Please help me figure out what is going on merged with Runny Nose thread

[SCchin]

Thanks Crysta. I will try .1 cc of the stronger, since that is all I have. It did take .2 cc of the stronger last weekend before his tongue was freed. He was literally back to his old self. He has taken the stronger one (since I had plenty) for the first major filing, the incisor trim, and the abscess being cut out. But I have given .05 cc after the first day or two.

 

[Ash]

Another piece of the puzzle just solved. This vet watered down the metacam to .5mg/mL, the metacam from last filing was 1.5mg/mL. So Quito has been getting 1/3 of the pain meds he got last filing.

I'm glad instinct had me call the first vet. Last weekend I was giving him .2cc of the stronger verson and that is what brought him back to himself. Now I know why Quito likes the newer metacam taste, it is watered down. Poor guy!

Is .2cc of the 1.5 strength too much, it says to give .1cc (but so did the watered down one).

SC, if it takes that much metacam to bring your chin to himself, he's in a lot of pain. I know I'm not alone in saying this, but Quito is being put through more than he needs to.

 

[ticklechin]

The only person who makes the decision is SC, not you, I or anyone else on the forum, we are here to support, give life experience living with malo chins and be there one way or another, I have been in her shoes as a newbie malo chin owner and it does no good to push putting the chin down right now, let her do what she needs to do, I think her head is in the right place to make that call when she feels the time is right.

 

[Claire D]

Dawn, you & I are normally on the same page when it comes to dental stuff but I have to say that I feel people are right to express concern here. It isn't a reflection on SC at all & heaven knows, any person who has dealt with malo chins has been in exactly the same situation. I think what people are trying to do is give voice to their concerns in a supportive manner - trying to help.


SC, there are two main issues which I think are concerning people:
The first is the pain little Quinto is clearly in. If Metacam is not doing the trick, at either the low (cat 0.5mg/ml) concentration or the higher (dog 1.5mg/ml) then that needs reviewing again by the vet - it may be that his mouth is inflamed & sore because of the trapped tongue etc & he needs stronger pain relief for a few days to tip him into eating. A chin in pain will not eat & your descriptions of Quinto indicate he is in pain.

The second is the amount he's eating. I am afraid he's just not getting enough to sustain his body & he's in danger of starving (plus being at risk of stasis/bloat) - with any other thread the experienced members of the forum would be all jumping in to advocate 60+mls per day. If you can't get that amount into him then I am really sorry but, despite everything else, you're fighting a losing battle. That's reality & it is unrealistic not to point that out, hard though it may be to read/hear it.

 

[cindyv3737]

I almost never post on threads like this. However, I do feel the need to say something. Quinto is NOT getting enough food in him. He is in a lot of pain and no longer has the will to fight. SC I think you really need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This thread has been going on for a long time (almost 3 weeks) and Quinto is not getting any better. He is in pain. His roots are growing through the jaw bone. I'm going to be blunt: The time has come for Quinto to be PTS. Please please please think about his quality of life.

 

[momenteller]

Cindy-- it says the thread was started on the 19th. That was a little over a week ago. Not sure if that date changed when the threads were merged?

SC, I have no experience with sick chins, so its really not for me to comment. I can only imagine what you, your daughter, and Quito are going through. I wish you the best.

 

[Stackie]

Cindy-- it says the thread was started on the 19th. That was a little over a week ago. Not sure if that date changed when the threads were merged?

The OP states that the teeth issues have been going on since at least October in the first post...

I have nothing to add, I have already given my .02 in the past, and have to say I agree with the Claire.

 

[ticklechin]

I think I was misunderstood?

 

[starleomach]

It is tough. to try to make that call..but IMPO the chinchilla is suffering, the roots looked terrible, there is no fixing root growth and if the pain meds don't work any more it is cruel, he is slowly starving himself to death

 

[SCchin]

I was seriously thinking about not responding..... but for the sake of others reading this thread, things do need to be clarified.

Quito had a filing at the end of October. That vet did not trim his incisors, so that was done in November by another vet. After a quick recovery, he was eating hay and pellets, was quite happy, and maintaining his weight. This continued through December. He had an abscess removed (from a mouth ulcer found at the first filing) in December, but the abscess didn't bother him. About the end of January, I noticed he seemed less perky, and took him to the vet. The vet said he was fine. Now we are at a little over a week ago when this thread started (not three weeks ago!).

If our chin is in pain from root elongation, we will PTS. But, hear me out. The symptoms are the same for a trapped tongue as they are for root elongation. He just had a major filing that takes 2-3 weeks to recover from. I have to get past that to know its the roots. We are watching his weight, he actually gained 6g a few days ago on the small amount you all said wouldn't sustain him. He only lost 1g from yesterday to today taking only 9cc (he ate pellets as well). He is not starving, he is not visibly miserable. He is eating some hay and pellets. He has been greeting us as we walk up to his cage, and "chirping." Those are happy sounds. So, he may be recovering, I said may. Only time will tell.

Please continue to answer my questions as I navigate this, and I promise, I will not let him suffer needlessly.

 

[Riven]

Chirping can also be pain sounds, and seriously, he has ulcers in his mouth and you think he wasn't in pain? Do you think that if you had ulcers in your mouth it wouldn't hurt? Have you ever had a canker sore?

Chinchillas do not show pain, if they do it's because it's unbearable.

Root enlongation is not a guessing game, I don't know if there were additional xrays, this thread has been merged so much I don't have the time to walk through and look, but it's not hard to diagonis, it's not like oh it could be but we have no test for that. An experienced person can tell with their bare hands. So if the symptoms are the same or different should not change the diagnosis. A chin MUST have at least sixty grams per day or it's starving to death.

 

[SCchin]

Quito is going to the rainbow bridge later on today.

I got a new batch of metacam on Wed. and gave a lot .2cc of the 1.5 strength. The vet tech said metacam is light sensitive, and we had the old one on the window sill. I wanted him to have good pain meds to see if they worked better. By yesterday mid afternoon, we could tell it had worn off, and Quito wouldn't even come to the cage door to greet my daughter. Quito is her's, she has had him since she was 11. He always greets her, even if he is asleep. First she said she wanted to go through the weekend, but we read through threads and emails, one where the chin was tense in pain and completely relaxed when sedated, and others explaining about malo. She then knew he was in pain, he has been tense. Then she said Saturday. Then I didn't want to go through two more nights saying goodbye, so we set it late today. He didn't want much CC last night, so he got cheerios and oat flakes. My husband gave him a raisin to say goodbye, and we tanked him on more pain meds and my son and daughter let him run all over the house. Today, I checked on him, he wasn't sleeping, and usually is. Pain meds wore off already. So I gave him more, and will continue until we go. She wants to be with him, so we decided to have her hold him while he is sedated to be able to say goodbye with him completely out of pain, then let them take him to the back to finish, then bring him back to take home and bury (she has his "casket" ready, complete with all the things she calls him written on it, and hoping there are hot babes in chinny heaven for him...).

Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts and walking through this with us. It has been rough, but we needed to be sure. Last night (of course) when my daughter came to get him to feed him, he ran up to her (pain meds not worn off). She started crying, and he licked her face and her tears. So at that moment, I was glad I freed his tongue a little over a week ago, it bought another week of as close to normal as we could get to be able to finally let go.

 

[momenteller]

I'm so sorry you've had to go through all of this, but little Quito is passing knowing you did everything you could for him.

My thoughts will be with you today.

 

[Luci]

i always get so emotional any time an animal has to be PTS. you've tried your best with Quito, and i hope you and your family find comfort in knowing that he will no longer be in pain once he crosses the bridge. i especially feel for your daughter, as a child myself it was difficult anytime an animal died. give her some extra love too.

i'll be saying a few prayers for Quito today. tell him you love him til the very last minute.

 

[ticklechin]

RIP Quito, may you be pain free over the rainbow bridge.

 

[cindyv3737]

RIP Quinto.

 

[starleomach]

I am very sorry. It isn't an easy thing to do

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Very sorry to hear that, he will be pain-free though.

 

[Laurie]

I'm sorry both you and your daughter had to face this difficult decision. Quinto was loved very deeply by you both, and even though you will feel pain losing him, he knows how much he was loved by you. I truly believe you will be together again someday--over the rainbow bridge

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

I'm so sorry for you, your daughter and little Quito. He will be watching over you from Chinnie Heaven, :flowers5: