ticklechin
Well-known member
The info is in this article, BTW about not using motility drugs for obstructions.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
I am sorry to say, that your vet was VERY wrong, he should have been put on Reglan and cisapride and gas drops (my vet recommended Mylanta). Since he was blocked, he should have had the Reglan shots. Also he should have been on fluids (sub q). Look at my thread 'Boy do I feel good' - you did everything you thought was right. Unfortunately your vet was/is wrong. You should NOT blame yourself
Finn was on fluids, he was on 40 cc's both days that he was going through this. I'm not blaming myself, I just feel bad about what he had to endure. I don't agree that my vet was wrong. Reglan would have killed him with the obstruction he had.I am sorry to say, that your vet was VERY wrong, he should have been put on Reglan and cisapride and gas drops (my vet recommended Mylanta). Since he was blocked, he should have had the Reglan shots. Also he should have been on fluids (sub q). Look at my thread 'Boy do I feel good' - you did everything you thought was right. Unfortunately your vet was/is wrong. You should NOT blame yourself
Exactly, we were trying to soften this obstruction. But we did xrays and could see and feel that it wasn't moving and wasn't changing.Obstruction in the cecum or stomach and using reglan can kill the chin, the OP is right. The mass will obstruct the exit to the intestines, you want the mass still and able to absorb fluids. You want to soften the mass with sub-q fluids first for a few days then use motility drugs, even then depending on size the survival rate is very low.
Yes, and unfortunately, he was a really poor candidate for the surgery. He would have never made it out. We were trying to manage it first with increasing fluids and pain reliever and I took it upon myself, without the advice from the vet, to start simethicone right away. I also started b-vitamin complex to try and get his appetite rolling and papain to try and break apart the obstruction...all with no luck. The gas was building up in his stomach really bad. I did a lot of massaging and right towards the end heard gurgling...which I don't think was a good thing.No the vet was not wrong - using gut motility drugs in cases of obstruction is contra-indicated. The bowel can rupture and the chin is likely to die.
In most cases surgery is the preferred option even though chinchillas with obstruction are considered to be poor surgical candidates - Clinical Approach to the Chinchilla - Heidi L. Hoefer, DVM, Dip. ABVP.
Sometimes obstruction can be managed medically with increased fluids to soften the faecal matter, pain relief and simethicone. The impacted faeces prevent gas being expelled and that further distends (stretches) the bowel, reducing the ability of the gut/bowel to ripple (peristalsis) and move the faeces along towards the rectum. Even belly massage has risks at this point.
It is a vicious circle and it is very difficult to treat.
Gut motility drugs can only be safely introduced once the risk of obstruction has decreased and the faecal matter has softened and begun moving through the gut.
Sadly it is not that simple.ok - I guess I didn't realize the obstruction was that big. but it seems to me that if the obstruction is a long poop, it has to move or that is it. The only way to get it to move is the drugs