Rectal Prolapse in 7 wk old female kit

[clarinuto]

So, this afternoon I heard some noise coming from the animal room and went in observing the babies. First thing I notice is a bit of blood on momma and a bit of blood on her kit's foot. I think maybe somehow I have overlooked sparring of somesort. Then I pick her up to observe her and there it is, her little intestine hanging out. I push it back in... it comes right back out.

Off to the emergency vet we go with poo in tow as I have no idea what could have caused it. Her poos have been seemingly normal and I did not notice a drastic decrease in poo.

A lot of $$, stress and 4 hours later we are home... her intestine inside and a small stitch to keep it there. I will be giving her an antibiotic and CC... as well as checking for issues, monitoring poos etc... but am looking for any possible advice I can get to keep this little one going strong.

She has been a fighter from the beginning as the runt of the litter and even throughout this saga she has been pleasant and very active. I don't want to give up on her and I want to do what ever it takes to nurse her back to health.

It's been a difficult day :cry3:, but I am glad she is still with us right now and seems to be in no pain at the moment. :heart3:

 

[Lynn & The Chins]

WOO HOO for trying to save your baby!!! I hope that she has a full recovery!!!

 

[proudmom25]

Awwwwwww...poor thing. Hope she makes a quick recovery.

Sounds like you acted quickly. WTG!

 

[Riven]

Best of luck, prolapses can be very hard. Keep her on limited movement, no jumping or anything like that to help prevent a "prolapse relapse" or pulling the stitch.

What are you feeding? Excessive fiber and protein can promote prolapse, it's very common in piglets because they try to get them to grow super fast.

Some parasites and illnesses can promote it as well. Sometimes it just happens.

 

[clarinuto]

Thank you everyone. I am trying the best I can. I have her in an itty-bitty cage so she can walk around a little, but not do much more than that.

I actually had fecal tests done because I wanted to rule out certain illnesses, especially those that are contagious around the rest of my babies. They didn't find anything.

I feed Oxbow chin, Kleenmama's hayloft Timothy, and occasional alf-alfa cubes. In addition, I have been giving the kits a small mixture of oatmeal, flax seed and wheat germ. If there is anything I should change with this, please just let me know!

 

[AZChins]

Kristy (Starleomach) had a chin with a bad prolapse survive and recover. I hope she posts here...she could probably help out a lot. I haven't had it happen here a lot, but I never seem to be successful in saving the adults. There was a kit about six weeks old here that survived a prolapsed and fully recovered...I am guessing that that was maybe four years ago.

Sometimes, especially in kits, it just happens. The structure that holds the intestines in place is compromised by possible injury or there is something else that weakens it. I'm glad that you went to the vet, and I don't think that you did anything wrong that would have caused it - could she have eaten something she shouldn't have? It's probably just one of those things.

 

[Riven]

I personally would put her on just hay and pellets ( of course water as well ) until she's doing better ( healing time is allowed), but it would be good to hear more from people who have had better success in dealing with them in chins. I had a kit prolapse once, she was born really big, and I wanted her so badly... she was about two weeks old and it was so bad there was nothing to be done for her.

Good job getting things checked out just in case. Nothing worse than not checking and finding out you should have!

 

[caiti]

I think the thread with King's prolapse is stickied...it was an intense thread to read through and check everyday.

Seems like your instincts are spot on. I have no advice since I have no experience with this, just wanted to let you know you shouldn't beat yourself up for anything. From what you've posted you're doing fantastic with the situation so far.

 

[musherbob]

prolapse

:thumbsup:As suggested I would just feed pellets,timothy hay & provide good water.I had a kit prolapse,pushed it back in,doing fine now after a year.At the time I was feeding a supplement which could have caused it,not really sure.I haven't fed a supplement since & haven't had any problems.
good luck!

 

[clarinuto]

Update:

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I actually was only giving her timothy hay, but I can give her some pellets. Any consensus on which is better?

I just finished giving her the antibiotics, a bit of acidophilus and some critical care. She seems to not like the critical care flavor at all. She takes a couple bites and then protests eating anymore. The critical care is apple/banana flavored... so I thought she would love it. Do some chins prefer the original? Is there any suggestions on what I can do to make it seem more appetizing to her?

She is eating some hay and she had urinated right before we left the vet last night (around 10pm EST)... 12 hours later I see no poo and no pee in her little cage anywhere. Sigh.

She still seems fairly spunky, but has been sleeping a lot between spurts of energy.

Any continued help/suggestions/pointers are very very much appreciated.

 

[starleomach]

I would cut back on the hay. Lots of fluids. It is ok if she doesn't poop king didn't poop for like 2 weeks and if she strains that could push them back out. I would not give her hay for a bit as her intestines need to heal to stay in. I would give her very watery critcal care. It may go to diareah looking but that is ok as long as she isn't straining.

King scared the life out of me it was a long battle and he is still (knock on wood) doing well. it stunted his growth happening when he was 7 months. But he is finally back to himself. The downside is if it happened once it does increase the chances of a relapse

 

[Brittany_Lynn]

I just want to say thank you for taking her to the vet as soon as you knew something was wrong, and then coming on here to post for advice after the fact. I would prefer to see MUCH more of that around here.
:hearts:

 

[clarinuto]

Well, still no poo, but she has peed a little. I watered down the CC a little more and she did eat a little more than she had this morning. So, the vet told me I shouldn't take away the hay but the consensus here is I should? I tend to trust the forum since there are so many experts on chinchillas specifically... so let me know what is best.

BrittanyLynn-- thanks for the nice message. It is reassuring to have people support of my efforts and confirm that I am doing the right things.

 

[clarinuto]

Exciting news!!!

After many attempts at feeding critical care and her not really responding well to it, I thought maybe I would try a bit of Meyenberg milk. She was all about the milk. I mean all about it. So after having given her some milk, critical care and acidophilus several times today... my husband and I are sitting at the kitchen table watching her intently while we eat dinner. My husband says he feels like she has something large hanging off her anus and wondering if maybe it was poo. I told him it was pobably the sutures since the thread was blue... but I would check to make sure.

Sitting outside of her anus was a huge glob of very dry poo trying to come out but the suture was preventing it. I am guessing that had there not been the suture, she would have pushed the poo and her intestine out again. So I grab a paper towel, and soak it in a bit of warm water. I begin massaging the poo to soften it and eventually am able to break it into a couple pieces. As soon as I had done this, she started to poo more. So I rubbed her a little with the damp paper towel and helped her to pass more poo that was slightly moist and large. After having helped her pass several, I saw no more coming out and placed her back in her little cage.

A few minutes later when she was "sleeping" she looked like she might be trying to push out more. I picked her up and sure enough, here comes more. She passed 2 whole poos and then a sausage link line of poo and then another poo!! I couldn't believe it. She seems to be more perky now and she ate some more after I put her back.

I can't believe but I think she is on the mend!!

Her suture did break in the process, but the subsequent poops have been passing fairly easy and soft at that.

Suggestions on continuing care?? :dance3:

 

[Riven]

Is the suture totally removed now? I would ask the vet for sure, he may want to replace depending on the extent of the prolapse or may just have you watch her.

Yea for poops! Remember things like vet visits and anesthesia can affect digestion. I would mix the milk with the CC if you can ( if you haven't ) to get the fiber she needs.

 

[clarinuto]

Is the suture totally removed now? I would ask the vet for sure, he may want to replace depending on the extent of the prolapse or may just have you watch her.

Yea for poops! Remember things like vet visits and anesthesia can affect digestion. I would mix the milk with the CC if you can ( if you haven't ) to get the fiber she needs.

No it isn't. I didn't try to remove it completely since I don't feel comfortable. Phoned the emerg. vet and she said that if she is passing poo and doing okay... I can keep careful watch over her and bring her in if necessary. Otherwise, we will continue with the plan to remove the suture completely tomorrow evening. So we shall see.

I hadn't been mixing the CC and milk actually... that's a great suggestion. I just had been dropping small portions of each on her lips and letting her eating what she would take. I'd rather mix it though, so I will try that soon in her next feeding.

From last night to this morning she had lost ten grams.. but this evening I weighed her and she had gained 5 back!!!! I'm so excited for her and will continue to stay with her through out the night. She is actually pooping on her own now... but I'm still checking her (to her dismay) frequently to monitor the situation and make sure that she isn't swelling or straining.

So happy for the progress at this point now. Fingers crossed for improvement continuing.

Any other advice from anyone is ofcourse welcome. I feel like the combined efforts on my part and the vets and everyone here might just save my little girl!

My husband wants to name her Destiny if she survives this. I've never seen him look googly eyed at any of the chins (he does get googly with our dogs and our bunny though)... but he is totally in love with her because he's been sick this week too. He keeps talking to her and telling her that she will pull through and that she has to be responsible and take care of herself. It's really cute!

 

[addictedtochins]

YAY!!

 

[clarinuto]

Update

Thanks addictedtochins!!

So, she is back up to her weight on the day she prolapsed, the tissue around her anus isn't as inflamed today and she's eating what ever I give her.

Question: Assuming she continues to improve and what not, should I put her back in with her sisters and mama or not?

 

[Snickers]

I am glad she is doing better.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

Thanks addictedtochins!!

So, she is back up to her weight on the day she prolapsed, the tissue around her anus isn't as inflamed today and she's eating what ever I give her.

Question: Assuming she continues to improve and what not, should I put her back in with her sisters and mama or not?

Glad she's doing better.

Answering your question...I, personally, would wait to place her back with momma and sisters until she has made a completely recovery, then let them have a supervised playtime to make sure their are no fights or anything. You might have to slow introduce them back together or they might not.