Health

 

Fractured Bones.

I often get asked for advice on dealing with chinchillas with fractured bones. Unfortunately there is no easy way of dealing with this. Often prevention is better than cure by NOT using tall cages and replacing wire shelves (that can easily trap feet) with solid pine ones. When this has not worked there are two choices available :

 

Splint or Plaster Cast.

With chinchillas broken bones in their legs are very hard to deal with. If the leg is set, pinned (using a needle as an intramedullary pin) and set in a cast it will not last long in the condition that you leave the vets. Chins are very active animals with a tendency to chew, as such the cast will be easily removed by your uncooperative pet. The cast must survive longer than the time it takes for the break to heal, and will also require the chin to be immobilised !!

Remember this will probably require a general anaesthetic to knock the animal out while all this is being done, and if the chin chews off the cast and damages the healing join it may require the vet to knock it out again to repeat the operation. You may still end up going for the second option after several attempts at the first.

 

Amputation.

Depending on the location of the fracture the vet may want to remove the limb at the first joint or where it meets the body. This will also require the use of an anaesthetic. Again the chin will try to chew the dressing which may require it to wear an Elizabethan collar until the wound is on it's way to having healed. The chin will be unsteady on it's feet for the first few days, but will soon learn to compensate for the loss of a limb. It may be worth noting that this is the cheaper of the two operations.

 

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