What should I do?

[Jennifer2313]

A few days ago, my chinchilla, Leonard, got swiped from under the door by my sister's cat. He had a degloving injury on his front right paw. We took him to an emergency vet, and they stitched him up and gave me antibiotics to give him twice a day and pain medicine to give him once a day. I took him home and attempted to give him his medicine, and barely succeeded. He fought with me every step of the way. Fur was lost, and he ended up ripping his stitches. I took him back to the vet to get his stitches redone, and took him back home the next day. He did a little bit better with taking his medicine, but he wasn't eating at all. I called the vet the next day explaining what was going on, and she gave me formula to feed him. It's nearly impossible to get him to sit still long enough to feed. He fought, and it looks like another stitch has been ripped. I was wondering if I should just put him down? He isn't allowed to jump around or dust bathe for a few weeks. He won't eat or drink. He cries every time I have to pick him up to give him medicine and food. He doesn't move around because he's in pain, and it's costing me a fortune to have to get him stitched up every time he pulls out his stitches. I love Leonard to death, and I don't want to lose him, but I really don't want him to be miserable, either. I just want to hear some other opinions about the matter.

 

[tunes]

First, when you feed or medicate him, you need to burrito him. If you burrito him, he can't get that injured paw out and reopen it. There are several threads on here about using a burrito wrap, and I believe some even have a video showing how. Do a search and read them. The way I burrito is to take a thin dishtowel, lay it across my chest. Lay the chin on their tummies closer to one end of the towel, then quickly wrap the longer around the chin, tucking in the shorter end until they are bound up like a burrito. Then you will have more control over what you are doing with him.

Second, what is the "formula" your vet is having you give? Is it critical care?

Third, no, I would not put him to sleep. Before I did that, I would amputate the arm so that if it is infected, it won't spread into his entire body. It sounds as though in Leonard's case, that may be an option you need to look at quickly. If he is going to continually rip open the sutures, then amputation may work better for him.

 

[Jennifer2313]

I haven't perfected the burrito wrap yet, but I've been working on it. I've been giving him critical care. I can't afford an amputation. I've already spent about $700 on vet bills. However, he seems to have more energy. He's been eating a little bit more. My concern is that he isn't pooping much at all. I'm worried he might have a blockage. I'll call the et again tomorrow. I will do anything I can to not put him down.