What to ask for on a Vet visit?

[LilanChilla]

Ok, heres the story. I adopted 3 chins and have a vet appointment tomorrow. I want to know what should I ask for on their first visit. I was thinking blood work and fecal float maybe? I dont know what else besides a general all over check up. What do I want/need to have done to check for everything checkable? What did/do you check for?

 

[tunes]

I wouldn't take them in at all. Are they unhealthy? Do they appear underweight, have fur loss, have breathing problems, or are lethargic?

A vet is going to say - heart and lungs sound good. They will tell you that their weight is either wow they are big (at 400 gm) or she's very underweight (at 400 gm). Drawing blood on a chin is hard and I would not put one through it for a check up. Every time I've had it done it had to be done on the vein on the inside of the hind legs. Their veins are so tiny it's just traumatic for everybody without a good reason.

Any other illness is going to show up when it shows up. You can get stool samples run, but it's expensive and, IMO, not necessary unless there is an issue. Observe them and see how they do. If there seems to be nothing wrong, there probably isn't.

 

[proudmom25]

I agree with tunes. Unless there is something wrong with them, I wouldn't take them to the vet. It would be pretty stressful on them...even more so if you just got them and they are still trying to adjust to their new surroundings.

 

[ticklechin]

Wellness checks are not needed on chins, the only time I would say take one in for a exam is if you are a new chin owner and you are using a new vet-that way you could get a idea if the vet knows chins by asking certain questions.

 

[Kalandra]

Unless there symptoms of illness already being displayed., instead of stressing them with a wellness check, quarantine them. You will likely learn more during a 30 day quarantine than you will during a wellness check.

 

[LilanChilla]

My only concern is that they havnt seen a vet at all in the shelter, and I fear one of them is pregnant. One seems very lethargic imo, she is always sleeping- and I mean always no matter what time of day it is. They are in an FN and I have never seen her go to the bottom level and Ive had them a week. She is always in the same spot in the floor of the top level. I actually wonder if she isnt blind, she sprays me when I open the door, havnt even put my hand in the cage or anything. She stands on her hind legs and sort of lunges in an attempt to bite me, but most of the time misses. There are three, a mom and 2 one year old babies. The mom had some hair loss on her head behind the ears- well not total hair loss, just really short hair there. I agree with not normally doing a vet check I never have before, but since the shelter didnt do one, and they will reemberse me if I do it in the first 10 days I decided to get one anyway. The one girl that I think may be pregnant, is tipping the scales at almost 900g. The other two are around 480-510. The one has a nasty bite out of her ear that I have been treating as well- the lethargic one.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Just because the shelter will reimburse you is not a good idea to take chinchillas to a vet. A vet trip is extremely stressful...add onto that the stress of a new home and you do NOT get a good combination. Not every animal that comes from a shelter is going to be sick or in need of veterinary care. When getting new chins, do everything you can to NOT introduce excessive amounts of stress to them.

I would worry that the lethargic chinchilla has an infection, so it would be a good idea to take her in. The others I would not. Pregnancy doesn't mean they need a vet visit, which I'd think any breeder would know. If she is pregnant, how did she get pregnant? From the names you've given them, I assume they're all females...when was a male introduced to them? Did you make sure to sex all three when you got them?

ETA: I have over 50 chinchillas here that have never been checked by a vet. Just because they haven't been seen by a vet does not mean they NEED to be seen by one.

 

[LilanChilla]

I was told that they were housed with 2 males in there previous Home. The shelter only had them for 23 days, the males were also there, one of them died shortly after being brought in, that is one of the other reasons for getting a vet check.

Since I've had them they have been in their own room and I try to go in there only once a day to change water/ give food and talk to them, let them smell me ya know just general get to know you stuff. The supposed pregnant one will climb on my shoulder each time I open the cage, on of them has a funny foot. Like the toe is bent sideways.

The shelter recommended that I get a vet check, like I said I have never done this before unless there was good reason for it. None of my fosters have ever seen a vet unless it was an emergency. Yes I did check sex before we even left the shelter- they are all girls.

Also I have only bred my chins twice, and I have no plans to do it again. I sorta fell into it with my bf who wanted to breed, we had no idea what we were doing then. When we broke up(don't want to say I got stuck with them but...) I got the chins. So then I got into really careing about them and what I did with and for them. Just for the record.

 

[RDZCRanch]

The time frame for quarantine is 30 days. Since the shelter had the animals for 23 days and no other chinchilla died...that's still not a reason to take ALL three of them to the vet.

Shelters know nothing about chinchillas. They recommend one thing for dogs and cats and then recommend that for any other animal that passes through their doors. I and others with over 8 years of experience specifically with chinchillas (practically a lifetime) are telling you that taking all three to the vet office is not a good idea. Lethargy with possible infection is a good reason to take that one in, but taking the other two is causing unnecessary stress. A bent toe is also not a reason to go to the vet. One of these days I'm going to take pictures of some of my chinchilla's feet for everyone. I can't even begin to count how many are missing toes or have funny looking toes. They are small and easy to break or take off, but they don't affect a chinchilla's health unless a severed toe becomes infected. Bent/broken toes =/= vet visit.

 

[LilanChilla]

I have been trying to decide who I wanted to respond to that last post for quite sometime. So Ive come up with a few points so this doesnt become a severly long post.

1. This shelter I adopted the chins from had them in a foster home, the adoptee(or what ever you wish to call her) owns chinchillas herself, and said they didnt have a vet qualified, her words not mine, to evaluate them. She said it would probably be a good idea to take them to a specific vet who deals entirely with small animals and birds.

2. I myself have had experience "specificly with chinchillas" for 10 years this December. I got my first pair of chin as a christmas present. Just because you have experiences does not mean you know everything and it is the point at which you think that you have nothing left to learn that you become of no use to anyone else. If you think 8 years is a lifetime- GOD HELP YOU.

3. The foot situation; turns out it was an abcess area most likely from a broken foot (cant remember actual bone name) and toe in the past. The chin is now on antibiotics and if that doesnt work she may have to look into surgical options. This would be why she(the chin) never moves around much and always stays in the same spot. She is also blind or partaily blind.

4. The lethargic chin and the mom chin have a URI.

5. I can understand the problems several people have had with the drama on this forum as well as others. I didnt ask to be talked down to, all I wanted to know was if there is anything specific that is chin related that I should ask for- at least that is what I meant if it didnt come across that way. I now know the why certain individuals have left this forum, I understand the feelings of being judged and ridiculed.

The vet also owns chinchillas, she is very knowledgeable. She was willing to come to my home to check them out- I didnt know that they did this but I called to cancel and she said that she could do a home visit at a different time of day. I did have to drive to the vet office to get the medication she prescribed but it was a small price to pay.

Just an update for anyone intrested: Overall the chins seem to be settleing in very well. They all want to come out everytime I open the cage door, all except the visually impared one(Esther). Once I pick her up she snuggles against me though. The other two cant wait to have play time in their room. Esther will wander off my lap, but is very cautious about it though. If she hears any noises she runs back to my lap as fast as possible.

Thanks for reading.

 

[greychins]

Well, it they have the URI's and such, then I suppose it's good they saw the vet. Good luck with them and the chin with the abcess.

I just wanted to note though - and I'm not knocking your vet - but when you said "The vet also owns chinchillas, she is very knowledgeable" - I've met tons of people who own chinchillas who don't know diddly squat about them, so I don't think just owning them makes someone knowledgeable. Don't get me wrong, I know what you meant, but just for newbies who might run across the thread, we don't want them thinking that anyone with a chin in a cage somewhere adequately knows how to care and treat them.

Did you find out if the mom is pregnant? I've never asked a vet that (we typically can tell when they're pregnant, but if we're not sure, we go with the "when we see kits, we'll know") but I suppose a chin could be x-rayed to find out (I would think that'd be the only way to know for sure? maybe an ultrasound could be done).

We have a chin here who appears to be blind... when we first got her, she did just sit around a bit... but now, well, she's got a wheel in her cage and she manages to find the wheel and runs on it, hops up to the different cage levels... I believe that she can see somewhat, but I think a lot of your Esther getting around will just take time and I imagine she'll explore the cage more once you've had her longer, and she'll eventually find her way around. The same way blind dogs sort of "learn" the place they're living in so they don't bump into things.

 

[LilanChilla]

She thinks she is pregnant, but can only feel one kit. I was a little suprised because of how huge she looks, there could be more though that we do not feel. As with Esther, she has moved around top level, climbed onto one of the lower ledges today. She still sprays me everytime I open the cage door though, ew.
With the vet, she seems to teach me something new everytime that I go in. She is just a well on knowledge, and many of the things she says I look up on here and they seem to check out. I told her about this site and she said she had heard of it, but is not a member at least not yet.
Thank you for being so kind with your posting.

 

[greychins]

Oh ok. I personally wouldn't do too much palpatation (sp?) I would worry about injuring the kit or causing the mom to miscarry or something like that (that would be the type of luck I have anyway). If she is pregnant, I suppose you'll know how many kits when she has them.

Is she just large, or like she swallowed some tennis balls? You know what I mean? Because we have two chins that are in the 900-950 range, and (well, one's a male) the female is not pregnant, she's just that large. But in my experience, sometimes you get that look for the females where it's like there's a tennis ball or two inside of them, and then it's really really obvious that they're pregnant... If you haven't already, I'd put her in a babysafe cage cause if she is pregnant you want to be sure the kits can't get out.... and then count down 89 days (112 minus 23 in shelter)... You probably know this, but just in case...

That's good to hear about Esther moving around. The spraying? Well, we had one female that sprayed us... and sprayed us... and sprayed us... we rehomed her (she was a rescue so it was just a matter of time), and she didn't spray the new guy... at first... but then she started spraying him.... and spraying him... and spraying him... and he rehomed her. Don't know where she is now, but she apparently never got used to any of us, though we tried. But then, my mom's female used to spray me all the time. Now, it's less often, you could say infrequent now, versus every day, several times a day... so sometimes they just have to get used to you... It does suck though. These two females had deadly aim.

Good to hear that she seems like she knows what she's talking about, at least for the stuff you've checked out. Before I found my current vet, I went to so many vets that "said" they saw chinchillas, but really had no clue how to treat them or anything. And they'd give wrong advise, like even on stuff that's so basic any chinchilla owner should be able to tell you (like, no veggies, that kind of thing).

I don't know exactly how it works with pregnant chins and babies with the meds, thank god I've never had to deal with that, but I know that if a female chin is nursing kits, there are certain types of medications they shouldn't take. I don't know if that's because the meds are passed in the milk or what, but I know I've read that on this forum. I don't know if the same is true of pregnant chins - that maybe they shouldn't be on certain meds for the sake of the (unborn) kits. Just a thought. Might be something to ask the forum or ask the vet.

 

[LilanChilla]

The babies are the only ones on meds, so hopefully they are not pregnant. The mom(Eva) we believe to be. I was really gentle in doing the palpation, so the one kit is just a guess. It was more of a belly scratch/massage while she was sitting in my hands. There is a definate mass for sure in any case. Also the mom is one of the lighter ones, not the 900gram-er; Ethel. She is just plain huge. She had trouble climbing through the tunnels lol!

 

[greychins]

Oh ok, I'm sorry I must have read the posts wrong, or too quickly, or I'm just half asleep... it is 3 am, lol. Well good luck with all of them! I have to say, I love the fatties, there's just so much move to love, haha.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Also I have only bred my chins twice, and I have no plans to do it again. I sorta fell into it with my bf who wanted to breed, we had no idea what we were doing then. When we broke up(don't want to say I got stuck with them but...) I got the chins. So then I got into really careing about them and what I did with and for them. Just for the record.

I'm confused by this because based on this post...

I myself have had experience "specificly with chinchillas" for 10 years this December. I got my first pair of chin as a christmas present.

and this "source" from yahoo...

Breeder of chinchillas for 7 years.

link to page http://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...9184437AA0hZ9E&show=7#profile-info-IcMmSHvxaa

Your first post makes it sound like you only got chinchillas and started breeding them because of your boyfriend and when you broke up, you got "stuck" with the chinchillas. Indicating you didn't want chinchillas in the first place. Then you say you got your first chinchillas as a Christmas present. Indicating that you DID want chinchillas in the first place, but this would also make you ten years old and getting pets to breed with your boyfriend. Do you see my confusion?

If you think 8 years is a lifetime- GOD HELP YOU.

Clearly you didn't read the full sentence. I and others with over (that word is a handy one...don't want to pass over it) 8 years of experience specifically with chinchillas.

This is a quote directly from you...again...

a lifetime of experience

link to the page http://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...1182928AAj1VSE&show=7#profile-info-z0rFe4OJaa

So over eight years is not a lifetime...god help me, but ten years is?

You state multiple times on Yahoo Answers that you are a chinchilla breeder/owner, that you have experience with chinchilla illness, a lifetime of experience, etc. So you can imagine my confusion on why, with SO much experience it's difficult to understand anything I've been posting.

Based on your posts up until you responded to my last one, you made it sound like the chins were all normal (except the lethargic one and the oversized possibly pregnant female).

My only concern is that they havnt seen a vet at all in the shelter, and I fear one of them is pregnant.

So...my response to ANYONE would be, take the lethargic one in and leave the other two at home. If both chins now have URI's, did they show any signs? That might have been something to include in an earlier post. "The two girls have nasal discharge, are sneezing and/or breathing funny."

You made it sound like the problematic toe and lethargic chinchilla were one in the same.

So let me get this straight...because I am certainly confused with all the jumbling in the posts.

chinchilla #1(Eva) is mom, she has a URI, is pregnant, not on meds
chinchilla #2(Ethel) is the lethargic, has a URI, is on meds and has a bitten ear
chinchilla #3(Esther) is partially blind, has an abscess on her toe and is on antibiotics

Why, if the mother has a URI is she not on medication, but her daughter who also has a URI is on medication? I would think one URI is not less severe than another. Both can lead to pneumonia and death and need treated. Does the "awesome" vet plan on treating her once she has the kits or does she think it'll magic away on its own? I am just flat out confused here, so if you could clear everything up, that'd be great. Thanks.

 

[LilanChilla]

The first time we bred them was 7 years ago, so I exagerated on yahoo answers, sue me please.

I had chinchilas since I was 10, but got his when he left, I wasnt sure I wanted all of them, but here we are, only have 3 of the origional 7 left. If you look at where it stated "lifetime of experience" right before it there has a link to this site, saying that the site is the knowledge of lifetimes of people who know what they are doing(which was conveniantly left out).

I admit I have done a lot of things wrong in the time I have had my chins, I just revently came to this forum, before that I was doing practicly everything wrong. I never said that I know more than you because I have had them for 10 years. I meant that even though I have had chins for 10 years it doesnt mean I am anything close to an expert. I honestly didnt notice any of the discharge from their eyes. I havnt handled them a ton, once a night. The one will climb on me, but she runs if I touch her and dont have a firm grip, they all do. The vet visit was difficult but we got through it, it seemed to take forever. Now that I know what I am looking for I can see the signs I missed, the caked on discharge in the nose/mouth area.

Chins situation:
Eva is pregnant, doesnot have a URI, is not on meds.
Esther is the lethargic one with the foot problem and URI, is on meds.
Ethel is the massive one with a URI and is on meds.

 

[ticklechin]

From the original question I assumed you were a newbie chin owner, since the question is not one that a experienced owner would ask.

 

[LilanChilla]

Like I said,I am far from an expert. I had never heard of taking a chin to a vet for a "wellness check." that why I had no idea what to ask for. They reccommended that I take them to this vet, whom I had also never met in person.

Just thought I might mention, although I have not bred intentionally in like five years, I have had numerous rescues who were pregnant that I have taken care of. Most have been adopted to wonderful homes.

 

[Chinmama]

LilanChilla, when you ask a question here you will get varied responses and some of those may be responses you do not want to hear. Especially when you post "exagerations" or do not give us the full story, we have no clue what your situation is or how much experience you have. I read your original post and assumed you were a newbie as well. We do not know you and can only go by the information you give us - so if you exagerate how are we to know? Please keep this in mind when posting in the future so there is no confusion and no need for you to get defensive and have to explain yourself later.