Oscar

[Awesome Kristin]

So I picked up another chin to introduce to Charlie. He wasn't taken care of and looks kind of...sickly I guess. The vet said he's fine. He's a good weight and eats a lot. His fur was rough but is looking better now. What worries me is the fur around his eyes. It just looks funny. Vet recommended we wait it out to see if it was because of his previous environment. In a week if it's not better we'll treat for fungus.

Here are some pics.

 

[Jazicat]

I'm not an expert so I can't comment on the eyes but I did want to congratulate you on your new guy. We named our second chinchilla Oscar too so I obviously love the name.

 

[Awesome Kristin]

His original name was Onyx but I just didn't think it fit him. We went with Oscar because he makes a mess and doesn't care about being dirty with shavings all over his fur. Plus he's really pushy.

 

[ChinnyMom]

he's a handsome lil guy! ) and what long ears too.

Oscar...... from what you describe Kristin, it sounds just like my oscar, one of my finkids. substitute shavings for water, lol.

 

[Stackie]

Does he have fur missing around his eye? Or is it matted down? Hard to tell from the pictures. Definitely looks like something is going on, though. Matted fur around the eye could be a sign of infection or teeth problems from the eyes watering.

I hope you quarantined him away from Charlie, especially since he may have some medical issues going on.

 

[Tagna]

Was he housed with another chin before?

 

[LittleTrinkets]

First off congratulations on the new addition!
Oscar is a handsome boy, glad you were able to rescue him.
As for his eyes, it does look like something is going on there but I am no expert so I would just keep him away from your other chins and keep in touch with your vet.

 

[ticklechin]

He is squinting, there is something going on with both eyes or it could be teeth. To me the expression on his face is showing pain/discomfort.

 

[Awesome Kristin]

He was living by himself when I got him. To me it seems like some fur is missing and some is just laying down. Would he still be eating a lot with a tooth problem?

 

[Awesome Kristin]

Today his right eye seems to be looking a bit better. The left eye will take longer since it was the one that had the skin scraped.

When I say "eye" I mean the skin around the eyes. His actual eyeballs look fine.

 

[Laurie]

Generally if chins are having tooth issues they don't eat well. But you are a new mom to him and don't know really how much he can eat or did before. The only way to ever really determine if teeth issues are present is for the vet to do xrays. A vet cannot just look into the chins mouth and make this determination

 

[Stackie]

Does the skin look dry or scaley at all?

 

[Awesome Kristin]

Does the skin look dry or scaley at all?

In my opinion it does look dry.

 

[Awesome Kristin]

How weird. Every time he steps up to a ledge he stretches his body and back legs then gets up on it. Maybe he needs more exercise?

 

[Stackie]

If it's dry, he could have a fungal infection going on. Fungal infections can be extremely contagious to other animals as well as humans. It would probably be best to get him to a vet for a proper diagnosis. Whatever it is, there's something going on.

Is the stretching constant? Has he been doing it for awhile now? Is he flattening his belly down to the ground? Excessive stretching could also be a sign of bloat...

 

[Awesome Kristin]

I did go to the vet. She seemed to dismiss my concerns about a fungus. We bought some anti-fungal powder before going to the vet and if it won't hurt him I'll just put it in his bath and keep his cage cleaned every day. I also have some lamisil cream if that might work too?

The stretching is something I just noticed today. The ledge is right at his head and he reaches up to hop on but stretches his body with his hands on the ledge before getting on it.

 

[Stackie]

Is this a chin knowledgeable vet? If I were to take a chin to my vet with an eye looking like that, it wouldn't be dismissed. Did she do anything diagnosis wise? Teeth exam, eye stain, skin scrape, etc.?

Don't use the cream. You can add the powder to his bath.

 

[Awesome Kristin]

She did a skin scrape and they'll call me with the results soon. To be honest I didn't know what to ask other than "have you seen chinchillas before." She didn't tell me anything dumb or incorrect.

If you read what I said before she did the scrape, said we should wait week to see if he improves and wait for the results of the tests.

 

[Stackie]

If you read what I said before she did the scrape, said we should wait week to see if he improves and wait for the results of the tests.

I did read what you wrote, and it basically implied that you went to the vet and she did nothing. You said the vet wanted to wait and see, no where did you say you were waiting for results of a skin scrape. You also said she dismissed your concerns of fungus.

Vet recommended we wait it out to see if it was because of his previous environment. In a week if it's not better we'll treat for fungus.

She seemed to dismiss my concerns about a fungus.

Regardless I would go ahead and start treating for fungus now. You'll also have to sanitize everything. Fungal spores can live anywhere and they are very hardy. Make sure you are washing your hands between the chins, that they are as far away from each other as possible, and I would even be changing clothes between them if it were me.

If the fungal treatment doesn't work after awhile, you're have to start looking into other things it could be. Teeth issues, etc.

 

[ticklechin]

When he did the ledge thing, was he pushing his tummy against it as he did it? Have you seen him doing the same move against the ground?