not be hitting her, it should be hitting the objects she's aiming at. This "mold" you describe around her anus is incredibly concerning as well.

 

[staci-p]

I'm going to make her an appointment to see the vet. I'll ask about the urethral cone and leaking and see what I can do. And the vet said that there was a lot of urine scalding and that she was probably in a lot of pain.

I agree completely that it must be more than spraying and I'm definitally going to look into it.

I'm not sure if this would help, but I will post a picture to show the irritated area.

 

[Essentia]

As for my leaky boy my treatment is a water bath, blow dry, and then a dusting. There isn't a set time on when he takes a bath, just whenever he starts to get really yellow on his tummy (he loves to run on his wheel, and still leaks while he is doing it, so sometimes his back gets urine on it as well). It's usually once every two weeks. He has never had any urine scalding.

As for washing, I use baby shampoo or baby wash depending on which I have on hand. He is actually due for a bath tonight so I will take a picture of his before and after for you. A bath is not a final fix, it's something that has to be ongoing and something you have to be committed to doing.

Has your vet checked her out to see why she is always covered in urine? I doubt she is "spraying" that much. If it covers her whole belly/bottom she has to be leaking. My guy leaks due to a birth defect, but that's not as common as an infection/stone in the urethra/bladder/kidney. If she hasn't had an xray done I would get one to rule out a stone. I also had Riku on SMZ (a mild antibiotic) for 2 weeks in case it was an infection just to rule it out.

 

[staci-p]

I'll try the water bath tonight. I'm going to make her an appointment and I'll make sure I ask for x-rays.

Here are some pictures of her. I had wiped her down just 2 days before and now she is like this again. It also looks like it is hurting her feet too.

 

[RDZCRanch]

I don't see mold...but I see urine burns. It looks like a leaking problem or like she sits in her urine. What kinds of shelves and bedding do you have?

 

[Claire D]

Can I ask, do you keep her on shavings?

 

[tunes]

You need to have that foot looked at too. If I had to guess, I'd say you've got bumblefoot starting.

 

[staci-p]

There is just a tiny greenish spot just below her tail, you cannot really see it in any of the photos, I'll try to get a better one. I have her on aspen pine bedding and she has all metal ledges. I tried her on wooden ledges but she stained them way to quickly and no amount of sanding could fix it. I don't know much about bumble foot, is it caused by the urine? How do I treat it?

 

[ticklechin]

That looks like more than a chin that sits in urine, especially that last pic with the stains up the legs and on the chest. That leg does look like its got something going on also. She really needs a diagnosis, that is not normal nor does it look like a husbandry problem.

 

[tunes]

Bumblefoot is caused by bacteria getting in cracks of the foot. Your vet will have to prescribe oral antibiotics and chlorhexidine scrub.

 

[staci-p]

She has an appointment tomorrow.

 

[Claire D]

I think it's hard to tell from the photos - she clearly has some urine scald on the skin just in front of her cone & her feet do look like they are about to break down a little.
I've seen extensive urine staining on fur just from a chin sitting on wet bedding (which can also contribute to the development of bumblefoot) but unless she is fully assessed & you get a diagnosis then you're groping in the dark.

Has she ever had a urine test done?
Has she ever been assessed for leaking/incontinence?
Has she always had the problem?
Does she strain when she pees?

I would be tempted to put her into a mesh bottomed cage & monitor how she urinates for 24 hours or so plus have a urinalysis done for a start. Maybe an ultrasound of her bladder as well.

 

[Essentia]

Just as an FYI, here is a link to the "tutorial" I just made for water bathing a chinchilla. It's far from perfect, but you'll get the idea.

http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17488

 

[staci-p]

I tried the water bath and it worked great, thank you so much

The vet gave me a medicine for her feet and suggested I line the bottem and ledges of her cage with fleece to give her feet a break.

I'm having x-rays done early next week so I'll know then what is causing it.

 

[Essentia]

I would also get them to run a urinalysis on her urine. That may also give you the answer if the xray doesn't and doesn't cost much extra.