The fracture....ASAP....

[yannes]

3 FEB 2010 found that my chins right foot was swollen ... after seeing doctors, according to the X-RAY, said to be broken, and now eat every day, sooner or later one of antibiotics, each 0.2ml, gastrointestinal medicine each 0.38ml, another once-daily painkiller 0.03ml, now a doctor a few days to help it wash the wound, the day before yesterday said that fracture, open wound is now recovered, but the bone has not yet recovered, so there are still swollen feet, because may be inflammation, and it has been are not their own eating, and now I am fed 30ml meal a day, what I thought it could do?

X-ray film is attached for reference!!

 

[tunes]

I, personally, would amputate the foot. The fact that it's been almost 20 days and the swelling has not yet gone down, even after antibiotics, and the fact that the bone has not yet started healing would tell me that it's time for the foot to come off. Your picture does not enlarge so I can't really see how swollen it is, but unless it's my monitor, it looks huge.

I am not a fan of splinting, pinning, or anything else with a broken limb. I think you put the chin through a mess of pain they don't understand. A clean amputation and the chin is up and around within a day or two. Splinting or pinning and you've got weeks and weeks of confinement, pain, and it generally ends up with the same result you started with, only you've put your chin through h#ll before you're done.

By the way, if your chin is not eating, 30 mL (I'm assuming you're using critical care?) is not enough to even maintain weight. You need to up that feeding a lot if you want to keep your chin's weight up, as well as help him regain any weight he lost.

 

[Dolyphinm]

It sounds like you might only feed once a day by how you worded it and you should feed multiple meals to keep the chins bacteria in the gut moving so their digestive system does not shut down.

Tunes gave you great advice though.

 

[menagerie]

I agree I think amputation is in order. One note, ask for a high amputation rather than just taking the foot off. You will have less of a potential for complications if the chin can't put any weight on the remaining leg. Amputating at the fracture point will leave you with the potential for pressure sores.

 

[Claire D]

I'll echo Peggy & Meanie's posts - I would opt for amputation.

Amputations are much easier on the chins than they are on us - chins adapt very well & can be up & around within a few days.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I feel the same way - the only way to save her is to ampute and you would be doing her a big favor for doing so. As was said, she also needs to eat more than 30ml a day

 

[starleomach]

I agree amputation, A chinchilla with an amptation is healed completely within 2 weeks, but is up and around immedialty. With thumpers amputation he was into trouble as soon as I put him back in the cage.

 

[yannes]

i feed him 3 times daily...Really want to do amputation?

 

[Rascal]

I think that's not "want", but should be necessary to do so.

Pls DO NOT think losing part of the leg is "poor", many chinnie can still live happily with 1 leg left.

 

[Mt. Zion Chins]

I know it sounds harsh but believe me and the rest of the people here - It is the best for your chin. Personally I would have had it done immediately. Chin's legs seldom heal, the bones just don't 'knit together'. I have had 3 chins in 16 years that had to have an amputation. They get along great and do all the things chins love to do. Two of the chins were even kept in my breeding program. It certainly didn't stop them. The first chin that broke his leg I went thru the same thing as you. His leg was in a cast, I had to hand feed him and his was miserable and depresed. After 3 weeks it became obvious that he leg wasn't even close to healing. The decission was made to amputate. Five days later he was eating on his own and running around like crazy. After that I knew I would insist on amputation if I ever had another broken leg. I had cost me over $600 for trying to 'fix his' leg and another $600 to amputate.

 

[CerLynn]

I agree - amputation is really the kindest thing you can do. Your chin will heal much faster, and there's relatively little risk involved, as compared to trying to fix the break (and it will likely be cheaper). One of our chins broke his leg last winter and we chose to fix it, and although it was successful, it was a 2-3 month recovery process, and at times it was questionable whether it would heal well enough. While we're thrilled that he was able to keep his leg, if I could go back, I would have chosen amputation.