turtlemoon
Well-known member
hi everyone 
i (by that, i mean my boyfriend and i) have a chinchilla, Chan, who is missing a front paw. he is very special, to us, and in that he is missing two limbs- front left paw and right rear foot. he was alone in his cage (couldn't be with Jackie, our other chin due to the fact that they nineopposite sex and we wanted to avoid an irresponsible pregnancy) and somehow, both times he found a way to get his little paws stuck somewhere in his cage- the first time it was overnight (while we slept) and didn't discover it until the next day when we awoke, and the second time from the time i checked to make sure they were doing well, to half an hour later when i went back to play with them (it was their playtime). i believe i would have discovered those horrible accidents sooner had he cried out in pain, or surprise, or shock, or anything... but he didn't. he didn't make a sound, none at all. in fact, both times as soon as i got him unstuck and while i freaked out and cried and ran around anxious looking for an exotic vet that could treat him, all he wanted to do was play (i had quickly cleaned up his wounds, wrapped up his legs- the hurt one for each time- and put him in a carrier to take him to the vet). in the end, both times he had to get an amputation- his foot the first time, and his paw the second time- because the injuries were too bad to repair and heal.
the first time, we almost lost him. he was very weak and his defenses we pretty low. he was taking quite a while to recover. it was so bad that we had to get ready to say our goodbies since he had to be taken in to be put down. last minute we decided not to take him in. we didn't want to see him in pain, of course, but we were holding out hope. by yhe next day, he started to make a recovery- quite fast too. we got him checked out and as it turned out, our decision to not take him in to be put down was right. by the second week after that day, he was back to his old self. we were very happy 'cause he was gonna live.
the second time, i was sure he wouldn't make it as soon as i saw he had gotten another paw stuck. this time though, he recovered very quickly, much quicker than the first time. he is such a fighter.
anyway, now he runs and jumps and acts like a normal chinchilla, even when he takes his dust bath. we try to make sure he is comfortable and safe. we have put him in the same cage with Jackie now since she helps groom him where he can no longer reach... and he can no longer get on top her (mating position). it's sad to see him fail, but he does need the help with his grooming and we cannot afford another chin (a male companion), especially after all those pricey live-saving expenses.
so, um, like i said, he does pretty much everything like a normal chinchilla, even take his dust bath... except for one problem. after Jackie takes her bath, she wipes off excess dust from her nose, something Chan can't do. i have cut back his number of dust baths to about a third of Jackie's. say she gets nine a month during this season, he only gets three. i cut them back because i worry that he might develop respiratory issues from not being able to wipe off the excess dust from his nose.
now, for my question.. or qestions.
am i doing the right thing by cutting down his number of dust baths to three or so a month? how do chin parents with chinchillas that have a front paw missing deal with this and/or help out their chins? is there anything else i can do to help Chan feel better? the platforms/ledges in their cage are close together, and i added a ramp. we had him in a single level cage but all he did was lie there unmoving or try to get out by chewing on the bars. it scared me because i thought that by him doing that, he might get another limb stuck somewhere, somehow. that madr me decide to put him in the other cage with Jackie, with ledges close together and with a ramp.
thank you for reading this and thank you all in advance for any input, suggestions, and ideas.
(i typed this all on my phone so please forgive any spelling mistakes or repetitive text- it kept messing up a lot of my paragraphs. ><)
i (by that, i mean my boyfriend and i) have a chinchilla, Chan, who is missing a front paw. he is very special, to us, and in that he is missing two limbs- front left paw and right rear foot. he was alone in his cage (couldn't be with Jackie, our other chin due to the fact that they nineopposite sex and we wanted to avoid an irresponsible pregnancy) and somehow, both times he found a way to get his little paws stuck somewhere in his cage- the first time it was overnight (while we slept) and didn't discover it until the next day when we awoke, and the second time from the time i checked to make sure they were doing well, to half an hour later when i went back to play with them (it was their playtime). i believe i would have discovered those horrible accidents sooner had he cried out in pain, or surprise, or shock, or anything... but he didn't. he didn't make a sound, none at all. in fact, both times as soon as i got him unstuck and while i freaked out and cried and ran around anxious looking for an exotic vet that could treat him, all he wanted to do was play (i had quickly cleaned up his wounds, wrapped up his legs- the hurt one for each time- and put him in a carrier to take him to the vet). in the end, both times he had to get an amputation- his foot the first time, and his paw the second time- because the injuries were too bad to repair and heal.
the first time, we almost lost him. he was very weak and his defenses we pretty low. he was taking quite a while to recover. it was so bad that we had to get ready to say our goodbies since he had to be taken in to be put down. last minute we decided not to take him in. we didn't want to see him in pain, of course, but we were holding out hope. by yhe next day, he started to make a recovery- quite fast too. we got him checked out and as it turned out, our decision to not take him in to be put down was right. by the second week after that day, he was back to his old self. we were very happy 'cause he was gonna live.
the second time, i was sure he wouldn't make it as soon as i saw he had gotten another paw stuck. this time though, he recovered very quickly, much quicker than the first time. he is such a fighter.
anyway, now he runs and jumps and acts like a normal chinchilla, even when he takes his dust bath. we try to make sure he is comfortable and safe. we have put him in the same cage with Jackie now since she helps groom him where he can no longer reach... and he can no longer get on top her (mating position). it's sad to see him fail, but he does need the help with his grooming and we cannot afford another chin (a male companion), especially after all those pricey live-saving expenses.
so, um, like i said, he does pretty much everything like a normal chinchilla, even take his dust bath... except for one problem. after Jackie takes her bath, she wipes off excess dust from her nose, something Chan can't do. i have cut back his number of dust baths to about a third of Jackie's. say she gets nine a month during this season, he only gets three. i cut them back because i worry that he might develop respiratory issues from not being able to wipe off the excess dust from his nose.
now, for my question.. or qestions.
am i doing the right thing by cutting down his number of dust baths to three or so a month? how do chin parents with chinchillas that have a front paw missing deal with this and/or help out their chins? is there anything else i can do to help Chan feel better? the platforms/ledges in their cage are close together, and i added a ramp. we had him in a single level cage but all he did was lie there unmoving or try to get out by chewing on the bars. it scared me because i thought that by him doing that, he might get another limb stuck somewhere, somehow. that madr me decide to put him in the other cage with Jackie, with ledges close together and with a ramp.
thank you for reading this and thank you all in advance for any input, suggestions, and ideas.
(i typed this all on my phone so please forgive any spelling mistakes or repetitive text- it kept messing up a lot of my paragraphs. ><)
